Barry Keenan

Barry Keenan (June 26, 1940 – November 13, 2022) was an American businessman, best known as the mastermind behind the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. Following a car accident, Keenan became penniless and addicted to painkillers, and he eventually hatched the kidnap-for-ransom scheme and enlisted others to help. Keenan, along with Johnny Irwin and Joe Amsler, conspired to kidnap Frank Sinatra Jr.

Keenan had a psychiatric condition in which he heard voices, and felt that his plan was blessed by God. Since he intended to eventually pay the money back, he did not think the kidnapping was immoral. In 2022 terms, the demand paid would be the equivalent of $2.32 million, and the amount Sinatra offered would be equivalent to $9.68 million. Despite the nature of the crime, Keenan felt that he was bringing the Sinatra family closer together and assisting the Sinatras in other intangible ways. on the grounds that he was legally insane at the time of the crime.

The kidnapping was the basis for Stealing Sinatra, a Showtime movie released in 2003 starring David Arquette and William H. Macy. The film was to be directed by Joe Mantegna. and by Mike Lanchin in a January 2014 episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Witness.

In 2021, John Stamos released a podcast about the Sinatra kidnappings called Snatching Sinatra, featuring extended interviews with Keenan. Stamos and Keenan became close friends as a result. The following year, Keenan texted Stamos to inform him he was about to kill himself; he died on 13 November 2022. Stamos announced Keenan's death to the world on Instagram, adding: