Sammy Davis, Jr.
Encyclopedia
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities.
Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis started as a child vaudevillian who became known for his performances on Broadway and Las Vegas
. He went on to become a world famous recording artist, television and film star. Davis was also a member of Frank Sinatra
's "Rat Pack
".
At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville
with his father and "uncle" as the Will Mastin Trio
, toured nationally, and after military service, returned to the trio. Davis became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's
after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, he lost his left eye in an automobile accident.
Though his film career had begun as a child in 1933, in 1960 he appeared in the first Rat Pack movie, Ocean's 11
. After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr Wonderful
, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy
, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Davis' career slowed in the late sixties, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man
", in 1972, and became a star in Las Vegas.
As an African American
, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life, and was a large financial supporter of civil rights causes. Davis had a complex relationship with the African-American community, and attracted criticism after physically embracing Richard Nixon
in 1970. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny
, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap — I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography, and in countless articles.
After reuniting with Sinatra and Dean Martin
in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli
internationally, before dying of throat cancer in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service
, and his estate was the subject of legal battles.
Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal
by the NAACP
, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award
for his television performances. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors
in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
.
, New York
, to Sammy Davis, Sr.
(1900–1988), an African-American entertainer, and Elvera Sanchez
(1905–2000), a tap dancer. During his lifetime, Davis, Jr. stated that his mother was Puerto Rican
and born in San Juan
; however, in the 2003 biography In Black and White, author Wil Haygood writes that Davis, Jr.'s mother was born in New York City to Cuban American
parents, and that Davis, Jr. claimed he was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales.
Davis' parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was raised by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents separated. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour. Davis learned to dance from his father and his "uncle" Will Mastin
, who led the dance troupe his father worked for. Davis joined the act as a child and they became the Will Mastin Trio
. Throughout his career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing. Mastin and his father shielded him from racism
. Snubs were explained as jealousy, for instance. When Davis served in the United States Army
during World War II
, however, he was confronted by strong racial prejudice. He later said, "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color any more. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for eighteen years, a door which they had always secretly held open."
film Six Bridges to Cross
, recording it on December 2, 1954.
During service in WWII, the Army assigned Davis to an integrated entertainment Special Services
unit and he found that the spotlight lessened the prejudice. Even prejudiced white men admired and respected his performances. "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking," he said.
After his discharge, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland
, Oregon
. He began to achieve success on his own and was singled out for praise by critics, releasing several albums. This led to his appearance in the Broadway play Mr. Wonderful
in 1956.
In 1959, Davis became a member of the famous "Rat Pack", led by his friend Frank Sinatra
, which included fellow performers such as Dean Martin
, Joey Bishop
and Peter Lawford
. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Sammy voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the racist Ku Klux Klan
. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit", but the media referred to them as the Rat Pack.
Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino
in Las Vegas, Nevada
, but he was required (as were all black performers in the 1950s) to lodge in a rooming house on the west side of the city, instead of in the hotels as his white colleagues did. No dressing rooms were provided for black performers, and they had to wait outside by the swimming pool between acts. Davis and other black artists could entertain, but could not stay at the hotels where they performed, gamble in the casinos, nor dine or drink in the hotel restaurants and bars. Davis later refused to work at places which practiced racial segregation
.
In 1964, Davis was starring in Golden Boy
at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day. When he could get a day off from the theater, he would be recording new songs in the studio, or performing live, often at charity benefits as far away as Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas, or doing television variety specials in Los Angeles
. Davis knew he was cheating his family of his company, but he could not help himself; as he later said, he was incapable of standing still.
Although he was still a draw in Las Vegas, Davis' musical career had sputtered by the latter 1960s, although he had a #11 hit (#1 on the Easy Listening singles chart
) with "I've Gotta Be Me
" in 1969. His effort to update his sound and reconnect with younger people resulted in some embarrassing "hip" musical efforts with the Motown record label. But then, even as his career seemed at its nadir, Sammy had an unexpected hit with "Candy Man
". Although he did not particularly care for the song and was chagrined that he was now best known for it, Davis made the most of his opportunity and revitalized his career. Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy popularity with his performance of the theme song from the T.V. series Baretta
(1975–1978) which was not released as a single but was given radio play and he remained a live act beyond Vegas for his career. He occasionally landed television and film parts, including cameo visits to the All in the Family
(during which he kisses Archie Bunker
(Carroll O'Connor
) on the cheek) and, with wife Altovise Davis
, on Charlie's Angels
. In the 1970s, he appeared in commercials in Japan for Suntory
whiskey.
On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast a musical-variety special entitled Movin' With Nancy
. In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is notable for Nancy Sinatra
and Sammy Davis Jr. greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in U.S. television history.
It's been said Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley
. Davis sang a cover-version of Presley's song "In The Ghetto
" and made a cameo-appearance in Presley's concert-movie Elvis: That's the Way It Is
. One year later, he made a cameo appearance in a James Bond
movie, but the scene he appeared in was deleted.
In Japan
, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee, and in the U.S. he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership.
Davis was a fan of the daytime soap opera
s, particularly the shows produced by the American Broadcasting Company
. This led to a cameo appearance on General Hospital and a recurring role as character Chip Warren on One Life to Live
, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1980. He was featured on the CBS News with Walter Cronkite in a profile filed by current CBS News political correspondent Jeff Greenfield about the final episode of Love of Life
in 1980. He was also a game show fan, appearing on the ABC version of Family Feud
in 1979, and hosting a question with Richard Dawson watching from the sidelines. He appeared on Tattletales
with third wife Altovise Davis
in the 1970s. He made a cameo during an episode of the NBC
version of Card Sharks
in 1981.
In addition to American soaps, he was also a huge fan of the Australian show Prisoner: Cell Block H. While in Melbourne during the mid-eighties he visited the set of the show, at Grundy's studio in Nunawading, to see production for himself. Arriving in the grounds by helicopter, he toured the studio and met several of the cast, including his favorite actress in the show, Maggie Kirkpatrick
. Davis wanted to make an appearance in Prisoner, but the show had ended (in 1986) before this could be arranged.
Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar. "Jerry [Lewis] gave me my first important camera, my first 35 millimeter, during the Ciro's period, early '50s", Boyar quotes Davis. "And he hooked me." Davis used a medium format camera later on to capture images. Again quoting Davis, "Nobody interrupts a man taking a picture to ask ... 'What's that nigger doin' here?'". His catalog includes rare photos of his father dancing onstage as part of the Will Mastin Trio and intimate snapshots of close friends Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Nat "King" Cole, and Marilyn Monroe. His political affiliations also were represented, in his images of Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. His most revealing work comes in photographs of wife May Britt and their three children, Tracey, Jeff and Mark.
Davis was an enthusiastic shooter and gun owner. He participated in fast-draw competitions—Johnny Cash recalled that Sammy was said to be capable of drawing and firing a Colt Single Action revolver in less than a quarter of a second. Davis was skilled at fast and fancy gunspinning
, and appeared on TV variety shows showing off this skill. He appeared in Western films and as a guest star on several "Golden Age" T.V. Westerns.
, California
, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Highway 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive. Davis lost his left eye as a result; he wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident. He appeared on What's My Line wearing the patch. Later, he was fitted for a glass eye
, which he wore for the rest of his life.
While in the hospital, Davis' friend, performer Eddie Cantor
, told him about the similarities between the Jewish and black cultures. Prompted by this conversation, Davis — who was born to a Catholic mother and Protestant
father — began studying the history of Jews. He converted to Judaism
several years later. One passage from his readings (from the book A History of The Jews by Abram L. Sachar
), describing the endurance of the Jewish people, intrigued him in particular: "The Jews would not die. Three millennia of prophetic teaching had given them an unwavering spirit of resignation and had created in them a will to live which no disaster could crush". In many ways, the accident marked a turning point in Davis' career, taking him from a well-known entertainer to a national celebrity and icon.
, a movie star under contract to Columbia Studios. The head of the studio, Harry Cohn
, was worried about the negative effect this would have on the studio because of the prevailing taboo against miscegenation
. He called his friend, the mobster Johnny Roselli, who was asked to tell Davis that he had to stop the affair with Novak. Roselli arranged for Davis to be kidnapped for a few hours to throw a scare into him. His hastily arranged and soon-dissolved marriage to black dancer Loray White in 1958 was an attempt to quiet the controversy.
In 1960, Davis caused controversy again when he married white Swedish
-born actress May Britt
. Davis received hate mail while starring in the Broadway musical adaptation of Golden Boy
from 1964-1966 (for which he received a Tony Award
nomination for Best Actor). At the time Davis appeared in the play, interracial marriages were forbidden by law in 31 US states, and only in 1967 were those laws ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. Davis and Britt had one daughter and adopted two sons. Davis performed almost continuously and spent little time with his wife. They divorced in 1968, after Davis admitted to having had an affair with singer Lola Falana
. That year, Davis started dating Altovise Gore, a dancer in Golden Boy. They were married on May 11, 1970 by the Reverend Jesse Jackson
. They adopted a child and remained married until Davis's death in 1990.
, he felt a lack of respect from the John F. Kennedy
presidency. He had been removed from the list of performers for Kennedy's inaugural party (hosted by Davis' close friend Frank Sinatra
) because of Davis' recent interracial marriage to May Britt on November 13, 1960, in order to quell any controversy.
In the early 1970s, Davis supported Republican
President Richard M. Nixon (and gave the startled President a hug during a live television broadcast). The incident was controversial, and Davis was given a hostile reception by his peers. Previously Davis had won their respect with his performance as Joe Wellington Jr. in Golden Boy and his participation in the Civil Rights Movement
. Nixon invited Davis to sleep in the White House in 1973, which is believed to be the first time an African-American was invited to do so. Davis spent the night in the Queens' Bedroom
. Unlike Sinatra, Davis voted Democratic for President again after the Nixon administration, supporting the campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson
in 1984 and 1988.
on May 16, 1990, of complications from throat cancer
. Earlier, when he was told that surgery (laryngectomy
) offered him the best chance of survival, Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he subsequently was treated with a combination of chemotherapy
and radiation
. However, a few weeks prior to his death his entire larynx
was removed during surgery. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
next to his father and Will Mastin.
On May 18, 1990, two days after Davis' death, the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip
were darkened for ten minutes, as a tribute to him.
in the HBO movie The Rat Pack
, a made-for-TV
movie about the pack of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe award for his performance.
Eddie Griffin
has made his impersonation of Davis a major part of his career, be it at stage or TV.
On Saturday Night Live
, Davis has been portrayed by Garrett Morris
, Eddie Murphy
, Billy Crystal
and Tim Meadows.
Davis was portrayed on the popular sketch comedy show In Living Color
by Tommy Davidson
, notably a parody of the movie Ghost
, in which the ghost of Davis enlists the help of Whoopi Goldberg
to communicate with his wife.
David Raynr also portrayed Davis in the miniseries Sinatra, a TV movie about the life of Frank Sinatra
.
Davis was portrayed by Keith Powell
in an episode of 30 Rock
entitled "Subway Hero
".
In the 1993 film Wayne's World 2
, Tim Meadows portrays Davis in the dream sequence with Michael A. Nickles as Jim Morrison
.
He was portrayed by Paul Sharma
in the 2003 West End production Rat Pack Confidential.
