Sammy davis jr last photo
- •
Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-90) rose from childhood stardom on the vaudeville stage to become one of the most famous African American entertainers of the 1950s and '60s (and the only black member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack). At the same time, he spent most of his career surrounded by controversy and ridicule--over his affairs with white film stars, his 1960 marriage to Swedish actress May Britt, his conversion to Judaism, his closeness to the Kennedys (and later Richard Nixon), and his problems with alcohol and drugs.
When Davis published his first memoir, Yes, I Can, in 1965, it was a critical and popular success--acclaimed for a candor and thoughtfulness rare in celebrity autobiographies and for its painful evocation of life as a black peformer in segregated America. Davis's 1980 memoir, Why Me?, laid bare Davis's troubled relationship to the Kennedys, his ambivalence toward the Black Pride movement, the end of his marriage to Britt (and his complex open marriage with Altovise Davis), and his flamboyant, self-loathing misbehavior, from ruinous extravagance to flirtations with Satan
- •
Sammy Davis Jr.
(1925-1990)
Who Was Sammy Davis Jr.?
Sammy Davis Jr. overcame prevailing racism to establish himself as an entertainment legend, becoming a successful comedian, actor, dancer and singer. As part of the Rat Pack, with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Davis was known for films like Ocean's 11 and Sergeants 3 along with his partying ways. As his fame grew, his refusal to appear in any clubs that practiced racial segregation led to the integration of several venues in Miami Beach and Las Vegas. A Tony-nominated performer, Davis was also associated with popular recordings like "I've Gotta Be Me" and the No. 1 hit "The Candy Man." He died of throat cancer on May 16, 1990.
Childhood on the Road
Samuel George Davis Jr. was born on December 8, 1925, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, with the infant initially raised by his paternal grandmother. Davis's parents split up when he was 3 and he went to live with his father, who was working as an entertainer in a dance troupe. When his father and adopted uncle went on tour, Davis was broug
- •
Sammy Davis Jr.
American singer and actor (1925–1990)
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician.
At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became a sensation following key nightclub performances at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) in 1951, including one after the Academy Awards ceremony. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced both by black Americans and Jewish communities.[2] In 1958, he faced a backlash for his involvement with a white woman at a time when interracial relationships were taboo in the U.S. and when interracial marriage was not legalized nationwide until 1967.[3]
Davis had a starring role on Broadway in Mr. Wond
Copyright ©dewpant.pages.dev 2025