Sammy Davis Jr.

{{Short description|American singer and actor (1925–1990)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Sammy Davis Jr. | image = Sammy Davis Jr. 1972.jpg | caption = Davis in 1972 | birth_name = Samuel George Davis Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date|1925|12|8}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1990|5|16|1925|12|8}} | death_place = Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|actor|comedian|dancer}} | years_active = 1928–1990<ref>{{cite web|author=Edward J. Boyer|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-sammy-davis-jr-19900517-story.html?_amp=true|title=From the Archives: Consummate Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Dies at 64| website=Los Angeles Times |date=May 17, 1990|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref> | spouse = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Loray White|1958|1959|end=div}}|{{marriage|May Britt|1960|1968|end=div}}|{{marriage|Altovise Gore|1970}}}} | children = 4 | parents = {{unbulleted list|Sammy Davis Sr.|Elvera Sanchez}} | website = {{URL|sammydavisjr.com}} | module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes |genre = {{flatlist|class=nowraplinks| * Traditional pop * big band * jazz * easy listening * show tunes * swing * blues}} |instrument = {{flatlist| * Vocals * piano * drums * vibraphone }} |label = {{flatlist|class=nowraplinks| * Decca * Reprise * Verve * Motown * MGM * RCA * 20th Century * Applause }} | past_member_of = Rat Pack }} | module2 = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes | allegiance = United States | branch = United States Army | branch_label = Branch | service_years_label = Service&nbsp;years | service_years = 1944–1945 | rank = Private | unit = {{plainlist| * Special Services}} | battles = World War II | battles_label = War }} }} '''Samuel George Davis Jr.''' (December 8, 1925&nbsp;– May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician.

At age four, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. His film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and produced 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, Davis lost his left eye in a car accident. Two years later Davis, who was Black, faced backlash for his involvement with a white actress, at a time when interracial relationships were taboo in the U.S. and when interracial marriage was not yet legalized nationwide (until 1967).<ref>Lanzendorfer, Joy (August 9, 2017) [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hollywood-loved-sammy-davis-jr-until-he-dated-white-movie-star-180964395/ "Hollywood Loved Sammy Davis Jr. Until He Dated a White Movie Star"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126093738/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hollywood-loved-sammy-davis-jr-until-he-dated-white-movie-star-180964395/ |date=January 26, 2021 }}, ''Smithsonian''. Retrieved April 17, 2024.</ref> In 1960, Davis converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by both African Americans and Jewish Americans.<ref name="biography1">[http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-davis-jr-9268223 Sammy Davis Jr. Biography]. Biography.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.</ref>

Davis had a starring role on Broadway in ''Mr. Wonderful'' with Chita Rivera (1956). In 1960, he appeared in the Rat Pack film ''Ocean's 11''. He returned to the stage in 1964 in ''Golden Boy'', a musical adaptation of Clifford Odets's play of the same name. Davis was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. The show featured the first interracial kiss on Broadway.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Paula Wayne, Golden-Voiced Broadway Star of Golden Boy, Dead at 84|url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/194019/paula-wayne-golden-voiced-broadway-star-of-golden-boy-dead-at-84/|access-date=November 21, 2020|website=Broadway.com|language=en}}</ref> In 1966, he had his own TV variety show, titled ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show''. While Davis's career slowed in the late 1960s, his biggest hit, "The Candy Man", reached the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June 1972, and he became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business".<ref>Casey Kasem's American Top 40 – The 70's from April 29 & May 6, 1972.</ref> Davis's popularity helped break the race barrier of the segregated entertainment industry.<ref name="Kashner"/> 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 who's Jewish."<ref name="Time1960">[https://web.archive.org/web/20071120194124/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826061,00.html ''Religion: Jewish Negro'' ] ''Time'' February 1, 1960.</ref><ref>Sammy Davis Jr. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OkbpkXl3lMwC&pg=PA124 "Is My Mixed Marriage Mixing Up My Kids"], ''Ebony'', October 1966, p. 124.</ref> This was to become a signature comment.<ref>Rebecca Dube, [http://www.forward.com/articles/106316/ "Menorah Illuminates Davis Jr.'s Judaism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527091557/http://www.forward.com/articles/106316/ |date=May 27, 2009 }}, ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', May 29, 2009.</ref>

After reuniting with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before his death in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service,<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94640586 Sammy Davis, Jr.'s 'Music, Money, Madness'] – NPR.</ref> and his estate was the subject of legal battles after the death of his wife.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestreet.com/story/10749525/1/legalzoom-will-upheld-in-sammy-davis-jr-estate-battle.html|title=LegalZoom Will Upheld In Sammy Davis, Jr. Estate Battle|work=GlobeNewswire|date=May 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719024334/https://www.thestreet.com/story/10749525/1/legalzoom-will-upheld-in-sammy-davis-jr-estate-battle.html|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Davis's final album, the country-influenced ''Closest of Friends'' (1982), was a departure from his usual musical style.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sammy Davis, Jr. - Closest Of Friends |url=http://sammydavisjr.info/music/releases/original-albums/closest-of-friends/ |access-date=August 20, 2024 |website=SammyDavisJr.Info |language=en-US}}</ref> Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Primetime Emmy Award for his television performances. He was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, Davis was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

==Early life== Davis was born on December 8, 1925, in the Harlem district of Manhattan in New York City, the son of African-American entertainer and stage performer Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988) and Cuban-American tap dancer and stage performer Elvera Sanchez (1905–2000).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E5DB1239F93BA3575AC0A9669C8B63 |title=Obituary: Elvera Davis, 95, Tap Dancer And Mother of Sammy Davis Jr.|date=September 8, 2000|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330193938/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/08/arts/elvera-davis-95-tap-dancer-and-mother-of-sammy-davis-jr.html |archive-date=March 30, 2018}}</ref> During his lifetime, Davis stated that his mother was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan. However, in the 2003 biography ''In Black and White'', author Wil Haygood wrote that Davis's mother was born in New York City to Cuban parents who were of Afro-Cuban background, and that Davis claimed she was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales.<ref>{{cite magazine | title=What Made Sammy Dance? | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005947,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114161328/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005947,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 14, 2010 | magazine=Time | date=October 23, 2003 | access-date=May 14, 2008}}</ref><ref name=Haygood516>{{cite book | url = https://archive.org/details/inblackwhitelife00haygo/page/516 | access-date = April 29, 2006 | title = In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Junior | first = Wil | last = Haygood | publisher = A. A. Knopf (Random House) | location = New York | page = [https://archive.org/details/inblackwhitelife00haygo/page/516 516] | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-375-40354-X }}</ref>

Davis's parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was reared 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 godfather Will Mastin. 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, for example by dismissing race-based snubs as jealousy.

However, when Davis served in the United States Army during World War II, he was confronted by strong 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 18 years, a door which they had always secretly held open."<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Davis | first1 = Sammy Jr. | last2 = Boyar | first2 = Jane |last3=Boyar|first3=Burt|title=Sammy: An Autobiography: with Material Newly Revised from Yes I Can and Why Me? | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yugNi3r5mIYC&pg=PA46|access-date=August 17, 2017|year=2000|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-0-374-29355-0|pages=46–}}</ref>

At age seven, Davis played the title role in the film ''Rufus Jones for President'', in which he sang and danced with Ethel Waters.<ref>[https://www.proquest.com/docview/1745068321 "Rufus Jones for President"], ''British Film Institute'', (1933)</ref> He lived for several years in Boston's South End and reminisced years later about "hoofing and singing" at Izzy Ort's Bar & Grille.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Santosuosso|first1=Ernie|title=Sammy Davis Jr., Entertainer for Six Decades, Dies at 64|work=The Boston Globe|date=May 17, 1990}}</ref>

==Military service== In 1944, during World War II, Davis was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 18.<ref name="army">{{cite web|url=https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=338172|title=Davis, Samuel G., Jr., Pvt|access-date=June 5, 2019|website=Army.togetherweserved.com|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807013925/https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=338172|url-status=live}}</ref> He was frequently abused by white soldiers from the South and later recounted: "I must have had a knockdown, drag-out fight every two days." His nose was broken numerous times and permanently flattened. At one point he was offered a beer laced with urine.<ref name="Kashner"/>

He was reassigned to the Army's Special Services branch, which put on performances for troops.<ref>{{cite book|page=57|last=Monod|first= David |title=Settling scores: German Music, Denazification, & the Americans, 1945–1953|publisher= UNC Press|year= 2005}}</ref> At one show he found himself performing in front of soldiers who had previously racially abused him.<ref name="army"/> Davis, who earned the American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal, was discharged in 1945 with the rank of private.<ref name="army"/> He later said, "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."<ref>{{cite web | title=Sammy Davis Jr. | url=http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/people/sammy_davis.htm | publisher=Oral Cancer Foundation | date=February 6, 2008 | access-date=May 14, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209163303/http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/people/sammy_davis.htm | archive-date=February 9, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

While in Paris in September 1944, he found himself being introduced and guided around the city by a French resistance fighter and left-wing journalist, Madeleine Riffaud.<ref name="mons">{{cite book |last1=Mons |first1=Isabelle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5GwDwAAQBAJ&q=+%22ce+soir%22&pg=PT137 |title=Madeleine Riffaud: L'esprit de résistance |date=2019-10-09 |publisher=Payot |isbn=978-2-228-92432-0 |pages=108–109 |language=fr |access-date=2024-06-21}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

==Career== ===1940s=== Following his discharge from the Army, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland, Oregon. He also recorded blues songs for Capitol Records in 1949 under the pseudonyms Shorty Muggins and Charlie Green.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eagle|first1=Bob L.|last2=Leblanc|first2=Eric|title=Blues: A Regional Experience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZNfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA260|access-date=January 15, 2016|date=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=261|isbn=9780313344244}}</ref>

===1950s=== {{Main|Rat Pack}} In March 1951, the Will Mastin Trio appeared at Ciro's as the opening act for headliner Janis Paige. They were to perform for only 20 minutes, but the reaction from the celebrity-filled crowd was so enthusiastic, especially when Davis launched into his impressions, that they performed for nearly an hour, and Paige insisted the order of the show be flipped.<ref name="Kashner">{{cite magazine |last1=Kashner |first1=Sam |title=The Color of Love |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1999/03/sammy-davis-kim-novak-dating |access-date=October 6, 2019 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=September 2013 |language=en |archive-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025111607/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1999/03/sammy-davis-kim-novak-dating |url-status=live }}</ref> Davis began to achieve success on his own and was singled out for praise by critics, releasing several albums.<ref>E.g. ''Billboard'', July 25, 1953, p. 11.</ref>

In 1953, Davis was offered his own television show on ABC, ''Three for the Road—with the Will Mastin Trio''.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=April 9, 1953|title=Report Sammy Davis Signs $100,000 TV Pact|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrsDAAAAMBAJ&q=jet+1953+sammy+davis+television+show&pg=PA59|journal=Jet|volume=3|issue=22|page=59}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|date=July 30, 1953|title=Forecast: Sammy Davis In 3-D|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkIDAAAAMBAJ&q=jet+1953+sammy+davis+television+show&pg=PA11|magazine=Jet|volume=4|issue=12|page=11}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/inblackwhitelife00haygo/page/148|title=In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.|last=Haygood|first=Wil|publisher=New York : A.A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House|year=2003|isbn=9780375403545|pages=[https://archive.org/details/inblackwhitelife00haygo/page/148 148-149]}}</ref> The network spent $20,000 filming the pilot, which presented African Americans as struggling musicians, not slapstick comedy or the stereotypical mammy roles of the time. The cast included Frances Davis, who was the first black ballerina to perform for the Paris Opera, actresses Ruth Attaway and Jane White, and Frederick O'Neal, who founded the American Negro Theater. The network could not get a sponsor, so the show was dropped.<ref name=":0"/>

[[File:Sammy Davis Jr. Steve Allen Steve Allen Show 1956.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Davis and host Steve Allen rehearsing for the premiere of ''The Steve Allen Show'' in 1956]] In 1954, Davis was hired to sing the title song for the Universal Pictures film ''Six Bridges to Cross''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Haygood|first=Wil|title=In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3R1aAAAAMAAJ|access-date=January 14, 2011|date=October 7, 2003|publisher=A. A. Knopf|page=156|isbn=9780375403545}}</ref><ref name="GreatThingsBio">{{cite book|last=Fishgall|first=Gary|title=Gonna Do Great Things: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743227414|url-access=registration|access-date=January 14, 2011|date=September 30, 2003|publisher=Scribner|isbn=978-0-7432-2741-4}}</ref> In 1956, he starred in the Broadway musical ''Mr. Wonderful'', which was panned by critics but was a commercial success, closing after 383 performances.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=October 24, 1956|page=1|title=Jr. Davis Carves 'Turkey' Into B.O. Winner Vs. Critics}}</ref>

In 1958, Davis was hired to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest for the famed fourteenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr., held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, Ernie Freeman, and Bo Rhambo. The event featured the top four prominent disc jockeys of Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamboogietrium00gura|title=Dream boogie : the triumph of Sam Cooke|last=Guralnick, Peter.|date=2005|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=0316377945|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=57393650}}</ref><ref>"Sammy Davis Jr will crown..." Photo caption Mirror News July 31, 1958.</ref>

In 1959, Davis became a member of the Rat Pack, led by his friend Frank Sinatra, which included fellow performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, a brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Davis voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the Ku Klux Klan. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit". One long night of poker that went on into the early morning saw the men drunken and disheveled. As Angie Dickinson approached the group, she said, "You all look like a pack of rats." The nickname caught on, and they were then called the Rat Pack, the name of the earlier group led by Humphrey Bogart and his wife, Lauren Bacall, who originally made the remark about the "pack of rats" they associated with.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}{{Clarify|date=February 2026}}

===1960s=== The group around Sinatra made several movies together, including ''Ocean's 11'' (1960), ''Sergeants 3'' (1962), and ''Robin and the 7 Hoods'' (1964), and they performed onstage together in Las Vegas. In 1964, Davis was the first African American to sing at the Copacabana night club in New York.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.3366/cult.2015.0083| title=Sammy Davis, Jr: Public Image and Politics| year=2015| last1=Raymond| first1=Emilie| journal=Cultural History| volume=4| issue=1| pages=42–63}}</ref>

Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, but owing to Jim Crow practices in Las Vegas, 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 where his white colleagues were housed.. 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, or dine or drink in the hotel restaurants and bars. Davis later refused to work at places that practiced racial segregation.<ref>Sammy Davis Jr., Burt Boyar, and Jane Boyar, ''Sammy: The Autobiography of Sammy Davis Jr.'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000).</ref>

Canada provided opportunities for performers like Davis unable to break the color barrier in American broadcast television, and in 1959 he starred in his own TV special, ''Sammy's Parade'', on the Canadian network CBC.<ref>{{citation | last = Parris | first= Amanda | title= CBC's digging up its music archives, and it couldn't have happened at a better time | publisher = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | date= April 25, 2018 |url= https://www.cbc.ca/arts/cbc-s-digging-up-its-music-archives-and-it-couldn-t-have-happened-at-a-better-time-1.4907416 }}</ref> It was a breakthrough event for the performer, as in the United States in the 1950s corporate sponsors largely controlled the screen: "Black people [were] not portrayed very well on television, if at all", according to Jason King of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.<ref>{{citation | title = Sammy Davis Jr. on Parade | publisher = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | date = November 15, 2018 | url = https://www.cbc.ca/television/fromthevaults/sammy-davis-jr-on-parade-1.4903261 }}</ref>

thumb|left|upright|Davis performing in 1966 In 1964, Davis was starring in ''Golden Boy'' at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} When he could get a day off from the theater, he recorded songs in the studio, performed at charity events in Chicago, Miami, and Las Vegas, or appeared on television variety specials in Los Angeles. Davis felt he was cheating his family of his company, but he said he was incapable of standing still.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast a musical-variety special featuring Nancy Sinatra, titled ''Movin' with Nancy''. In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is notable for Nancy Sinatra and Davis greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses on American television.<ref>{{cite interview|last=Sinatra|first=Nancy|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0006/17/lklw.00.html|interviewer=Larry King|work=Larry King Live|publisher=CNN|date=June 17, 2000|title=Nancy Sinatra Reminisces|access-date=March 12, 2008|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225181417/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0006/17/lklw.00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley in the late 1960s, as they both were top-draw acts in Las Vegas at the same time. Davis was in many ways just as reclusive during his hotel gigs as Presley was, holding parties mainly in his penthouse suite that were occasionally attended by Presley. Davis sang a version of Presley's song "In the Ghetto" and made a cameo appearance in Presley's 1970 concert film ''Elvis: That's the Way It Is''. One year later, he made a cameo appearance in the James Bond film ''Diamonds Are Forever'', but the scene was cut. In Japan, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee and Suntory Whiskey. In the United States he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Although he was still popular in Las Vegas, he saw his musical career decline by the late 1960s. He had a No.&nbsp;11 hit (No. 1 on the Easy Listening singles chart) with "I've Gotta Be Me" in 1969. He signed with Motown to update his sound and appeal to young people.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chadbourne|first1=Eugene|title=Sammy Davis Jr. Now|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sammy-davis-jr-now-mw0000893027|website=AllMusic|access-date=May 14, 2008}}</ref>

