Recognized throughout much of his career as "the world's greatest living entertainer," Sammy Davis, Jr. was a remarkably popular and versatile performer equally adept at acting, singing, dancing, and impersonations -- in short, a variety artist in the classic tradition. A member of the famed <a href="spotify:artist:75kHCUYCZGNvAfSyoEuJTz">Rat Pack</a>, he was among the very first African-American talents to find favor with audiences on both sides of the color barrier, and remains a perennial icon of cool. Born in Harlem on December 8, 1925, Davis made his stage debut at the age of three performing with Holiday in Dixieland, a Black vaudeville troupe featuring his father and helmed by his de facto uncle, Will Mastin; dubbed "Silent Sam, the Dancing Midget," he proved phenomenally popular with audiences and the act was soon renamed Will Mastin's Gang Featuring Little Sammy. At the age of seven, Davis made his film debut in the legendary musical short Rufus Jones for President, and later received tap-dancing lessons courtesy of the great <a href="spotify:artist:7oDC1IrImINoF2Rw71XrPX">Bill "Bojangles" Robinson</a>. In 1941, the Mastin Gang opened for <a href="spotify:artist:4WoGga7UeRcmjD4ufif4nG">Tommy Dorsey</a> at Detroit's Michigan Theater; there Davis first met <a href="spotify:artist:4WoGga7UeRcmjD4ufif4nG">Dorsey</a> vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:1Mxqyy3pSjf8kZZL4QVxS0">Frank Sinatra</a>, and it proved the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

In 1943, Davis joined the U.S. Army, where he endured a constant battle with racism; upon his return from duty, the group was renamed the Will Mastin Trio. Three years later they opened for <a href="spotify:artist:3xL6MN3ARaJ5WI1Ltt4Tkz">Mickey Rooney</a>, who encouraged Davis to begin including his many impersonations in the Trio's act; where previously they had exclusively performed music, the addition of comedy brought new life to the group, and by the beginning of the next decade, they were headlining venues including New York's Capitol Club and Ciro's in Hollywood. In 1952, at the invitation of <a href="spotify:artist:1Mxqyy3pSjf8kZZL4QVxS0">Sinatra</a>, they also played the newly integrated Copacabana. In 1954, Davis signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Decca%22">Decca</a>, topping the charts with his debut LP Starring Sammy Davis, Jr. That same year he lost his left eye in a much-publicized auto accident, but upon returning to the stage in early 1955 he was greeted with even greater enthusiasm than before on the strength of a series of hit singles including "Something's Gotta Give," "Love Me or Leave Me," and "That Old Black Magic." A year later, Davis made his Broadway debut in the musical Mr. Wonderful, starring in the show for over 400 performances and launching a hit with the song "Too Close for Comfort."

In 1958, Davis resumed his film career after a quarter-century layoff with Anna Lucasta, followed a year later by his acclaimed turn in Porgy and Bess. Also in 1959, he became a charter member of <a href="spotify:artist:75kHCUYCZGNvAfSyoEuJTz">the Rat Pack</a>, a loose confederation of <a href="spotify:artist:1Mxqyy3pSjf8kZZL4QVxS0">Sinatra</a> associates (also including <a href="spotify:artist:49e4v89VmlDcFCMyDv9wQ9">Dean Martin</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7CJ8bVY59OJ9k0rfodwk5V">Peter Lawford</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7thP9IU5wMkjdtAtTstE0Y">Joey Bishop</a>) who began regularly performing together at The Sands casino in Las Vegas. In 1960, they made Ocean's Eleven, the first in a series of hip and highly self-referential <a href="spotify:artist:75kHCUYCZGNvAfSyoEuJTz">Rat Pack</a> films; although Davis' inclusion in the group was perceived in many quarters as an egalitarian move, many Black audiences felt he was simply a token -- the butt of subtly racist jokes -- and declared him a sell-out. His earlier conversion to Judaism had been met with considerable controversy within the African-American community as well; still, nothing compared to the public outcry over his 1960 marriage to Swedish actress May Britt, which even elicited death threats. Still, Davis remained a major star, appearing in the 1962 <a href="spotify:artist:75kHCUYCZGNvAfSyoEuJTz">Rat Pack</a> film Sergeants 3 and scoring a major hit with "What Kind of Fool Am I?" Two years later he returned to Broadway in the long-running Golden Boy, scoring a Tony nomination for his performance. 

In 1964, the third <a href="spotify:artist:75kHCUYCZGNvAfSyoEuJTz">Rat Pack</a> film, Robin and the Seven Hoods, was released; two years later, in the wake of the publication of his autobiography Yes I Can, Davis was also among a number of musical luminaries, including <a href="spotify:artist:1Mxqyy3pSjf8kZZL4QVxS0">Sinatra</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:19eLuQmk9aCobbVDHc6eek">Louis Armstrong</a>, who co-starred in the jazz drama A Man Called Adam. In 1968, he and <a href="spotify:artist:7CJ8bVY59OJ9k0rfodwk5V">Lawford</a> teamed as Salt and Pepper; the picture was a hit, and a sequel, One More Time, appeared in 1970. In between the two, Davis delivered one of his most memorable screen performances in <a href="spotify:artist:4McvSrxXBBv7tpM9DkoJhF">Bob Fosse</a>'s 1969 musical Sweet Charity; he also appeared in a number of television features, including The Pigeon, The Trackers, and Poor Devil. In 1972, Davis topped the pop charts with "The Candy Man," from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. From 1975 to 1977, he hosted his own syndicated variety show, Sammy and Company, and in 1978, he starred in the film Sammy Stops the World. However, in the late '70s and through much of the '80s, Davis' profile diminished, and he was primarily confined to the casino circuit, with a 1988 comeback tour he mounted with <a href="spotify:artist:1Mxqyy3pSjf8kZZL4QVxS0">Sinatra</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:49e4v89VmlDcFCMyDv9wQ9">Martin</a> that proved largely unsuccessful. His appearance in the 1989 film Tap was much acclaimed, but it was to be his last screen performance. A life-long smoker, Davis died of cancer on May 16, 1990. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian and dancer.
At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced both by black Americans and Jewish communities. In 1958, he faced a backlash for his involvement with a white woman at a time when interracial relationships were taboo in the U.S. and where interracial marriage was not legalized nationwide until 1967.
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 a musical adaptation of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy. Davis was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. The show featured the first interracial kiss on Broadway. 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".
Davis's popularity helped break the race barrier of the segregated entertainment industry. He did, however, have a complex relationship with the black community and drew criticism after publicly supporting President Richard 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 who's Jewish." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography and in many articles.
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, and his estate was the subject of legal battles after the death of his wife. His final album was a Country Music Album, a departure from his usual musical style. Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an 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.

Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr.

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