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Sammy Davis, Jr.




Sammy Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 - May 16, 1990) was an American
"all-around" entertainer. He danced, sang, played vibraphone and drums, did
impressions, and acted.

He was born in Harlem, New York City to vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he
was raised by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his
parents split. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour.

As a child he learned how to dance from his father, Sammy Davis, Sr and his
"uncle" Will Mastin, who lead the dance troup his father worked for. Davis
joined the act as a young child and they became the Will Mastin Trio.
Throughout his long career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing.

Mastin and his father had shielded him from racism. Snubs were explained as
jealousy, for instance, but during World War II, Davis served in the United
States Army, where he was first confronted by strong racial prejudice. He
said later,

     "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color anymore. 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."

While in the service, however, he joined an entertainment unit, and found
that the spotlight removed some of the prejudice. "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 he was discharged, he rejoined the dance act and began to achieve
success. He suffered a setback in 1954, when an automobile accident resulted
in the loss of an eye. Later that year, he converted to Judaism, and the
next year he released his second album.

The next move in his growing career was to appear in the Broadway show Mr. Wonderful.

In 1959 he became a charter member of the Rat Pack, which was led by his old
friend Frank Sinatra.

After he achieved success he refused to work at venues which would practice
segregation. He demands eventually led to the integration of Miami Beach
nightclubs and Las Vegas casinos.

In 1960, Davis caused controversy when he married Swedish-born actress May Britt.

In his autobiography, Davis describes his swinger lifestyle which included
alcohol, cocaine. and women. He also chronicles his financial difficulties.

He died of complications from throat cancer in Beverly Hills, California and
was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Films

   * Rufus Jones for President (1932)
   * Porgy and Bess (1959)
   * Ocean's Eleven (1960)
   * Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
   * Sweet Charity (1969)

Autobiographies

   * Yes I Can (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1965) ISBN 0374522685
   * Why Me? (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1980) ISBN 0446360252
   * Sammy (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (2000) ISBN 0374293554 Consolidates
     the two previous books and includes additional material.

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