From where I was seated that October night in 1979, Frank Sinatra’s eyes could have been pink, orange — anything but blue — but who was complaining? More than 7,400 fans and I had his glorious voice to keep us warm for one hour, 15 minutes as he crooned a string of show tunes and such contemporary standards as Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland.

Sinatra’s first Maine appearance in decades grossed $113,791, at the time a Civic Center record. Ticket prices — ranging from $12.50 to $17.50 — seemed steep then, but a justifiable extravagance for many fans who came to see a legend still in his prime.

Although 64, Sinatra brought the audience to its feet several times, most notably for the encore that never was. The rumor was that while they were cheering for “My Way,” the singer had already left the building.

Ol’ Blue Eyes climbed onto the Portland stage carrying a dozen roses handed him by young Rosie Mahoney of Kennebunkport, whose mother knew his favorite flower was the rose. From that point on, the evening was pure magic as the entertainer belted out “I Hear Music,” “Lady Is a Tramp,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and other classics. He stood on a boxing ring-style stage, innovative for its day.

He appeared to have mellowed in recent years as he tolerated the glare of flash bulbs and other distractions. At one point he hitched up his trousers, joking that he had lost weight. Few noticed that at times his memory failed him as he eyed song lyrics from sheet music on a stand.

Behind him was a smooth 38-member orchestra that made each number sound like a recording.

During an intermission Sinatra continued his good-natured appearance by accepting an honorary diploma from the Deering High School Class of 1942. Then he launched into a monologue about his days as the skinny kid from Hoboken, N.J., touring by bus with the Tommy Dorsey band. One afternoon the bus pulled into Old Orchard Beach.

“There we were, all getting off the bus,” Sinatra recalled. “We laid all of our instruments down on the sidewalk when a man driving an ice cream truck came along and said he had to make a delivery way out to the ballroom on the end of the pier.”

The bus was blocking the truck and had to be moved.

“Unfortunately,” he continued, “the bag boy was an idiot; he climbed into the bus, backed up 10 feet and ran over every single instrument. They had to put Tommy in a padded room for four days. That Irish temper really flared up that time.”

Few thought he would mention two other Maine appearances, and he didn’t. One was a happy, but brief, occasion when he photographed the infamous 1965 Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston boxing match in Lewiston.

The other was a disaster: In 1955 he stormed off the set of the movie “Carousel” in Boothbay Harbor, annoyed that the film was to be shot twice, in two different camera formats. Co-star Shirley Jones and others later speculated that the little band singer turned actor realized he had been miscast as the burly carnival barker Billy Bigelow. Gordon MacRae took over the role on very short notice.

At one point during the Portland concert, the lights dimmed and Sinatra lit up his trademark cigarette before performing “The Gal Who Got Away.” I can still see the smoke wafting across the stage, and up into the klieg lights suspended overhead. And how suave he seemed standing there in his black tie and tuxedo.

Sintra ended his show with a wonderful rendition of “New York, New York.” He never performed in Maine again, not much of a surprise to most who knew how much in demand he was around the world.

It was a night to remember, to be sure. And old Frankie was an entertainer to admire long after his death.