===1970s=== thumb|Davis at home in 1986 Davis had an unexpected No.&nbsp;1 hit with "The Candy Man" with MGM Records in 1972. He did not particularly care for the song and was chagrined that he had become known for it, but Davis made the most of his opportunity and revitalized his career.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy popularity with his 1976 performance of the theme song from the ''Baretta'' television series, "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)" (1975–1978), which was released as a single (20th Century Records).

On May 27–28, 1973, Davis hosted (with Monty Hall) the first annual 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation telethon. Guests included Muhammad Ali, Paul Anka, Jack Barry, Joyce Brothers, Ray Charles, Dick Clark, Roy Clark, Howard Cosell, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Joe Franklin, Cliff Gorman, Richie Havens, Danny Kaye,<ref>{{cite news| last = Davis | first = Sammy Jr.| title = Advertisement thanking the participants| newspaper = Daily News|location=New York | page = 55| date = June 22, 1973}}</ref> Jerry Lewis, Hal Linden, Rich Little, Butterfly McQueen, Minnie Pearl, Boots Randolph, Tex Ritter, Phil Rizzuto, The Rockettes, Nipsey Russell, Sally Struthers, Mel Tillis, Ben Vereen, and Lawrence Welk. It was a financial disaster. The total amount of pledges was $1.2&nbsp;million. Actual pledges received were $525,000.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->| title = The Highway Safety Foundation: A Chronology| publisher = Documenting reality|year = 1973| url = http://www.documentingreality.com/forum/f240/highway-safety-foundation-chronology-list-scare-films-were-released-54541/| access-date =March 5, 2014}}</ref>

Davis was also a self confessed lover of game shows, appearing on ''Family Feud'' in 1979 and ''Tattletales'' with his wife Altovise in 1975.

===1980s=== Davis was a huge fan of daytime television, particularly the soap operas produced by the American Broadcasting Company. He made a cameo appearance on ''General Hospital'' and had a recurring role as Chip Warren on ''One Life to Live'', for which he received a 1980 Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Davis was also a massive fan of Australian cult soap opera ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' and in 1986 he famously visited the Network 10 studios in Melbourne. Davis watched several scenes being filmed and met with cast and crew. He described the experience as not knowing who was more starstruck{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{spaces|2|hair}}him for meeting the cast of Prisoner or the cast for meeting Davis.

In 1988, Davis was billed to tour with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, but Sinatra and Martin had a falling out.<ref name=":4"/> Liza Minnelli replaced Martin on the tour dubbed as <nowiki>''The Ultimate Event''</nowiki>.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/4547bd3522221968f1506f8cce143f18|title=Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr. Announce Concert Tour|date=April 14, 1988|website=AP NEWS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Connor|first=John J.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/05/arts/review-television-with-sammy-davis-the-spirit-lingers.html|title=Review/Television; With Sammy Davis, the Spirit Lingers|date=July 5, 1990|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 29, 2020|access-date=February 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229105543/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/05/arts/review-television-with-sammy-davis-the-spirit-lingers.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During the tour in 1989, Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer; his treatments prevented him from performing.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|date=September 25, 1990|title=Sammy Davis Jr. Treated For Throat Malignancy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7sDAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy+davis+lize+frank&pg=PA54|journal=Jet|pages=54–55}}</ref><ref name=":6"/>

==Political beliefs and activism== [[File:Sammy Davis Jr.jpg|thumb|upright|Davis during the 1963 March on Washington]] Davis was a registered Democrat and supported John F. Kennedy's 1960 election campaign as well as Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 campaign.<ref name=pi>{{cite news |title=Sammy Davis Jr. Succumbs To Cancer |url=http://articles.philly.com/1990-05-17/news/25886490_1_sammy-davis-throat-cancer-candy-man |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919115958/http://articles.philly.com/1990-05-17/news/25886490_1_sammy-davis-throat-cancer-candy-man |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 19, 2015 |access-date=October 11, 2015 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 17, 1990}}</ref> He went on to become a close friend of President Richard Nixon (a Republican) and publicly endorsed him at the 1972 Republican National Convention.<ref name=pi/><ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-09-14 |title=The Hug |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2003/09/14/the-hug/0a2746a1-88fa-4738-9d96-4ee0e84c1118/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Davis also made a USO tour to South Vietnam at Nixon's request.

In February 1972, during the latter stages of the Vietnam War, Davis went to Vietnam to observe military drug abuse rehabilitation programs and talk to and entertain the troops. He did this as a representative from Richard Nixon's Special Action Office For Drug Abuse Prevention.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://recoveryteam.tv/sammy-davis-jrs-1972-presidential-mission-to-vietnam/|title=Sammy Davis Jr's 1972 Presidential Mission to Vietnam|date=July 8, 2016|website=Recoveryteam.tv}}</ref> He performed shows for up to 15,000 troops; after one two-hour performance he reportedly said, "I've never been so tired and felt so good in my life."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stripes.com/sammy-davis-jr-in-vietnam-1972-1.244024|title=Sammy Davis Jr. in Vietnam, 1972|date=September 29, 2013|newspaper=Stars and Stripes}}</ref> The U.S. Army made a documentary about Davis's time in Vietnam performing for troops on behalf of Nixon's drug treatment program.<ref>{{YouTube|s4ROtjTkb8A|Sammy Davis Jr. in Vietnam, 1972 Documentary}}</ref>

[[File:Davis Nixon 1973.jpg|thumb|upright|In the Yellow Oval Room of the White House with President Richard Nixon, March 4, 1973]] Nixon invited Davis and his wife Altovise to sleep in the White House in 1973, the first time African Americans were invited to do so. The Davises spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom.<ref>Early, G. L. (2001). The Sammy Davis Jr. reader. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.</ref>

Davis later said he regretted supporting Nixon, accusing him of making promises on civil rights that he did not keep.{{Failed verification|date=December 2025}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/17/obituaries/sammy-davis-jr-dies-at-64-top-showman-broke-barriers.html |title=Sammy Davis Jr. Dies at 64; Top Showman Broke Barriers |work=The New York Times |date=May 17, 1990 |last1=Flint |first1=Peter B. |archive-date=July 9, 2014 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709213133/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/17/obituaries/sammy-davis-jr-dies-at-64-top-showman-broke-barriers.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Davis attended the 1972 Black Exposition in Chicago organized by Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH where he referenced his newfound unpopularity due to his endorsement stating, "disagree, if you will, with my politics, but I will not allow anyone to take away the fact that I am black," and performed his classic I've Gotta Be Me.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=2024-11-04 |title='Save the Children,' Long-Lost '70s Concert Film With the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Staple Singers and Other Black Superstars, Gets a Netflix Rebirth |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/save-the-children-netflix-70s-concert-film-jackson-5-marvin-gaye-1236199144/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Black Supporters of President Under Fire |date=October 17, 1972 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/17/archives/black-supporters-of-president-under-fire-sammy-davis-a-key-target.html |quote=Sammy Davis Jr. was repeatedly booed two weeks ago at the annual Black Expo in Chicago, and a record shop owner here in Washington has stopped selling the entertainer's recordings.}}</ref> Davis later supported Jesse Jackson{{'}}s 1984 campaign for president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Davis supports Jackson |newspaper=Minden Press-Herald |date=February 6, 1984 |page=1}}</ref>

