Sammy Davis Jr.
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sammy Davis, Jr., licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sammy Davis, Jr., licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known for
Brats
Gone Before His Time: Freddie Prinze Sr.
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
Kim Novak: Hollywood's Golden Age Rebel
Soul of a Nation Presents: Black in Vegas
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Rat Pack
This Is Joan Collins
Dean Martin: King of Cool
This Is Bob Hope...
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Selma
The Rat Pack - The Greatest Hits
Music According to Tom Jobim
…Sings Musicals
Let's Play, Boy
The Wrecking Crew
The Ratpack
The Legendary Nat King Cole
The Rat Pack
Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection
The Definitive Elvis: The Television Years
It's Black Entertainment
The Ocean's 11 Story
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 years of Laughter Volume 2
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
Hanna-Barbera's 50th
The Ultimate Event
Tap
An Evening with Sammy Davis, Jr. & Jerry Lewis
Moon Over Parador
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
Uptown Comedy Express
The Perils of P.K
Alice in Wonderland
Sammy Davis Jr.: Live In Germany
That's Dancing!
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Hunter
Cannonball Run II
Smorgasbord
Heidi's Song
Wogan
Night of 100 Stars
Champs-Elysées
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
The Cannonball Run
This Is Elvis
Sanford
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
The Kennedy Center Honors
Sammy Stops the World
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
James Dean: The First American Teenager
Gone with the West
Doris Day Today
Dinah!
Chico and the Man
James Dean Remembered
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Save the Children
Poor Devil
Old Faithful
The Julie Andrews Hour
The Trackers
All in the Family
Elvis: That's the Way It Is
The Flip Wilson Show
One More Time
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
The Pigeon
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
Sweet Charity
The Fall
The Mod Squad
Here's Lucy
Salt & Pepper
The Dick Cavett Show
The Movie Orgy
Christmas with The Martins and The Sinatras
Movin' with Nancy
The Enemy
The Carol Burnett Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
A Man Called Adam
The Strolling '20s
Batman
I Dream of Jeannie
Frank Sinatra Spectacular
Nightmare in the Sun
The Disorderly Orderly
Robin and the 7 Hoods
The Hollywood Palace
Johnny Cool
Burke's Law
The Patty Duke Show
The Threepenny Opera
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Convicts 4
Sergeants 3
The Mike Douglas Show
Ben Casey
Cain's Hundred
Pepe
Ocean's Eleven
Frank Sinatra's Welcome Home Party for Elvis Presley
Porgy and Bess
Anna Lucasta
77 Sunset Strip
The Rifleman
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
The Steve Allen Show
Meet Me in Las Vegas
Jazz Ball
The Oscars
General Electric Theater
The Jack Benny Program
What's My Line?
The Emmy Awards
The Ed Sullivan Show
Rufus Jones for President