In September 2009, the musical Sammy: Once in a Lifetime premiered at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
, and additional songs by Bricusse and Anthony Newley
. The title role was played by Broadway Tony Award nominee Obba Babatundé
.
Davis was mentioned in British singer Amy Winehouse
's album Back to Black
on the song "Me and Mr. Jones". The lyrics are as follows: "Aside from Sammy you're my best black Jew."
A black and white portrait of Davis, drawn by Jim Blanchard, adorns the cover of avant-garde rock band Oxbow's
second album King Of The Jews.
Midwest radio personality Kevin Matthews impersonated Sammy Davis, Jr. many times on his radio show.
Comedian Jim Carrey
has portrayed Davis on stage in a stand up routine.
Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis started as a child vaudevillian who became known for his performances on Broadway and Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. He went on to become a world famous recording artist, television and film star. Davis was also a member of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's "Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
".
At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
with his father and "uncle" as the Will Mastin Trio
Will Mastin Trio
The Will Mastin Trio was a trio of dancers and singers formed by Will Mastin, Sammy Davis, Sr. and Sammy Davis, Jr.. They performed from the 1920s through the 1960s....
, toured nationally, and after military service, returned to the trio. Davis became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's
Ciro's
Ciro's was a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip, opened in January 1940, by entrepreneur William Wilkerson. Herman Hover took over management of Ciro's in 1942 until it closed its doors in 1957...
after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, he lost his left eye in an automobile accident.
Though his film career had begun as a child in 1933, in 1960 he appeared in the first Rat Pack movie, Ocean's 11
Ocean's Eleven (1960 film)
Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....
. After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr Wonderful
Mr. Wonderful (musical)
Mr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy
Golden Boy (musical)
Golden Boy is a musical with a book by Clifford Odets and William Gibson, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.Based on the 1937 play of the same name by Odets, it focuses on Joe Wellington, a young man from Harlem who, despite his family's objections, turns to prizefighting as a means...
, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Davis' career slowed in the late sixties, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man
The Candy Man
"The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
", in 1972, and became a star in Las Vegas.
As an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life, and was a large financial supporter of civil rights causes. Davis had a complex relationship with the African-American community, and attracted criticism after physically embracing Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
in 1970. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap — I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography, and in countless articles.
After reuniting with Sinatra and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
internationally, before dying of throat cancer in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, and his estate was the subject of legal battles.
Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal
Spingarn Medal
The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American....
by the NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his television performances. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors
Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
.
Early life
Samuel George Davis, Jr. was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to Sammy Davis, Sr.
Sammy Davis, Sr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Sr. was an American dancer and the father of Sammy Davis, Jr..-Birth and Personal Life:...
(1900–1988), an African-American entertainer, and Elvera Sanchez
Elvera Sanchez
Elvera Sanchez was an American dancer and the mother of Sammy Davis, Jr.Sammy Davis, Jr. often stated that his mother was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan...
(1905–2000), a tap dancer. During his lifetime, Davis, Jr. stated that his mother was Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
and born in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
; however, in the 2003 biography In Black and White, author Wil Haygood writes that Davis, Jr.'s mother was born in New York City to Cuban American
Cuban American
A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...
parents, and that Davis, Jr. claimed he was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales.
Davis' parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was raised by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents separated. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour. Davis learned to dance from his father and his "uncle" Will Mastin
Will Mastin
-Career on the Dance Floor:Mastin was the leader of the Will Mastin Trio which included Sammy Davis, Sr. and his son Sammy Davis, Jr.. Will Mastin was also the "uncle" of Sammy Davis, Jr.. Sammy's father Sammy Davis, Sr. and Will were good friends....
, who led the dance troupe his father worked for. Davis joined the act as a child and they became the Will Mastin Trio
Will Mastin Trio
The Will Mastin Trio was a trio of dancers and singers formed by Will Mastin, Sammy Davis, Sr. and Sammy Davis, Jr.. They performed from the 1920s through the 1960s....
. Throughout his career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing. Mastin and his father shielded him from racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Snubs were explained as jealousy, for instance. When Davis served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, however, he was confronted by strong racial prejudice. He later said, "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color any more. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for eighteen years, a door which they had always secretly held open."
Career
Davis Jr. was hired to sing the title track for the Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
film Six Bridges to Cross
Six Bridges to Cross
Six Bridges to Cross or 6 Bridges to Cross is a 1955 American crime caper film directed by Joseph Pevney of Universal Pictures. The film starred Tony Curtis, George Nader, Julie Adams, Jay C. Flippen and Sal Mineo on his screen debut...
, recording it on December 2, 1954.
During service in WWII, the Army assigned Davis to an integrated entertainment Special Services
Special Services (entertainment)
Special Services are the entertainment branch of the American military. The unit was created on 22 July 1940 by the War Department as part of the Army Service Forces. Special Services would not only use their own specially trained and talented troops but would often engage local performers.Special...
unit and he found that the spotlight lessened the prejudice. Even prejudiced white men admired and respected his performances. "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking," he said.
After his discharge, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He began to achieve success on his own and was singled out for praise by critics, releasing several albums. This led to his appearance in the Broadway play Mr. Wonderful
Mr. Wonderful (musical)
Mr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
in 1956.
In 1959, Davis became a member of the famous "Rat Pack", led by his friend Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, which included fellow performers such as Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
and Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Sammy voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the racist Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit", but the media referred to them as the Rat Pack.
Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino
New Frontier Hotel and Casino
The New Frontier was a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip that had operated continuously since October 30, 1942. Actually located within the unincorporated suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA, it was the second resort that opened on the Las Vegas Strip. The Frontier closed its doors for...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, but he was required (as were all black performers in the 1950s) to lodge in a rooming house on the west side of the city, instead of in the hotels as his white colleagues did. No dressing rooms were provided for black performers, and they had to wait outside by the swimming pool between acts. Davis and other black artists could entertain, but could not stay at the hotels where they performed, gamble in the casinos, nor dine or drink in the hotel restaurants and bars. Davis later refused to work at places which practiced racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
.
In 1964, Davis was starring in Golden Boy
Golden Boy (musical)
Golden Boy is a musical with a book by Clifford Odets and William Gibson, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.Based on the 1937 play of the same name by Odets, it focuses on Joe Wellington, a young man from Harlem who, despite his family's objections, turns to prizefighting as a means...
at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day. When he could get a day off from the theater, he would be recording new songs in the studio, or performing live, often at charity benefits as far away as Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas, or doing television variety specials in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Davis knew he was cheating his family of his company, but he could not help himself; as he later said, he was incapable of standing still.
Although he was still a draw in Las Vegas, Davis' musical career had sputtered by the latter 1960s, although he had a #11 hit (#1 on the Easy Listening singles chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
) with "I've Gotta Be Me
I've Gotta Be Me
"I've Gotta Be Me" is a popular song that first appeared in the Broadway musical Golden Rainbow, which starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. The musical opened in New York City at the Shubert Theatre on February 4, 1968, and closed less than a year later, on January 11, 1969...
" in 1969. His effort to update his sound and reconnect with younger people resulted in some embarrassing "hip" musical efforts with the Motown record label. But then, even as his career seemed at its nadir, Sammy had an unexpected hit with "Candy Man
The Candy Man
"The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
". Although he did not particularly care for the song and was chagrined that he was now best known for it, Davis made the most of his opportunity and revitalized his career. Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy popularity with his performance of the theme song from the T.V. series Baretta
Baretta
Baretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
(1975–1978) which was not released as a single but was given radio play and he remained a live act beyond Vegas for his career. He occasionally landed television and film parts, including cameo visits to the All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
(during which he kisses Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
(Carroll O'Connor
Carroll O'Connor
John Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
) on the cheek) and, with wife Altovise Davis
Altovise Davis
Altovise Davis was an American entertainer, best known as Sammy Davis, Jr.'s third wife.Born in Charlotte, North Carolina as Altovise Joanne Gore, she was raised in Brooklyn, New York and worked during the 1960s as a chorus-line dancer in various musical shows both in London and on Broadway.Her...
, on Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
. In the 1970s, he appeared in commercials in Japan for Suntory
Suntory
is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...
whiskey.
On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast a musical-variety special entitled Movin' With Nancy
Movin' With Nancy
Movin' With Nancy was a television special featuring Nancy Sinatra in a series of musical vignettes featuring herself and other artists. Produced by Nancy's production company, Boots Enterprises, Inc., and sponsored by Royal Crown Cola, the show was originally broadcast on the NBC television...
. In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is notable for Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
and Sammy Davis Jr. greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in U.S. television history.
It's been said Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. Davis sang a cover-version of Presley's song "In The Ghetto
In the Ghetto
"In the Ghetto" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1969. It was written by Mac Davis and made famous by Elvis Presley who had a major comeback hit with the song in 1969. It was released in 1969 as a 45 rpm single with "Any Day Now" as the flip side...
" and made a cameo-appearance in Presley's concert-movie Elvis: That's the Way It Is
Elvis: That's the Way it Is
Elvis: That's the Way It Is is a documentary movie directed by Denis Sanders about Elvis Presley that was released on November 11, 1970. The film documents Elvis' Summer Festival in Las Vegas during August 1970...
. One year later, he made a cameo appearance in a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie, but the scene he appeared in was deleted.
In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee, and in the U.S. he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership.
Davis was a fan of the daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, particularly the shows produced by the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. This led to a cameo appearance on General Hospital and a recurring role as character Chip Warren on One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1980. He was featured on the CBS News with Walter Cronkite in a profile filed by current CBS News political correspondent Jeff Greenfield about the final episode of Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
in 1980. He was also a game show fan, appearing on the ABC version of Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
in 1979, and hosting a question with Richard Dawson watching from the sidelines. He appeared on Tattletales
Tattletales
Tattletales is a game show which first aired on the CBS daytime schedule on February 18, 1974. It was hosted by Bert Convy, with several announcers, including Jack Clark, Gene Wood, Johnny Olson and John Harlan, providing the voiceover at various times...
with third wife Altovise Davis
Altovise Davis
Altovise Davis was an American entertainer, best known as Sammy Davis, Jr.'s third wife.Born in Charlotte, North Carolina as Altovise Joanne Gore, she was raised in Brooklyn, New York and worked during the 1960s as a chorus-line dancer in various musical shows both in London and on Broadway.Her...
in the 1970s. He made a cameo during an episode of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
version of Card Sharks
Card Sharks
Card Sharks is an American television game show created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Two contestants compete for control of a row of oversized playing cards by answering questions posed by the host and then guessing if the next card is higher or lower in value than...
in 1981.
In addition to American soaps, he was also a huge fan of the Australian show Prisoner: Cell Block H. While in Melbourne during the mid-eighties he visited the set of the show, at Grundy's studio in Nunawading, to see production for himself. Arriving in the grounds by helicopter, he toured the studio and met several of the cast, including his favorite actress in the show, Maggie Kirkpatrick
Maggie Kirkpatrick
Maggie Kirkpatrick is an Australian actress, who is best known for her portrayal of the iconic character Joan Ferguson, a sadistic and corrupt lesbian prison officer known to the prisoners as "The Freak" in the popular Australian television soap opera, Prisoner...
. Davis wanted to make an appearance in Prisoner, but the show had ended (in 1986) before this could be arranged.
Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar. "Jerry [Lewis] gave me my first important camera, my first 35 millimeter, during the Ciro's period, early '50s", Boyar quotes Davis. "And he hooked me." Davis used a medium format camera later on to capture images. Again quoting Davis, "Nobody interrupts a man taking a picture to ask ... 'What's that nigger doin' here?'". His catalog includes rare photos of his father dancing onstage as part of the Will Mastin Trio and intimate snapshots of close friends Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Nat "King" Cole, and Marilyn Monroe. His political affiliations also were represented, in his images of Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. His most revealing work comes in photographs of wife May Britt and their three children, Tracey, Jeff and Mark.
Davis was an enthusiastic shooter and gun owner. He participated in fast-draw competitions—Johnny Cash recalled that Sammy was said to be capable of drawing and firing a Colt Single Action revolver in less than a quarter of a second. Davis was skilled at fast and fancy gunspinning
Gunspinning
Gunspinning refers to the old west tradition and Hollywood legend of a cowboy gunslinger twirling his pistol around his trigger finger. Gunspinning is a western art such as trick roping, and is sometimes referred as gunplay, gun artistry, and gun twirling...
, and appeared on TV variety shows showing off this skill. He appeared in Western films and as a guest star on several "Golden Age" T.V. Westerns.
Car accident and conversion to Judaism
Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954 in San BernardinoSan Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Highway 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive. Davis lost his left eye as a result; he wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident. He appeared on What's My Line wearing the patch. Later, he was fitted for a glass eye
Ocular prosthesis
An ocular prosthesis or artificial eye replaces an absent natural eye following an enucleation, evisceration, or orbital exenteration. The prosthetic fits over an orbital implant and under the eyelids. Often referred to as a glass eye, the ocular prosthesis roughly takes the shape of a convex...
, which he wore for the rest of his life.
While in the hospital, Davis' friend, performer Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
, told him about the similarities between the Jewish and black cultures. Prompted by this conversation, Davis — who was born to a Catholic mother and Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
father — began studying the history of Jews. He converted to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
several years later. One passage from his readings (from the book A History of The Jews by Abram L. Sachar
Abram L. Sachar
Abram Leon Sachar was an American historian and founding president of Brandeis University.-Early life and education:...
), describing the endurance of the Jewish people, intrigued him in particular: "The Jews would not die. Three millennia of prophetic teaching had given them an unwavering spirit of resignation and had created in them a will to live which no disaster could crush". In many ways, the accident marked a turning point in Davis' career, taking him from a well-known entertainer to a national celebrity and icon.
Marriages
In the mid-1950s, Sammy was involved with Kim NovakKim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, a movie star under contract to Columbia Studios. The head of the studio, Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures.-Career:Cohn was born to a working-class German-Jewish family in New York City. In later years, he appears to have disparaged his heritage...
, was worried about the negative effect this would have on the studio because of the prevailing taboo against miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
. He called his friend, the mobster Johnny Roselli, who was asked to tell Davis that he had to stop the affair with Novak. Roselli arranged for Davis to be kidnapped for a few hours to throw a scare into him. His hastily arranged and soon-dissolved marriage to black dancer Loray White in 1958 was an attempt to quiet the controversy.
In 1960, Davis caused controversy again when he married white Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-born actress May Britt
May Britt
May Britt is a Swedish actress who had a brief career in the 1950s in Italy and later in the United States. She retired from the screen after she married Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1960.-Career:...
. Davis received hate mail while starring in the Broadway musical adaptation of Golden Boy
Golden Boy
Golden Boy is a drama by Clifford Odets. The play was initially produced on Broadway by The Group Theatre in 1937. Odets' biggest hit was made into a 1939 film of the same name, starring William Holden in his breakthrough role, and also served as the basis for a 1964 musical.-Plot:It focuses on Joe...
from 1964-1966 (for which he received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for Best Actor). At the time Davis appeared in the play, interracial marriages were forbidden by law in 31 US states, and only in 1967 were those laws ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. Davis and Britt had one daughter and adopted two sons. Davis performed almost continuously and spent little time with his wife. They divorced in 1968, after Davis admitted to having had an affair with singer Lola Falana
Lola Falana
Lola Falana is an American singer, dancer, and actress of Cuban and African American descent. Falana's father left Cuba to become a welder in the United States, where he met his wife...
. That year, Davis started dating Altovise Gore, a dancer in Golden Boy. They were married on May 11, 1970 by the Reverend Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
. They adopted a child and remained married until Davis's death in 1990.
Political beliefs
Although Davis had been voting DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he felt a lack of respect from the John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
presidency. He had been removed from the list of performers for Kennedy's inaugural party (hosted by Davis' close friend Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
) because of Davis' recent interracial marriage to May Britt on November 13, 1960, in order to quell any controversy.
In the early 1970s, Davis supported Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
President Richard M. Nixon (and gave the startled President a hug during a live television broadcast). The incident was controversial, and Davis was given a hostile reception by his peers. Previously Davis had won their respect with his performance as Joe Wellington Jr. in Golden Boy and his participation in the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
. Nixon invited Davis to sleep in the White House in 1973, which is believed to be the first time an African-American was invited to do so. Davis spent the night in the Queens' Bedroom
Queens' Bedroom
The Queens' Bedroom is located on the second floor of the White House, part of a guest suite of rooms that includes the Queens' Sitting Room. It is "named for the many royal guests it has hosted, ".- Furnishings :The room has been furnished in 1968 Federal style since the Truman renovation...
. Unlike Sinatra, Davis voted Democratic for President again after the Nixon administration, supporting the campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
in 1984 and 1988.