==Personal life== ===Accident and conversion to Judaism=== alt=Davis in the Western Wall, Jerusalem, during a tour in Israel, 1969.|thumb|upright|Davis at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, during a tour of Israel, 1969 Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954, near San Bernardino, California, as he was driving to Los Angeles from Las Vegas.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cannon |first=Bob |date=November 20, 1992 |title=The unflappable Sammy Davis Jr. |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/11/20/unflappable-sammy-davis-jr/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818092842/https://ew.com/article/1992/11/20/unflappable-sammy-davis-jr/ |archive-date=August 18, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2017 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref> During the previous year, he had started a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor, who had given him a mezuzah. Instead of putting it by his door as a traditional blessing, Davis wore it around his neck for good luck; the only time when he forgot to wear it was the night of the accident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/jfk-refused-sammy-davis-jr-perform-white-house/story?id=23379345 |title=Why JFK Refused to Let Sammy Davis Jr. Perform at White House |work=ABC News |date=April 18, 2014 |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref>

The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Route 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive when a driver who had missed turning at the fork reversed her car in Davis's lane, causing Davis's car to strike hers.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mark J. |last=Price |title=Local History: Akron Legend About Sammy Davis Jr. Turns Out to Be True |url=http://www.ohio.com/news/local-history-akron-legend-about-sammy-davis-jr-turns-out-to-be-true-1.352972 |work=Akron Beacon Journal |date=November 25, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129030219/http://www.ohio.com/news/local-history-akron-legend-about-sammy-davis-jr-turns-out-to-be-true-1.352972|archive-date=November 29, 2012 }}</ref> Davis lost his left eye, which was damaged by the bullet-shaped horn button (a standard feature in 1954 and 1955 Cadillacs). His friend, actor Jeff Chandler, said that he would give one of his own eyes to keep Davis from total blindness.<ref>{{Cite book | last1=Davis | first1=Sammy Jr. | last2=Boyar | first2=Jane & Burt | title=Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr. | year=1990 | publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | location=New York | isbn=0-374-52268-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/yesicanstoryof00davi }}</ref> Davis wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866216,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104124022/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866216,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |title=Nice Fellow | magazine=Time |date=April 18, 1955 |access-date=September 18, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birdlandjazz.com/images/o_blp_3.jpg |title=Pamphlet from Birdland Jazz Club |year=1955 |access-date=September 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003120559/http://www.birdlandjazz.com/images/o_blp_3.jpg |archive-date=October 3, 2009 }}</ref> He was featured with the patch on the cover of his debut album and during an appearance on ''What's My Line?'' wearing the patch.<ref>{{YouTube|9EiVjgqElmQ|''What's My Line? – Sammy Davis, Jr (March 13, 1955)''}}</ref> Later, Davis was fitted for a glass eye, which he wore for the rest of his life.

In the hospital, Cantor described to Davis the similarities between Jewish and Black cultures. Davis, born to a Catholic mother and Baptist father, was raised Catholic and began studying Jewish history as an adult, converting to Judaism several years later in 1960.<ref name="Time1960"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Green |first=David B. |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-05-16/ty-article/.premium/1990-sammy-davis-jr-dies/0000017f-e11b-d804-ad7f-f1fb079e0000 |title=This Day in Jewish History 1990: Sammy Davis Jr., Famous Convert to Judaism, Dies |work=Haaretz |date=May 16, 2013 |access-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1, 1960 |title=Religion: Jewish Negro |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,826061,00.html |access-date=October 27, 2023 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> One passage from his readings (from the book ''A History of the Jews'' by Abram L. Sachar) describing the endurance of the Jewish people interested 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."<ref>{{cite web | first=Beth | last=Weiss | title=Sammy Davis, Jr. | url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/sammydavis.html | work=The Jewish Virtual Library | date=March 19, 2003 | access-date=May 14, 2008 | archive-date=September 6, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906102058/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/sammydavis.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The accident marked a turning point in Davis's career, taking him from a well-known entertainer to a national celebrity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sammy Davis Jr. Turns Near Tragedy into Triumph |work=San Bernardino Sun |date=September 28, 2008 |url=http://www.sbsun.com/living/ci_10594121+Sammy+Davis+Jr+accident&gl=us |access-date=May 1, 2022 }}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}}

=== Relationships and marriages === In 1957, Davis was involved with actress Kim Novak, who was under contract with Columbia Pictures. Because Novak was white, Columbia president Harry Cohn worried that public backlash against the relationship could hurt the studio. There are several accounts of what happened, but they agree that Davis was threatened by organized crime figures close to Cohn.<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite news |last1=Lanzendorfer |first1=Joy |title=Hollywood Loved Sammy Davis Jr. Until He Dated a White Movie Star |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hollywood-loved-sammy-davis-jr-until-he-dated-white-movie-star-180964395/ |access-date=October 6, 2019 |work=Smithsonian |date=August 9, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126093738/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hollywood-loved-sammy-davis-jr-until-he-dated-white-movie-star-180964395/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to one account, Cohn called racketeer John Roselli, who was told to inform Davis that he must stop seeing Novak. To try to scare Davis, Roselli had him kidnapped for a few hours.<ref>{{cite book | last=Reid | first=Ed |author2=Demaris, Ovid | title=The Green Felt Jungle | location=Cutchogue, New York | publisher=Buccaneer Books | year=1963 | lccn=63022217}}</ref> Another account relates that the threat was conveyed to Davis's father by mobster Mickey Cohen.<ref name="Smithsonian"/> Davis was threatened with the loss of his other eye or a broken leg if he did not marry a black woman within two days. Davis sought the protection of Chicago mobster Sam Giancana, who said that he could protect him in Chicago and Las Vegas but not California.<ref name="Kashner"/><ref name="Smithsonian"/><ref>December 2014 BBC documentary, ''[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04w7wgr Sammy Davis, Jr. The Kid in the Middle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928223109/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04w7wgr |date=September 28, 2017 }}''.</ref>

Davis briefly married black dancer Loray White in 1958 to protect himself from mob violence;<ref name="Smithsonian"/> Davis had previously dated White, who was 23, twice divorced, and had a six-year-old child.<ref name="Kashner"/> He paid her a lump sum ($10,000 or $25,000) to engage in a marriage on the condition that it would be dissolved before the end of the year.<ref name="Kashner"/><ref name="Smithsonian"/> Davis became inebriated at the wedding and attempted to strangle White en route to their wedding suite. Checking on him later, Davis's personal assistant Arthur Silber Jr. found Davis with a gun to his head. Davis despairingly said to Silber, "Why won't they let me live my life?"<ref name="Smithsonian"/> The couple never lived together<ref name="Kashner"/> and commenced divorce proceedings in September 1958.<ref name="Smithsonian"/> The divorce was granted in April 1959.<ref>{{cite news |title=Loray White Davis Granted Divorce |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36805144/loray_white_and_sammy_davis_divorce/ |access-date=October 6, 2019 |work=Daily Press |agency=Associated Press |date=April 24, 1959 |location=Newport News, VA|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1959, Davis had "a short, stormy, exciting relationship" with Nichelle Nichols.<ref name="GreatThingsBio"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nichols |first=Nichelle |date=1994 |title=Beyond Uhura Star Trek and Other Memories |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Beyond_Uhura/1HJZAAAAMAAJhl%3Den%26gbpv%3D1%26bsq%3Dnichelle+nichols+englewood+high+school+chicago%26dq%3Dnichelle+nichols+englewood+high+school+chicago%26printsec%3Dfrontcover |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |access-date=November 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801033235/https://books.google.com/?newbks=0&source=newbks_fb&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Sammy Davis, Jr. and May Britt, 1960.jpg|thumb|upright|Davis and May Britt in 1960]] In 1960, there was another racially charged public controversy when Davis married white Swedish-born actress May Britt in a ceremony officiated by rabbi William M. Kramer at Temple Israel of Hollywood. While interracial marriage had been legal in California since 1948, anti-miscegenation laws in the U.S. still stood in 23 states, and a 1958 Gallup poll revealed that only 4% of Americans supported marriage between black and white spouses.<ref>Newport, Frank "[http://news.gallup.com/poll/163697/approve-marriage-blacks-whites.aspx In U.S., 87% Approve of Black-White Marriage, vs. 4% in 1958]", ''Gallup News'', July 25, 2013.</ref> During 1964 through 1966, Davis received racially motivated hate mail while starring in the Broadway adaptation of ''Golden Boy'', in which his character is in a relationship with a white woman, paralleling his own interracial relationship. Although New York State had no laws against interracial marriage, debate about it was still ongoing in the country as ''Loving v. Virginia'' was being adjudicated. It was only in 1967 after the musical finished that anti-miscegenation laws in all states were ruled unconstitutional via the 14th Amendment adopted in 1868 by the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>''Loving v. Virginia''.</ref>

