SAMMY DAVIS JR. – A FORCE TO BE RECKON WITH

By Susan Graham

THE EARLY YEARS

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was born on December 8, 1925.an African American Jewish entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, he was also an actor of stage and screen, musician, and impressionist, noted for his

impersonations of actors, musicians and other celebrities. At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and Will Mastin as the Will

Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. as an only son and the eldest of three children, to Sammy Davis Sr., an African-American entertainer, and Elvera Sanchez, a tap dancer of Afro-Cuban descent.

Sammy had two younger sisters Ramona (who died 2001) and Suzette.

STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPH

His official status is Afro-Latino but in addition As an African-American, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life and was a large financial supporter of the Civil Rights

movement. Davis had a complex relationship with the African-American community, and drew criticism after physically embracing President Richard M. Nixon in 1972. 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 articlesDavis admitted that he was uneducated and never went to school and he didn’t learn to

read or write once he enrolled in the US Army.

STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPH

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 in an interview.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.

MAKIN’ IT TO THE TOP

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 Davis

being hired to sing the title track for the Universal Pictures film Six Bridges to Cross in 1954, and later to his starring role in the Broadway play Mr. Wonderful

in 1956.

MAKIN IT TO THE TOP - DEFIANCE

Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954, in San Bernardino, California, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los

Angeles. In 1953, he had struck up a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor, who gave him a mezuzah. Instead of putting it by his door, as a traditional blessing, Davis would wear it around his neck as a good luck charm. The only time he forgot it, one night in 1954, he crashed his car on the way to a gig in California

Davis lost his left eye to the bullet-shaped horn button (a standard 1954-55 Cadillac feature) as a result. His friend, actor Jeff Chandler, said he would give one of his own eyes if it would keep Davis from total blindness. Davis wore an eye patch for at least

six months following the accident. He was featured with the patch on the cover of his debut album and 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.

CONTROVERSIAL ROMANCES

In 1960, Davis stirred crazy 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 during 1964–66 (for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actor). At the time Davis appeared in the play, interracial marriages were forbidden by law in 31 US

states (but were entirely legal in New York), and only in 1967 were those laws ruled unconstitutional by the US

Supreme Court. Davis and Britt had one daughter Tracey and adopted two sons.

RAT PACK REVOLUTION

In 1959, Davis became a member of the famous 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, known formally as capo di tutti, 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", but the media referred to them as the Rat Pack, the name of its earlier incarnation led by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren

Bacall.

GOING DRAMATIC

Anna Lucasta (1959 film) a remake of the 1949 version (directed by Irving Rapper and starring Paulette Goddard), which itself was also an adaptation of Yordan's 1936 stage

play as is the 1959 version. Sammy portrayed Danny Johnson originated by fellow actor John Ireland from the 1949 original.

The film was unsuccessful at the box office after United Artists gave it little promotion and only a limited release. Despite the failure of the 1959 remake many movie fanatics

praised Sammy’s performance by adding his own personality to the character.

1960’S – THE DECADE THAT TOOK CLASSY OUT

“What Kind of Fool Am I? 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.

The song was a Top 20 Pop hit for Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1962 the year of its publication, peaking at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #6 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.

1960’S - THE DECADE THAT TOOK CLASSY OUT AND TROUBLES BEGIN

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 stated, he was incapable of standing still.

THE LATE 1960’S – THE 1970’S

Although he was still a draw in Las Vegas, Davis's musical career had sputtered by the late 1960s, although he had a No. 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 his signing with the Motown record label. Though his deal with them to have his own label with

the company fell through, Sammy had an unexpected #1 hit with "The Candy Man" after he signed with MGM Records in 1972. 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.

THE 1980’S – THE NEXT PHASE OF REVIVAL

Davis was a fan of daytime soap operas, 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.

SMOOTH GUNSLINGER

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 Army revolver in less than a quarter of a second. Davis was skilled at fast and fancy gun spinning, 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.

VOICE TYPE AND VOCAL RANGE

Sammy Davis, Jr. was considered a baritone. His voice does have a light warm timbre to it, but not all singers belonging to the same vocal category necessarily sound exactly alike or have the exact same ranges. What

notes Davis could sing, I'm not sure. There are several conflicting sources on the internet, and I suspect most of them are completely wrong. I do know he had a good range, based on both his pop hits and his work on

Broadway (yes, he did Broadway). Many male Broadway roles when he performed could be played either by baritones with a good top register, or tenors that had good low register. Lot of the songs in "Stop the World I

Want to Get Off, a musical in which he performed to acclaim, span an octave and a half or more. He would have had to sing these songs night after night LIVE. He also sang a lot of the songs throughout his career as "signature songs". These songs don't necessarily start and stop on the same notes, so he would have had to

have around 2 1/2 octaves to be able to sing what he did the way he did with no strain whatsoever in any part of the songs. Now I suspect his range was larger, but again, singers back then were more concerned about

sounding good and not just showing off how low or high they could go.