Death
Davis died in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
on May 16, 1990, of complications from throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
. Earlier, when he was told that surgery (laryngectomy
Laryngectomy
Laryngectomy is the removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose and esophagus. The laryngectomee breathes through an opening in the neck, a stoma. This procedure is usually performed in cases of laryngeal cancer...
) offered him the best chance of survival, Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he subsequently was treated with a combination of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and radiation
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...
. However, a few weeks prior to his death his entire larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
was removed during surgery. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
next to his father and Will Mastin.
On May 18, 1990, two days after Davis' death, the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
were darkened for ten minutes, as a tribute to him.
Portrayals
Davis was portrayed by Don CheadleDon Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
in the HBO movie The Rat Pack
The Rat Pack (film)
The Rat Pack is a 1998 HBO TV movie about the Rat Pack. The movie stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford....
, a made-for-TV
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
movie about the pack of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe award for his performance.
Eddie Griffin
Eddie Griffin
Edward James "Eddie" Griffin, Jr. is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his sitcom, Malcolm & Eddie along with co-star, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and his role in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother as the film’s title character.-Early life:Griffin was born in Kansas City,...
has made his impersonation of Davis a major part of his career, be it at stage or TV.
On Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Davis has been portrayed by Garrett Morris
Garrett Morris
Garrett Gonzalez Morris is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.-Early life and career:...
, Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
, Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
and Tim Meadows.
Davis was portrayed on the popular sketch comedy show In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
by Tommy Davidson
Tommy Davidson
Tommy Davidson is an American comedian, film and television actor.Born in Washington, D.C., Davidson was adopted when he was 2-years-old. He was a child of an interracial adoption, with his parents being Caucasian and he being African-American. He attended high school at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High...
, notably a parody of the movie Ghost
Ghost (film)
Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
, in which the ghost of Davis enlists the help of Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
to communicate with his wife.
David Raynr also portrayed Davis in the miniseries Sinatra, a TV movie about the life of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.
Davis was portrayed by Keith Powell
Keith Powell
Keith Powell is an American television actor who is best known for his role as James "Toofer" Spurlock on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.-Career:Powell was the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company, a summer theater in Wilmington, Delaware...
in an episode of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
entitled "Subway Hero
Subway Hero
"Subway Hero" is the twelfth episode of the second season of 30 Rock and thirty-third episode of the series. It was written by Jack Burditt, one of the series' co-executive producers, and executive producer Robert Carlock. It was directed by Don Scardino. It aired on April 17, 2008 on the NBC...
".
In the 1993 film Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a Public-access television cable TV show from Aurora, Illinois. The film was adapted from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the sequel to Wayne's World....
, Tim Meadows portrays Davis in the dream sequence with Michael A. Nickles as Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
.
He was portrayed by Paul Sharma
Paul Sharma
Paul Sharma is an actor and dancer, born in Newport, South Wales, and educated at Bassaleg Comprehensive and Pontypool College.-Television work:Sharma played Vinnay Ramdas in Casualty and then Damon Lynch in 2011, Rajiv in comedy-dramaRoger Roger...
in the 2003 West End production Rat Pack Confidential.
In September 2009, the musical Sammy: Once in a Lifetime premiered at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
, and additional songs by Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
. The title role was played by Broadway Tony Award nominee Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatunde
Obba Babatundé is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C...
.
Davis was mentioned in British singer Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
's album Back to Black
Back to Black
Back to Black is the second studio album by English recording artist Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. It is the last album released in her lifetime. The album incorporates 1960s soul music styles and modern R&B production, with subjective lyrics that concern...
on the song "Me and Mr. Jones". The lyrics are as follows: "Aside from Sammy you're my best black Jew."
A black and white portrait of Davis, drawn by Jim Blanchard, adorns the cover of avant-garde rock band Oxbow's
Oxbow (band)
Oxbow is a long-lived Avant-Garde band out of San Francisco, California notable for a unique sound. Oxbow plays a blend of Noise rock, Avant-garde jazz, Musique concrète , and Blues, creating soundscapes caustic, or plangent, with overtones of paranoia, revulsion, exaltation.-Current line-up:*Dan...
second album King Of The Jews.
Midwest radio personality Kevin Matthews impersonated Sammy Davis, Jr. many times on his radio show.
Comedian Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
has portrayed Davis on stage in a stand up routine.
Grammy Awards
| Year | Category | Song | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Grammy Hall of Fame Award | "What Kind of Fool Am I? What Kind of Fool Am I? "What Kind of Fool Am I?" is a popular song written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and published in 1962. It was introduced by Anthony Newley in the musical Stop The World - I Want To Get Off... " |
Inducted | Recorded in 1962 |
| 2001 | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."... |
Winner | ||
| 1972 | Pop Male Vocalist | "Candy Man The Candy Man "The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... " |
Nominee | |
| 1962 | Record of the Year | "What Kind of Fool Am I" | Nominee | |
| 1962 | Male Solo Vocal Performance | "What Kind of Fool Am I" | Nominee |
Emmy Awards
| Year | Category | Program | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy | Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration | Winner | |
| 1989 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Cosby Show The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992... |
Nominee |
| 1980 | Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Daytime Drama Series | One Life to Live One Life to Live One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social... |
Nominee |
| 1966 | Outstanding Variety Special | The Swinging World of Sammy Davis Jr. | Nominee |
| 1956 | Best Specialty Act — Single or Group | Sammy Davis Jr. | Nominee |
Other honors
| Year | Category | Organization | Program | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | International Civil Rights Walk of Fame |
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site established on October 10, 1980, consists of several buildings surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr.'s boyhood home on Auburn Avenue in the Sweet Auburn historic district of Atlanta, Georgia. The original Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church where King... |
Inducted | |
| 2006 | Las Vegas Walk of Stars | front of Riviera Hotel Riviera (hotel and casino) The Riviera is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The hotel has over 2,100 rooms, many located in a 23-story tower. The casino has of gaming space.-History:... |
Inducted | |
| 1989 | NAACP Image Award NAACP Image Award - Hall of Fame Award The NAACP Image Award winners for the Hall of Fame Award:... |
NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to... |
Winner | |
| 1987 | Kennedy Center Honors Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and... |
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts |
Honoree | |
| 1977 | Best TV Actor — Musical/Comedy | Golden Globe Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Sammy and Company (1975) | Nominee |
| 1974 | Special Citation Award | National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country.... |
Winner | |
| 1968 | NAACP Spingarn Medal Award Spingarn Medal The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American.... |
NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to... |
Winner | |
| 1965 | Best Actor — Musical | Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Golden Boy | Nominee |
| 1960 | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Star at 6254 Hollywood Blvd. |
Filmography
- Rufus Jones for PresidentRufus Jones for PresidentRufus Jones for President is a 1933 satirical musical-comedy short subject directed by Roy Mack, starring Ethel Waters and Sammy Davis, Jr. in his first onscreen appearance...