{{anchor|Tracey Davis}}Britt and Davis's daughter Tracey Davis (July 5, 1961 – November 2, 2020)<ref name="nydailynews/tracey-davis-sammy">{{cite news |title=Tracey Davis, daughter of Sammy Davis Jr., dies age 59 |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-tracey-davis-daughter-sammy-davis-jr-dies-age-59-20201119-2h7xhln7xbhphpsnypnz7lvi3i-story.html |access-date=August 2, 2023 |work=Daily News|location=New York |date=November 18, 2020}}</ref><ref name="forward/458921">{{cite news |title=Sammy Davis Jr.'s daughter understood her father's commitment to Judaism |url=https://forward.com/culture/458921/sammy-davis-jrs-daughter-understood-her-fathers-commitment-to-judaism/ |access-date=August 2, 2023 |work=The Forward |date=November 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/author-tracey-davis-daughter-sammy-davis-jr-dies-59-t199544|title=Author Tracey Davis, daughter of Sammy Davis Jr., dies at 59|website=Today.com|date=November 17, 2020 |access-date=August 22, 2021}}</ref><ref name="nytimes/tracey-davis-dead">{{cite news |title=Tracey Davis, Chronicler of Ups and Downs With Her Famous Father, Dies at 59 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/books/tracey-davis-dead.html |access-date=August 2, 2023 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=November 20, 2020}}</ref> alleged in a 2014 book that Davis was not permitted to perform at John F. Kennedy's Presidential inauguration because of his marriage to a white woman.<ref name="1961snubber">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/sammy-davis-jr-90th-birthday-1201656058/|title=Sammy Davis Jr. Kept His Cool in a Less-Tolerant Era|last1=Dagan|first1=Carmel|date=December 8, 2015|website=Variety (magazine)|language=en|access-date=July 11, 2019|archive-date=September 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921045222/https://variety.com/2015/film/news/sammy-davis-jr-90th-birthday-1201656058/|url-status=live}}</ref> The snub was confirmed by director Sam Pollard, who revealed in a 2017 ''American Masters'' documentary that Davis's invitation to perform at the inauguration was abruptly canceled on the night of Kennedy's inaugural party.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Deborah |date=September 10, 2017 |title='Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me': Film Review {{!}} TIFF 2017 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sammy-davis-jr-i-ve-gotta-be-me-1037415 |access-date=July 11, 2019 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en}}</ref>

Davis and Britt adopted two sons.<ref name="biography1"/><ref>{{Cite journal|date=August 27, 1990|title=Sammy Davis, Jr. Leaves An Estate Valued at $4 Million, Probate Court Petition Reveals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6K8DAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy+davis+sons&pg=PA4|journal=Jet|pages=4–5}}</ref> Davis performed almost continuously and spent little time with his wife. They divorced in 1968 after Davis admitted to an affair with singer Lola Falana.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-entertainer-vol-33-no-21/|title=The Entertainer|last=Rosen|first=Marjorie|date=May 28, 1990|website=People|language=EN}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Cohen|first=Rich|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-02-ca-matt-birkbeck2-story.html|title=As Sammy's star imploded|date=November 2, 2008|work=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=February 29, 2020|access-date=February 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229093327/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-02-ca-matt-birkbeck2-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Davis |first=Sammy Jr.|date=July 1989|title=Sammy Davis Jr. Faces Life, Aging and Cocaine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMwDAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy+davis+cocaine&pg=PA66|journal=Ebony|pages=66, 68}}</ref>

[[File:Mr & Mrs Sammy Davis Jnr 2 Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|upright|Davis with his third wife, Altovise Gore, in 1986]] In 1968, Davis started dating Altovise Gore, a dancer in ''Golden Boy''. They were married on May 11, 1970, by Jesse Jackson and adopted a son, Manny, in 1989.<ref name=":6"/> They remained married until his death in 1990.<ref name="LATimes-1990-08-08"/> Toward the end of their marriage, Altovise Davis was sharing her mansion with Davis' girlfriend.<ref name=":1"/>

=== Interests === Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting pictures of family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar titled ''Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.''<ref>{{cite book |last=Boyar |first=Burt |url=https://archive.org/details/photobysammydavi00davi/page/338 |title=Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. |publisher=Regan Books |year=2007 |isbn=9780061146053 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/photobysammydavi00davi/page/338 338]}}</ref>

Davis was an enthusiastic shooter and gun owner who participated in fast-draw competitions. Johnny Cash recalled that Davis was said to be capable of drawing and firing a Colt Single Action Army revolver in less than a quarter of a second.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hurst |first=Jack |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/08/26/johnny-cashs-war-within/ |title=Johnny Cash's War Within |date=August 26, 1994|newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=April 20, 2012}}</ref>

In his 1989 autobiography, ''Why Me?'', Davis related that after 1973 comedy pilot ''Poor Devil'', he became friends with Anton LaVey, the founder high priest of the Church of Satan, that he became an honorary warlock in the church, which included accepting an invitation to a 1968 church ceremony in the Hollywood Hills that ended in a drug-fueled orgy. According to Davis, he and LaVey severed ties in 1984, but Davis continued to perform Satanic rituals into his final days.<ref name=rs>{{cite web|author=Alex Bhattacharji|title=Inside Sammy Davis Jr.'s Secret Satanic Past |magazine=Rolling Stone|date=August 4, 2024|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/sammy-davis-jr-satanism-anton-lavey-1235070544/|access-date=August 27, 2024}}</ref> Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy said in 2019 that Davis was a devil worshipper who personally told him that "Satan is as powerful as God."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Seinfeld |first1=Jerry |title=Eddie Murphy does Mike Tyson, Tracy Morgan, Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis impressions |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMHl7yz93ho&t=1m33s |website=YouTube |date=September 24, 2019 |access-date=4 August 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=September 2025}}

===Health=== After Davis's marriage to May Britt ended in 1968, Davis turned to alcohol. He also "found solace in drugs, particularly cocaine and amyl nitrite" and experimented with pornography.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":1" />

After a bout with cirrhosis due to years of drinking,<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Blavat|first=Jerry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fIfAQAAQBAJ&q=sammy+davis+liza+frank&pg=PA315|title=You Only Rock Once: My Life in Music|date=August 13, 2013|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-5018-3|page=315|language=en}}</ref> Davis announced his sponsorship of the Sammy Davis Jr. National Liver Institute in Newark, New Jersey in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/06/17/Entertainer-Sammy-Davis-Jr-said-Monday-his-bout-with/3689487828800/|title=Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. said Monday his bout with...|last=Andreassi|first=George|date=June 17, 1985|work=United Press International|language=en}}</ref>

====Final illness and death==== thumb|upright|Davis's grave in the Garden of Honor, Forest Lawn Glendale In August 1989, Davis began to develop symptoms of cancer – a tickle in his throat and an inability to taste food.<ref name=CRmagazine/> Doctors found a malignant tumor in Davis's throat.<ref name=":5"/><ref name=LASentinel/> He was a heavy smoker and had often smoked up to four packs of cigarettes a day as an adult.<ref name=LASentinel>{{cite web|url=https://lasentinel.net/sammy-davis-jr.html|title=Sammy Davis Jr.|first=Yussuf |last=Simmonds |access-date= March 30, 2018 |work=Los Angeles Sentinel|date=July 30, 2009}}</ref> When 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 was treated with definitive radiation therapy.<ref name=CRmagazine>{{cite journal | first=Sue |last=Rochman | title=The Cancer That Silenced Mr. Wonderful's Song | url=http://www.crmagazine.org/archive/Summer2007/Pages/TheCancerThatSilencedMr.Wonderfulquo;sSong.aspx | journal=CR | volume=2 | issue=3 | year=2007 | access-date=November 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623193250/http://www.crmagazine.org/archive/Summer2007/Pages/TheCancerThatSilencedMr.Wonderfulquo;sSong.aspx |archive-date=June 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His larynx was later removed when his cancer recurred.<ref name=Haygood516/><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Folz | first1=B. J. | last2=Ferlito | first2=A. | last3=Weir | first3=N. | last4=Pratt | first4=L. W. | last5=Werner | first5=J. A. | title=A historical review of head and neck cancer in celebrities | journal=The Journal of Laryngology & Otology | volume=121 | issue=6 | date=June 1, 2007 | issn=1748-5460 | pmid=17078899 | doi=10.1017/S0022215106004208 | pages=511–20 | s2cid=22164447 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6717465 | access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref> He was released from the hospital on March 13, 1990.<ref name=NYTimesObit/>

