John Stamos Reveals Death of Barry Keenan, Who Kidnapped Frank Sinatra Jr.

The mastermind behind the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr. has died. Actor John Stamos confirmed such in a social media post. He says Barry Keenan penned a letter to him detailing his decision to take his own life. Just days after JFK’s November 1963 assassination, Keenan led Frank a 19-year-old Frank Jr. out of his hotel room in Lake Tahoe at gunpoint. He held him for ransom in an LA home, demanding $240,000 from his superstar father. Keenan and his co-conspirators got their money, but were quickly arrested soon after Frank Jr.’s release, and later convicted in a widely covered court case. The story is now the subject of a new podcast, Snatching Sinatra. 

Stamos began in his Nov. 18 Instagram post: “Dear John, by the time you receive this letter, I will have committed suicide.” That was the heading of a letter I received from Barry Keenan, the mastermind behind the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Junior and the subject of my recent podcast, Snatching Sinatra. Barry shot himself Sunday night. He was 82. He was in a tremendous amount of physical pain. He’s free now.” The Full House alum explained in the Instagram post that he spent much personal time with Keenan working on getting the story told. But more importantly, Stamos says Keenan wanted to help others who struggled with mental health. 

“He worked hard to shine a light on mental health and addiction, helping thousands not suffer the way he did. As I spoke about in the pod, all Barry wanted was a seat at the big table,” Stamos added. “His friends were rich and famous, and he wanted the same thing. He just went about it the wrong way. He did his time and cleaned up his act but never quite made it. Maybe now, where ever he is, he’s sitting pretty at the big table with a White Russian in one hand and a Cuban cigar in the other. But Barry, if you see Sinatra Senior at that table, run! He’s still pissed at you. God Bless you, Barry – May your guardian angels, or “the committee” as you called them, protect you and keep you safe,” he concluded in the post.