THE FINAL ROLE AND CURTAIN CALL

Tap is a Drama movie from 1989 starring Gregory Hines (who passed away in 2003) as Max Washington an ex-con.

This was Sammy Davis, Jr’s.final film appearance in the movie during this time he was battling Throat Cancer.

CANCER BATTLE

Earlier between 1988 to 1989, 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

THE END OF THE ONE WHO BROKE ALL RACIAL BARRIERS

Davis succumbs to Throat Cancer and passed away in Beverly Hills, California, on May 16, 1990 at age 64,

a few weeks prior to his death, his entire larynx was removed during surgery. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, next to his father and Will Mastin.

THE LEGACY 25 YEARS AFTER HE PASSED

After Davis's death, the debts were transferred to his estate. Altovise, a former show girl whom Davis met and married in 1970, also became liable for the IRS debt because she had cosigned Sammy's tax returns. Altovise (

Who Died in 2005) had apparently been overwhelmed by the complexities of settling Davis's affairs, a task that requires her cooperation with Sammy's executors (his lawyer John Climaco and manager Shirley Rhodes) and the

IRS, as well as with dozens of individual claimants—from Nate and Al's Delicatessen in Beverly Hills (asking $561.68) to the Riviera Hotel jewelry

shop (claiming $5,804).

WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION AFTER 25 YEARS

Sammy Davis Jr. was portrayed by Don Cheadle in the HBO film The Rat Pack, a television film about the group of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe award for his performance.

On later episodes of The Cosby Show, Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) wore an "SDjr" pin as a tribute to Davis, who, in its 5th season, made a guest appearance in the episode "No Way, Baby".

Over the last 2 decades since his passing Sammy Davis Jr. At the 2001 Grammy Awards he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Also Davis was a subject on Unsung Hollywood on TVOne this season.

STYLE AND SASS

Sammy’s style had evolved over the years from big shoulder suits then to sweaters with either black or white shirts under to

stage style suits with the jacket taken off sometimes sleeves rolled up and cool killer suede boots (made for walkin’) whenever he pulls up and killer performance including a dance move he did

it with style including the twist.Sammy is highly considered the best twisters among many

others twisting dancing techniques.

SUPER STYLE AND SUPER SASS

In addition to his advantage adding glasses (due to the car accident that almost ended everything in 1954) Sammy added super sass to his style along with the 3-piece suits sometimes with bow ties and neck ties then loosen (his

on-stage signature) it to relax with crowd filled with fans brought him the masses not only as a Rat Pack elite but also the status of Teen Idol in the mid-late 1950’s due to

his early transition from Vaudeville performer to recording artist

Sammy is also among the oldest Teen Idols in Teen Idol History.

HAIRSTYLE RETROSPECTIVE

From straight, small curl flip on the right side to hair cut trim to small afro. Sammy did it all joining the ranks of best hairstyle for the boys. In addition the straight hair from the 1950s to the 1960s Sammy was among the pioneers in the African

American Community to help popularize the style along with fellow singers and groups after him.

WE STILL LOVE SAMMY AND WE ARE THINKING OF HIM

Sammy Davis, Jr. cultivated an entertainment career that incorporated performance through acting both in the theater and movies, music, and dance. His theatrical, screen, and music credits include:

Theater --1954, Mr. Wonderful

1964, the Broadway Musical "Golden Boy"1978, Stop the World—I Want To Get Off.

Movies --Porgy and Bess.

Music --1954, "Hey There"

1955, "Somethings Gotta Give", "Love Me Or Leave Me", " That Old Black Magic",1962, "What Kind of Fool Am I"

1963, "The Shelter of Your Arms"1968, "I've Gotta Be Me"1972, "The Candy Man“

Til this day many artists such as Michael Jackson ( Who died in 2009), James Brown (Who Died in 2006) had look up to Sammy as a major influence. All we know is that Sammy Davis Jr. Is a Pioneer among many African American singers, actors

of today and 25 years later after his death Sammy Davis Jr is now well praised and we love him and still we are thinking of him today so from us to you Mr. Sammy Davis Jr. Thank You and R.I.P.