Matinee Classics - Sammy Davis Jr. Biography & Filmography

Sammy Davis Jr. ACTOR

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SAMMY DAVIS JR. BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Sammy Davis Jr. was born on December 8th, 1925 in Harlem, New York with the birth name Samuel George Davis. His father was vaudeville star, Sammy Davis Sr. When he was only three years old he became involved in the industry working with his dad and uncle in Vaudeville. Sammy toured with them all through his youth and they became known as the Will Mastin Trio. he never had any formal schooling education and was completely self taught, yet he managed to always present his self very articulate. When he was of age he left to join the military but as soon as he completed his service he went right back to working vaudeville with them.

When Sammy was working at a nightclub, Ciro's he was discovered and was offered a recoding contract. He was hired to sing the title track for a Universal film called, "Six Bridges to Cross" (1954) and then released a number of albums followed by an appearance on Broadway in, "Mr. Wonderful" (1946) which ran for four hundred performances.

Many people remember Davis as a member of the, "Rat Pack" which he joined in 1959. It included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford and Shirley MacLaine. The men all appeared in the film, "Ocean's Eleven" (1960). Along with being a member of this group, he continued to further his solo career. He was the headliner at the Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, but as time proceeded he felt such racial prejudice that he chose not to perform anywhere that allowed African Americans to be segregated against.

Davis was involved in a number of different things with the entertaining business. He would work on stage productions in the evening, host a talk show during the day and still continue to record more music, make television appearances and work on films. His hit song, "Candy Man" which he is still well known for today helped his career reach new heights of popularity, even though it was not necessarily one of his favorites. He appeared on such shows as, "All in the Family", "Charlie's Angels", "General Hospital", "Burke's Law", "The Rifleman", "Make Room for Daddy", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Zane Grey Theatre", "One Life to Live" and even did some commercial work for a Japanese whiskey and a coffee.

Sammy even sang the theme song for the television series "Baretta" starring Robert Blake and Tom Ewell called "Eye of the Sparrow".

As much as he loved performing he also had a love for his hobby of photography. Sammy would always carry his camera with him and enjoyed shooting his friends and family. He was also an avid gun collector.

Davis suffered a horrific injury in 1954 when he was in a car accident and as a result lost his right eye. He wore a patch for six months before getting a glass eye which he lived with for the rest of his life.

In 1987 he reunited with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and they toured along with Liza Minnelli throughout the world. Davis was honored in a number of ways such as being awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was also nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his television appearances. In 1987 he was awarded the Kennedy Centers Honors and in 2001 he was also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Despite all the prejudice he suffered throughout his lifetime, he was a man of dignity and courage and he never gave up on his dream.

He married three times throughout his life, First to Loray White from 1958 through 1959. His second marriage was to a Swedish actress, May Britt from 1960 through 1968 and together they had one daughter, Tracey and adopted two sons, Mark and Jeff. His third and final time to marry was to Altovise Davis from 1970 through 1990 and again they adopted one son together, Manny.

Davis was a chain smoker and passed away from throat cancer at the age of sixty four on May 16th, 1990 in Beverly Hills, California. He is interred at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, California next to his father Sammy Davis Sr.

The Las Vegas strip honored his memory on May 18th, 1990 by darkening the neon lights for ten minutes on the strip as a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. He was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording.