
Sammy Davis Jr.
0 FOLLOWERS • 45 CREDITS • DEC 8, 1925 - MAY 16, 1990 • 64
Biography
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer.
Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis was a childhood vaudevillian who became known for his performances on Broadway and in Las Vegas, as a recording artist, television and film star, and as a member of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack".
At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and "uncle" as the Will Mastin Trio, toured nationally, and after military service, returned to the trio. Davis became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's after the 1951 Academy Awards, with the trio, became a recording artist, and made his first film performances as an adult later that decade. In 1954, he lost his left eye in an automobile accident. Later the same year, he converted to Judaism. In 1960, he appeared in the first Rat Pack movie, Ocean's 11. After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr Wonderful, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Davis's career slowed in the late sixties, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man", in 1972, and became a star in Las Vegas.
As an African American, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life, and was a large financial supporter of civil rights causes. Davis had a complex relationship with the African American community, and attracted criticism after physically embracing Richard Nixon in 1970. 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 articles.
After reuniting with Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before dying of throat cancer in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, and his estate was the subject of legal battles.
Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his television performances. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Known For

The Ed Sullivan Show

General Electric Theater

What's My Line?

The Oscars

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Cosby Show

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

Hunter

The Steve Allen Show

The Merv Griffin Show

All in the Family

The Carol Burnett Show

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

Batman

The Kennedy Center Honors

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

Cain's Hundred

I Dream of Jeannie

The Flip Wilson Show

The Emmy Awards

Alice in Wonderland

Chico and the Man

Sanford

The Movie Orgy

The Jack Benny Program

Selma

This Is Elvis

BRATS

CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

Uptown Comedy Express

Elvis: That's the Way It Is

The Cannonball Run

Sweet and Low

Cannonball Run II

This Is Your Life

The Ocean's 11 Story

Smorgasbord

The Kid Who Loved Christmas

Ocean's Eleven

Heidi's Song

Save the Children

Poor Devil

The Sammy Davis Jr. Show
Production Credits
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