Davis died of complications from throat cancer two months later at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on May&nbsp;16, 1990, at age 64.<ref name=NYTimesObit>{{cite news |first=Peter B. |last=Flint |title=Sammy Davis Jr. Dies at 64. Top Showman Broke Barriers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1208.html |quote=Sammy Davis Jr., a versatile and dynamic singer, dancer and actor who overcame extraordinary obstacles to become a leading American countentertainer, died of throat cancer yesterday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 64 years old and had been in deteriorating health since his release from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on March 13. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 17, 1990 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216023008/http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1208.html }}</ref> His funeral was attended by Little Richard and Stevie Wonder among others.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/19/obituaries/friends-mourn-sammy-davis-jr-eulogized-as-the-only-of-a-kind.html|title=Friends Mourn Sammy Davis Jr., Eulogized as 'the Only of a Kind'|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 19, 1990|archive-date=January 20, 2023|access-date=June 14, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120202211/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/19/obituaries/friends-mourn-sammy-davis-jr-eulogized-as-the-only-of-a-kind.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. On May 18, 1990, two days after his death, the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip were darkened for ten minutes as a tribute.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=March 30, 2018|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/celebrity/anniversary-of-sammy-davis-jr-s-death-comes-and-goes-in-las-vegas/ |quote=Many consider Davis the greatest all-around entertainer. After he died on May 16, 1990, he received the ultimate Las Vegas tribute: the lights went dark on the Strip to honor the song-and-dance icon.|title=Anniversary of Sammy Davis Jr.'s death comes and goes in Las Vegas|work=Las Vegas Review Journal|first=Norm|last=Clarke|date=May 17, 2015}}</ref> Several media outlets reported his death alongside Muppets creator Jim Henson, who died the same day.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/05/18/of-davis-henson-and-a-nations-loss/ | title=Of Davis, Henson and a Nation's Loss | website=Chicago Tribune | date=May 18, 1990 }}</ref>

=== Estate === Davis left the bulk of his estate, estimated at $4,000,000 (U.S.), to his widow Altovise Davis,<ref name="LATimes-1990-08-08">{{cite web |access-date=March 30, 2018 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-08-vw-421-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 8, 1990 |title=Sammy Leaves Estate to Wife; Prized Gun to Clint Eastwood}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Tayman |first1=John |title=Sammy's Troubled Legacy |url=https://people.com/archive/sammys-troubled-legacy-vol-36-no-13/ |website=People |access-date=August 3, 2018 |date=October 7, 1991}}</ref> but he owed the IRS $5,200,000, which after interest and penalties had increased to over $7,000,000.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |date=October 28, 1991 |title=Altovise Davis Struggles To Cope With Debt Left By Sammy Davis Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbkDAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy+davis+jet&pg=PA54 |journal=Jet |pages=54–56}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |date=May 26, 1997 |title=Altovise Davis, Wife of Late Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., Settles $7 Million Dispute With IRS Against Husband's Estate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcMDAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy+davis+estate+1997 |journal=Jet |page=32}}</ref> Altovise became liable for his debt because they had filed jointly and she had co-signed their tax returns.<ref name=":1"/> She was forced to auction his personal possessions and real estate. Some of his friends in the industry, including Quincy Jones, Joey Bishop, Ed Asner, Jayne Meadows, and Steve Allen, participated in a fundraising concert at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.<ref name=":2"/> Altovise and the IRS reached a settlement in 1997.<ref name=":3"/> After she died in 2009, their son Manny was named executor of the estate and majority-rights holder of his intellectual property.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=March 30, 2018 |url=https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/sammy-davis-jrs-son-tests-legalzoom-last-will-in-court |title=Sammy Davis, Jr.'s Son Tests LegalZoom Last Will in Court |first=C. |last=Yoder |publisher=LegalZoom |date=June 2010 |archive-date=March 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331104346/https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/sammy-davis-jrs-son-tests-legalzoom-last-will-in-court |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Legacy== ===Portrayals=== * SCTV{{'}}s ''The Sammy Maudlin Show''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bronwynjoan.com/blog/2021/7/8/sctv-review-the-sammy-maudlin-show-1-21-world-at-war-1-22 | title=SCTV Review: The Sammy Maudlin Show (1-21) / World at War (1-22) | date=July 8, 2021 | access-date=February 22, 2024 | archive-date=February 22, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222120919/https://bronwynjoan.com/blog/2021/7/8/sctv-review-the-sammy-maudlin-show-1-21-world-at-war-1-22 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sctvguide.ca/programs/maudlin.htm | title=SCTV Guide - Programs - the Sammy Maudlin Show }}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFb0L4MQziTjEsJKTbFgm8Q SCTV] @ YouTube</ref> sketches were inspired by the syndicated talk show called ''Sammy & Company'' (April 5, 1975 – March 19, 1977).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.avclub.com/tv/reviews/sammy-and-company-1975 | title=Sammy and Company (1975) | website=The A.V. Club }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://sammydavisjr.info/television/tv-series-as-host/sammy-and-company-1975-77/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806102249/https://sammydavisjr.info/television/tv-series-as-host/sammy-and-company-1975-77/ | archive-date=August 6, 2020 | title=Sammy Davis, Jr. - Sammy & Company, 1975-77 | newspaper=Sammydavisjr.info }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.itsabouttv.com/2021/07/this-week-in-tv-guide-july-9-1966.html | title=This week in TV Guide: July 9, 1966 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ctva.biz/US/MusicVariety/SammyDavisJr_SammyAndCompany.htm | title=CTVA US Music Variety - "Sammy and Company" (Syndicated)(1975-77) Sammy Davis, Jr }}</ref> * In an episode of ''Charlie's Angels'', Davis had a dual role, playing both himself and a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator who is kidnapped by mistake (in a comic relief scene, the impersonator beats up a candy machine which does not give him his candy, a spoof of Davis's song "The Candy Man"). * Comedian Jim Carrey has portrayed Davis on stage, in the 1983 film ''Copper Mountain'', and in a stand-up routine. * 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 film ''Ghost'', in which the ghost of Davis enlists the help of Whoopi Goldberg to communicate with his wife. * David Raynr portrayed Davis in the 1992 miniseries ''Sinatra'', a television film about the life of Frank Sinatra. * In the comedy film ''Wayne's World 2'' (1993), Tim Meadows portrays Davis in the dream sequence with Michael A. Nickles as Jim Morrison. * In the sitcom ''Malcolm & Eddie'' (1996), Eddie Sherman (played by comedian Eddie Griffin) impersonates Davis in the episode "Sh-Boing-Boing" to help his partner Malcolm McGee (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner) reconcile his grandparents' relationship. * Davis was portrayed by Don Cheadle in the HBO film ''The Rat Pack'', a 1998 television film about the group of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe Award for his performance. * He was portrayed by Paul Sharma in the 2003 West End production ''Rat Pack Confidential''.<ref>[http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821061313852 Rival Rat Pack Reopens West End Whitehall, 18 Sep – News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615180441/http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821061313852 |date=June 15, 2011 }}. Whatsonstage.com. Retrieved February 10, 2013.</ref> * Davis was portrayed in 2008 by Keith Powell in an episode of ''30 Rock'' titled "Subway Hero". * In September 2009, the musical ''Sammy: Once in a Lifetime'' premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, and additional songs by Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The title role was played by Tony Award nominee Obba Babatundé. * Comedian Billy Crystal has portrayed Davis on ''Saturday Night Live'', in his stand-up routines, and at the 2012 Oscars. * Actor Phaldut Sharma created the comedy web-series ''I Gotta Be Me'' (2015), following a frustrated soap star as he performs as Sammy in a Rat Pack tribute show.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.igottabeme.net|title=HOME|website=I GOTTA BE ME}}</ref> * In January 2017, Davis's estate joined a production team led by Lionel Richie, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Mike Menchel to make a movie based on Davis's life and show-biz career.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hipes |first1=Patrick |title=Sammy Davis Jr Biopic Aligns With Estate, Moves Forward &#91;sic&#93; With Producers Lionel Richie & Lorenzo Di Bonaventura |url= https://deadline.com/2017/01/sammy-davis-jr-movie-biopic-lionel-richie-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-1201888007/ |website=Deadline |access-date=January 18, 2017}}</ref>