(1933) - Seasoned Greetings (1933)
- Sweet and Low (1947)
- Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
- Anna LucastaAnna Lucasta (1959 film)Anna Lucasta is a 1959 film directed by Arnold Laven. It stars Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis Jr.. “Anna Lucasta” was written by Chicago born Philip Yordan son of Polish immigrants; a versatile and successful Oscar winning film writer, whom wrote westerns, historical epics, thrillers, and sci-fi...
(1959) - Porgy and Bess (1959)
- Ocean's ElevenOcean's Eleven (1960 film)Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....
(1960) - PepePepe (film)Pepe is a 1960 film starring Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno in the title role, directed by George Sidney. A multitude of cameo appearances attempted to replicate the success of Mario Moreno's American debut, notably Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by Mike Todd in 1956.The film failed to...
(1960) - Sergeants 3 (1962)
- The Threepenny OperaThe Threepenny OperaThe Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
(1962) - Convicts 4Convicts 4Convicts 4 is a 1962 prison film drama starring Ben Gazzara and directed by Millard Kaufman. A true story, it is based on the autobiography of John Resko, Reprieve.- Plot summary :...
(1962) - Johnny Cool (1963)
- Robin and the 7 HoodsRobin and the 7 HoodsRobin and the 7 Hoods is a 1964 American musical film that transplants the Robin Hood legend to a 1930s Chicago gangster setting. Directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by Frank Sinatra, with a screenplay by David R. Schwartz, the movie stars members of the Rat Pack as well as Bing Crosby, Peter...
(1964) - Nightmare in the SunNightmare in the SunNightmare in the Sun is a film drama directed by John Derek and Marc Lawrence, and written by George Fass and Fanya Foss, about a murderous affair....
(1965) - The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World (1965)(title song)
- A Man Called AdamA Man Called AdamA Man Called Adam are the British electronic music artists Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones.Recording for DJ Gilles Peterson’s fledgling Acid Jazz Records label, A Man Called Adam found that it was the remixed B-sides, "Techno Powers" and "Amoeba" - electronic versions of the A-side tracks, that...
(1966) - Alice in Wonderland (or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)Alice in Wonderland (or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)The New Alice in Wonderland is a forty-eight-and-a-half-minute animated TV-movie, written by Bill Dana , produced by Hanna-Barbera, and broadcast on the ABC network on March 30, 1966, in an hour slot...
(1966) - Salt and Pepper (1968)
- The Fall (1969)
- Sweet CharitySweet Charity (film)Sweet Charity, full title of which is Sweet Charity: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved, is a 1969 American musical film directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, written by Neil Simon, and with music by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields...
(1969) - One More TimeOne More Time (film)One More Time is a comedy film, directed by Jerry Lewis and starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford. It was filmed in 1969 and released in May, 1970 by United Artists. It is a sequel to the 1968 film Salt and Pepper.-Synopsis:...
(1970) - Elvis: That's the Way It IsElvis: That's the Way it IsElvis: That's the Way It Is is a documentary movie directed by Denis Sanders about Elvis Presley that was released on November 11, 1970. The film documents Elvis' Summer Festival in Las Vegas during August 1970...
(1970) - Diamonds Are ForeverDiamonds Are Forever (film)Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
(1971; deleted scene) - Save the Children (1973)
- Gone with the West (1975)
- Sammy Stops the WorldStop the World - I Want to Get OffStop the World – I Want to Get Off is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.Set against the backdrop of a circus, it focuses on Littlechap, whose first major step towards improving his lot is to marry Evie, his boss's daughter...
(1978) - The Cannonball RunThe Cannonball Run (film)The Cannonball Run is a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett, and was directed by Hal Needham. It was produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films. There was a sequel, 1984's Cannonball Run II.-Plot:...
(1981) - Heidi's SongHeidi's SongHeidi's Song is a 1982 animated musical feature film produced by Hanna-Barbera. The film is based on the novel Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Among the voice cast of the film are Lorne Greene as Grandfather, Margery Gray as Heidi and Sammy Davis Jr...
(1982) - Cracking UpCracking Up (film)Cracking Up is a comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. Originally titled Smorgasbord, it was filmed in June 1982 and only received limited distribution in the United States....
(1983) - Broadway Danny RoseBroadway Danny RoseBroadway Danny Rose is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen. It was screened out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :...
(1984) - Cannonball Run IICannonball Run IISee also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy DashCannonball Run II comedy film featuring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest...
(1984) - Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1985 film)Alice in Wonderland is a two-part film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice books. An Irwin Allen production, it was a special made for television and used a huge all-star cast of notable actors and actresses. The title role was played by 10-year-old Natalie Gregory, who wore a blonde wig for this...
