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Sammy Davis, Jr. Biography

Actor / Dancer / Singer

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Born into a vaudeville family, Sammy Davis, Jr. was dancing onstage by the time he was four years old. He grew into a genuine song-and-dance man: an expert tapdancer, crooner, impressionist and all-purpose entertainer. He's best remembered for his high-energy years in Frank Sinatra's so-called Rat Pack, appearing onstage and in movies like Ocean's Eleven (1960) with Sinatra and Dean Martin. He was nominated for a Tony award for his lead role in the Broadway hit Golden Boy and was a frequent headliner in Las Vegas. Davis's interracial marriage to Swedish actress May Britt in 1960 was a rarity for its day. They divorced in 1968. He married dancer Altovise Gore in 1970 and they remained married until his death. His recording of "The Candy Man" was a surprise #1 hit in 1972. His films included Porgy and Bess (1959, with Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge), Salt and Pepper (1968, with Peter Lawford) and Tap (1989). His wrote two autobiographies: Yes I Can (1965) and Why Me? (1989).

Extra credit: Davis lost his left eye in a 1954 car crash while driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles... Davis converted to Judaism in the mid-1950s... He sang the theme song to Robert Blake's 1970s TV show Baretta... He was played by Don Cheadle in the 1998 TV movie The Rat Pack.

Davis appears with Sinatra and Liza Minnelli in our loop on The Rat Pack.

Blog posts mentioning Sammy Davis, Jr.:

• Frank Sinatra and 'La Bande de Rats'
• Celebs As Santa: The Rat Pack
• Happy 25th Deathday, Peter Lawford
• The Last of the Rat Pack