==Honors and awards== Shortly before his death in 1990, ABC aired the TV special ''Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration'', produced by George Schlatter. An all-star cast, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Eddie Murphy, Diahann Carroll, Clint Eastwood, and Ella Fitzgerald, paid tribute to Davis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-15-ca-1887-story.html|title=Toasting a Song-and-Dance Man : Pop: An all-star cast salutes Sammy Davis Jr. on his 60th anniversary in show business with a heartfelt tribute to his role in breaking down barriers for black performers.|last=Grein|first=Paul|date=November 15, 1989|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> The show was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/sammy-davis-jrs-60th-anniversary-celebration-0|title=Sammy Davis, Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration|website=Television Academy|language=en|access-date=February 29, 2020}}</ref>

===Grammy Awards=== {|class=wikitable |- ! Year

! Category ! Song ! Result ! Notes |- align=center |2002 |Grammy Hall of Fame Award |"What Kind of Fool Am I?" |Inducted |Recorded in 1962 |- align=center |2001 |Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | |Winner |Posthumously |- align=center |1972 |Pop Male Vocalist |"Candy Man" |Nominee | |- align=center |1962 |Record of the Year |"What Kind of Fool Am I?" |Nominee | |- align=center |1962 |Male Solo Vocal Performance |"What Kind of Fool Am I?" |Nominee | |}

===Emmy Awards=== {|class=wikitable |- ! Year ! Category ! Program ! Result |- align=center |1990 |Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special |''Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration'' |{{Won}} |- align=center |1989 |Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series |''The Cosby Show'' |{{Nom}} |- align=center |1980 |Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Daytime Drama Series |''One Life to Live'' |{{Nom}} |- align=center |1966 |Outstanding Variety Special |''The Swinging World of Sammy Davis Jr.'' |{{Nom}} |- align=center |1956 |Best Specialty Act&nbsp;— Single or Group |Sammy Davis Jr. |{{Nom}} |}

===Other honors=== {|class=wikitable |- ! Year ! Category ! Organization ! Program ! Result |- |- |2022 | |National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum | |Inducted |- align=center |2017 |Singer |National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame | |Inducted |- align=center |2008 |International Civil Rights Walk of Fame |Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site | |Inducted |- align=center |2006 |Las Vegas Walk of Stars<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lasvegaswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Star%20by%20Hotel/Star%20List%20by%20hotel.pdf|title=Las Vegas Walk of Stars|publisher=Lasvegaswalkofstars.com|access-date=February 10, 2013|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234801/http://www.lasvegaswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Star%20by%20Hotel/Star%20List%20by%20hotel.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> |front of Riviera Hotel | |Inducted |- align=center |1989 |NAACP Image Award |NAACP | |Winner |- align=center |1987 |Kennedy Center Honors |John F. Kennedy Center for<br />the Performing Arts | |Honoree |- align=center |1985 |Worst Supporting Actor |Golden Raspberry Awards |''Cannonball Run II'' (1984) |Nominee |- align=center |1977 |Best TV Actor&nbsp;— Musical/Comedy |Golden Globe |''Sammy and Company'' (1975) |Nominee |- align=center |1974 |Special Citation Award |National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | |Winner |- align=center |1968 |NAACP Spingarn Medal Award |NAACP | |Winner |- align=center |1965 |Best Actor&nbsp;— Musical |Tony Award |''Golden Boy'' |Nominee |- align=center |1961 |Man of the Year<ref>{{Cite journal|date=November 16, 1961|title=Cite Sammy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbMDAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy+davis+man+calloway+jet&pg=PA61|journal=Jet|page=61}}</ref> |American Guild of Variety Artists | |Winner |- align=center |1960 |Recording<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.walkoffame.com/sammy-davis-jr|title=Sammy Davis, Jr.|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|date=October 25, 2019}}</ref> |Hollywood Walk of Fame | |Inducted |}

==Discography== {{Main|Sammy Davis Jr. discography}}

'''Studio albums''' {{col div}} * ''Starring Sammy Davis Jr.'' (1955) * ''Just for Lovers'' (1955) * ''Mr. Wonderful'' (1956) * ''Here's Lookin' at You'' (1956) * ''Sammy Swings'' (1957) * ''Boy Meets Girl'' <small>(with Carmen McRae)</small> (1957) * ''Sammy Jumps with Joya'' <small>(with Joya Sherrill)</small> (1957) * ''It's All Over but the Swingin''' (1957) * ''Mood to Be Wooed'' (1958) * ''All the Way... and Then Some!'' (1958) * ''Porgy and Bess'' <small>(with Carmen McRae)</small> (1959) * ''Sammy Awards'' (1960) * ''I Gotta Right to Swing'' (1960) * ''The Wham of Sam'' (1961) * ''Mr. Entertainment'' (1961) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Belts the Best of Broadway'' (1962) * ''The Sammy Davis Jr. All-Star Spectacular'' (1962) * ''What Kind of Fool Am I and Other Show-Stoppers'' (1962) * ''As Long as She Needs Me'' (1963) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Salutes the Stars of the London Palladium'' (1964) * ''The Shelter of Your Arms'' (1964) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Sings Mel Tormé's "California Suite"'' (1964) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Sings the Big Ones for Young Lovers'' (1964) * ''When the Feeling Hits You!'' <small>(with Sam Butera and the Witnesses)</small> (1965) * ''Our Shining Hour'' <small>(with Count Basie)</small> (1965) * ''If I Ruled the World'' (1965) * ''The Nat King Cole Songbook'' (1965) * ''Sammy's Back on Broadway'' (1965) * ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show'' (1966) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays'' <small>(with Laurindo Almeida)</small> (1966) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Sings the Complete "Dr. Dolittle"'' (1967) * ''Lonely Is the Name'' (1968) * ''I've Gotta Be Me'' (1968) * ''The Goin's Great'' (1969) * ''Something for Everyone'' (1970) * ''Sammy Steps Out'' (1970) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Now'' (1972) * ''Portrait of Sammy Davis Jr.'' (1972) * ''That's Entertainment!'' (1974) * ''The Song and Dance Man'' (1976) * ''Sings The Great TV-Tunes'' (1977) * ''Closest of Friends'' (1982) {{col div end}}