(1985) - That's Dancing!That's Dancing!That's Dancing! is a 1985 retrospective documentary produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that looked back at the history of dancing in film. Unlike the That's Entertainment! series, this film did not focus specifically on MGM films and included more recent performances by the likes of John Travolta and...
(1985) - Knights of the CityKnights of the CityKnights of the City is a 1986 action adventure film starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, Nicholas Campbell, John Mengatti and Janine Turner. It was directed by Dominic Orlando and written by Leon Isaac Kennedy and filmed in Miami, Ft...
(1986) - The Perils of P.K. (1986)
- Moon Over ParadorMoon Over ParadorMoon over Parador is a 1988 romantic comedy film, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Raúl Juliá and Sonia Braga. It is a remake of the 1939 film The Magnificent Fraud, based on the unpublished short story entitled Caviar for His Excellency by Charles G...
(1988) - TapTap (film)Tap is a 1989 film drama written and directed by Nick Castle. It stars Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr.-Plot:Max Washington, just released from prison after serving time for burglary, is a talented tap dancer...
(1989) - The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990, last role)
Stage
- Mr. WonderfulMr. Wonderful (musical)Mr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
(1957), musical - Golden BoyGolden Boy (musical)Golden Boy is a musical with a book by Clifford Odets and William Gibson, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.Based on the 1937 play of the same name by Odets, it focuses on Joe Wellington, a young man from Harlem who, despite his family's objections, turns to prizefighting as a means...
(1964), musical - Tony Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical - Sammy (1974), special performance featuring Davis with the Nicholas BrothersNicholas BrothersThe Nicholas Brothers were a famous African American team of dancing brothers, Fayard and Harold . With their highly acrobatic technique , high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many the greatest tap dancers of their day...
- Stop the World - I Want to Get OffStop the World - I Want to Get OffStop the World – I Want to Get Off is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.Set against the backdrop of a circus, it focuses on Littlechap, whose first major step towards improving his lot is to marry Evie, his boss's daughter...
(1978) musical revivalRevival (play)A revival is a restaging of a stage production after its original run has closed. New material may be added. A filmed version is said to be an adaptation and requires writing of a screenplay....
TV
- The RiflemanThe RiflemanThe Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
- In the episode "Two Ounces of Tin (#4.21)" (19 February 1962), Davis portrays Tip Corey and he has a reputation as a ruthless killer. Micah tells him to ride out of town and Corey refuses and delivers Micah an ultimatum...take his badge off and throw it into the dirt by sundown or he'll kill him. Lucas convinces Micah that Corey won't be back by sundown so Micah leaves on business and Lucas pins on the badge. The threat still holds and Corey delivers his ultimatum to Lucas. - Ben CaseyBen CaseyBen Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
- In the episode "Allie" (1963), Davis portrays Allie Burns, a professional baseball player who loses his eye in an accident. - The Patty Duke ShowThe Patty Duke ShowThe Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
In "Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?" (1965), Davis plays himself. Patty needs to arrange for a Hollywood star to perform at her high school prom. Davis notices Patty wearing a sandwich sign asking for help from any Hollywood star. Sammy wants to help Patty out but Davis' agent does not like the idea and does not contact Patty. Davis contacts Patty by phone but she does not believe it is him. He then arrives at the prom and performs. - I Dream of JeannieI Dream of JeannieI Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
- In the episode "The Greatest Entertainer in the World" (1967), Tony needs Davis to entertain for General Peterson's 10th anniversary at NASA, but he is previously booked. Jeannie comes to the rescue by creating a duplicate of Davis. - All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
- In "Sammy's Visit" (1972), Davis plays himself. He leaves his briefcase in Archie BunkerArchie BunkerArchibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
's cab and goes to Archie's house to retrieve it. He meets Archie, Edith, Mike, Gloria, and Lionel Jefferson. When Davis and Archie talk, Davis quickly discovers that Archie is prejudiced, even though Archie believes that he is not. During a family conversation Archie has before Sammy arrives, Archie tells the others to avoid mentioning Sammy's glass eye. Archie then asks Sammy, "Would you like cream and sugar in your eye?" meaning to say coffee. At the end of the show, Munson, the owner of the cab who brings back the briefcase, takes a photo of Archie and Sammy. Right before the camera flashes, Davis kisses Archie on the cheek, to Archie's surprise. Davis returns in the 1980 episode "The Return of Sammy" in Archie Bunker's PlaceArchie Bunker's PlaceArchie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
. - The JeffersonsThe JeffersonsThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
In "What Makes Sammy Run?" (1984), Davis plays himself, where he is staying at an apartment directly next door to the Jeffersons'. Only Louise knows he is there, and Sammy asks her to hide his presence until he leaves. - Gimme a Break - in "The Lookalike" (1985)
- The Cosby ShowThe Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
- In "No Way, Baby" (1989), Davis plays Ray Palomino, the grandfather of one of Dr. Huxtable's patients; Ray turns out to be hiding the fact that he is illiterate.
See also
- Rat PackRat PackThe Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
- Jews and Judaism in the African diaspora
- List of notable Hispanics from the United States
Autobiographies
- Yes, I Can (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1965) ISBN 0-374-52268-5
- Why Me? (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1980) ISBN 0-446-36025-2
- Sammy (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (2000) ISBN 0-374-29355-4; consolidates the two previous books and includes additional material
- Hollywood in a Suitcase (1980) ISBN 0-425-05091-2
Biographies
- Haygood, Wil. (2003) In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823083954
- Birkbeck, Matt. (2008) Deconstructing Sammy. Amistad. ISBN 9780061450662
- Silber, Jr., Arthur (2003) "Sammy Davis, Jr: Me and My Shadow, Samart Enterprises, ISBN 0965567559