==Work on screen and stage== ===Filmography=== {{Div col}} * ''Rufus Jones for President'' (1933) – Rufus Jones * ''Seasoned Greetings'' (1933) – Henry Johnson – Store Customer * ''Sweet and Low'' (1947) – Member, Will Maston Trio * ''Meet Me in Las Vegas'' (1956) – Sammy Davis Jr. (voice, uncredited) * ''Anna Lucasta'' (1958) – Danny Johnson * ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959) – Sportin' Life * ''Ocean's 11'' (1960) – Josh Howard * ''Pepe'' (1960) – Sammy Davis Jr. * ''Sergeants 3'' (1962) – Jonah Williams * ''The Rifleman'' (1962) – Tip Corey, Wade Randall * ''Convicts 4'' (1962) – Wino * ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1963) – Street Singer * ''Johnny Cool'' (1963) – Educated * ''Robin and the 7 Hoods'' (1964) – Will * ''Nightmare in the Sun'' (1965) – Truck driver * ''The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World'' (1965, title song) – Singer behind opening credits (uncredited) * ''A Man Called Adam'' (1966) – Adam Johnson * ''Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)'' (1966) – Cheshire Cat * ''Salt and Pepper'' (1968) – Charles Salt * ''The Fall'' (1969) * ''The Pigeon'' (1969) – Larry Miller (unsold TV pilot produced by Aaron Spelling) * ''Sweet Charity'' (1969) – Big Daddy * ''One More Time'' (1970) – Charles Salt * ''Elvis: That's the Way It Is'' (1970) * ''The Trackers'' (1971) – TV movie with Ernest Borgnine * ''Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) – Casino Punter (deleted scene) * ''Save the Children'' (1973) * ''Poor Devil'' (1973; unsold pilot of a TV series) * ''Gone with the West'', also known outside the U.S. as Little Moon and Jud McGraw (1975) – Kid Dandy * ''Madeleine'' (1977) – Spud The Scarecrow (singing voice) * ''Sammy Stops the World'' (1978) – Littlechap * ''The Cannonball Run'' (1981) – Morris Fenderbaum * ''Heidi's Song'' (1982) – Head Ratte (voice) * ''Cracking Up'' (1983) * ''Broadway Danny Rose'' (1984) – Thanksgiving Parade's Grand Marshall (uncredited) * ''Cannonball Run II'' (1984) – Morris Fenderbaum * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1985) – The Caterpillar / Father William * ''That's Dancing!'' (1985) * ''Knights of the City'' (1986) * ''The Perils of P.K.'' (1986) * ''Moon over Parador'' (1988) * ''Tap'' (1989) – Little Mo * ''Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration'' – Himself (1989) * ''The Kid Who Loved Christmas'' (1990) – Sideman (final film role); posthumous release {{div col end}}

===Television=== {{Div col}} * ''What's My Line?'' – "Sammy Davis Jr." (1955) * ''General Electric Theater'' – "The Patsy" (1960) Season 8 Episode 21 * ''Frontier Circus'' - episode Coals Of Fire (1961) * ''Lawman'' – episode Blue Boss and Willie Shay" (1961) * ''The Dick Powell Show'' – episode "The Legend" (1962) * ''Hennesey'' – episode "Tight Quarters" (1962) * ''The Rifleman'' – 2 episodes "Two Ounces of Tin (4.21)" (February 19, 1962) and "The Most Amazing Man (5.9)" (November 27, 1962) * ''77 Sunset Strip'' – episode "The Gang's All Here" (1962) * ''Ben Casey'' – episode "Allie" (1963) * ''The Patty Duke Show'' – episode "Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?" (1965) * ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show'' – Host (January 7, 1966) * ''Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?'' (March 30, 1966) * ''The Wild Wild West'' – episode "The Night of the Returning Dead" (October 14, 1966) * ''Batman'' – "The Clock King's Crazy Crimes" (1966) * ''I Dream of Jeannie'' – episode "The Greatest Entertainer in the World" (1967) * ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' – Here Comes The Judge skit (1968–70, 1971, 1973) * ''The Mod Squad'' – three episodes: "Keep the Faith Baby" (1969), "Survival House" (1970), and "The Song of Willie" (1970) * ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' – episode ''Manhattan Hillbillies'' (1969) * ''The Name of the Game'' – episode "I Love You, Billy Baker" (1970) * ''Here's Lucy'' (1970) * ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' – episode "A Little Help From My Friend" (1972) * ''All in the Family'' – episode "Sammy's Visit" (1972) * ''Chico and the Man'' – episode "Sammy Stops In" (1975) * ''The Carol Burnett Show'' (1975) * ''Sammy & Company'' – host/performer (1975–1977) * ''Charlie's Angels'' – episode "Sammy Davis, Jr. Kidnap Caper" (1977) * ''Sanford'' – episodes "Dinner and George's" (cameo) and "The Benefit" (1980) * ''Archie Bunker's Place'' – episode "The Return of Sammy" (1980) * ''General Hospital'' – episode Benefit for Sports Center (1982) * ''General Hospital'' – Eddie Phillips (father to Bryan Phillips) (1983) * Channel Seven Perth's ''Telethon'' (1983) * ''The Jeffersons'' – episode "What Makes Sammy Run?" (1984) * ''Fantasy Island'' – episode "Mr. Bojangles and the Dancer/Deuces are Wild" (1984) * ''Gimme a Break!'' – episode "The Lookalike" (1985) * ''Alice in Wonderland'' * ''Hunter'' – episode "Ring of Honor" (1989) * ''The Cosby Show'' – episode "No Way, Baby" (1989) * ''Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration'' (1990) – 2{{frac|1|2}} hour all star TV special<ref>"You Were There", a song by Michael Jackson and Buz Kohan, was performed by Michael Jackson during this show.</ref> {{div col end}}

===Theater=== * ''Mr. Wonderful'' (1956), musical * ''Golden Boy'' (1964), musical – Tony Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical * ''Sammy'' (1974), special performance featuring Davis with the Nicholas Brothers * ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' (1978), musical revival

==See also== * History of the Jews in the African diaspora * List of Hispanic and Latino Americans

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== ===Autobiographies=== * ''Yes, I Can'' (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1965), {{ISBN|0-374-52268-5}} * ''Why Me?'' (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1989), {{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=== * {{cite book | title = In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. | first = Wil | last = Haygood | publisher = A. A. Knopf (Random House) | location = New York | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-375-40354-X | url = https://archive.org/details/inblackwhitelife00haygo }} * Birkbeck, Matt (2008), ''Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob''. Amistad. {{ISBN|978-0-06-145066-2}} * Silber, Arthur Jr. (2003), "Sammy Davis Jr: Me and My Shadow, Samart Enterprises, {{ISBN|0-9655675-5-9}}

===Other=== * ''Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.'' (Burt Boyar) (2007) {{ISBN|0-06-114605-6}} * {{cite web|title=Classic Hollywood: Daughter's 'Personal Journey' with Sammy Davis Jr.|language=en|date=May 10, 2014|author=Susan King|website=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/classichollywood/la-et-mn-ca-classic-hollywood-sammy-davis-jr-20140511-story.html}} * {{cite web|title=Sammy Davis Jr. Drive in Langston, OK|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sammy+Davis+Jr+Dr,+Langston,+OK}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Sammy Davis, Jr.}} * {{cite web|title=Burt Boyar collection of Sammy Davis, Jr. biographical materials, 1954–2000|location= Music Division, Library of Congress|url=https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu012010}} * {{cite web|title=Sammy Davis, Jr. arrangements 1953–1988|location= Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts|url=https://archives.nypl.org/mus/29997}} * [http://sammydavisjr.info Sammy Davis Jr.'s Discography] @ sammydavisjr.info * [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/311145 Sammy Davis Jr. recordings] at the Discography of American Historical Recordings * {{cite web|access-date=March 30, 2018|url=http://digital.library.unlv.edu/api/1/objects/ohr/2875/bitstream|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331173347/http://digital.library.unlv.edu/api/1/objects/ohr/2875/bitstream|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 31, 2018|title=William Morris Agency Billing Contract for the Will Mastin Trio & Sammy Davis Jr.|publisher=University of Nevada Las Vegas}} * [https://vault.fbi.gov/Sammy%20Davis%2C%20Jr Sammy Davis Jr.] FBI Records: The Vault – at fbi.gov * {{IBDB name}} * {{IMDb name|nm0002035}} * [https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1208.html "Sammy Davis Jr. Dies at 64; Top Showman Broke Barriers"], ''The New York Times'', May 17, 1990. * [http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/03/17/Sammy Davis Jr. talks to draft dodgers in Canada], CBC Archives * [http://www.atvaudio.com/ata_search.php?keywords=sammy%20davis Sammy Davis Jr.] @ ''Archival Television Audio'' * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wr8pq programme on Sammy Davis Jr.] @ BBC Radio 4 * [http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0002tzk7 Photographic Image of Sammy Davis Jr. taking a photograph of his wife May Britt and newly adopted son Jeff on steps of Los Angeles County Courthouse, California, 1965.] Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

{{Sammy Davis Jr.}} {{Navboxes |title = Awards for Sammy Davis Jr. |list = {{Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award}} {{Kennedy Center Honorees 1980s}} {{NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award}} {{Spingarn Medal}} }} {{Rat Pack}}

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