The Sammy Davis Jr. Biography Page

Below you will find a comprehensive biography of Rat Pack Legend Sammy Davis Jr. as well as many helpful links to other pages filled with information on his life and career.

Sammy Davis - The Early Years
Sammy Davis Jr. was born in 1925 in Harlem, New York to an African-American father and Puerto Rican mother, both vaudevillians. When Elvira and Sammy Davis Sr. parted ways in 1928, Sammy's father gained custody of him and promptly took the precocious toddler on the road with the Will Mastin troupe.

Young Sammy quickly took to the performing life. He became a Mastin Troupe regular at the tender age of 5 in 1930-- and by age 7 he made his film debut in the musical short "Rufus Jones for President." Davis Sr. and "Uncle" Will Mastin carefully shielded the youngster from racial discrimination, explaining away slights and snubs as mere jealousy. These two men who raised Sammy on the road ensured that Sammy's early years, at least, were free from the limitations imposed by racial ignorance and hatred.

Sammy's life was free of one other component as well - school. His busy vaudeville schedule made it impossible for him to attend school in any meaningful way. He dodged truant officers and got by with a rudimentary reading level until his late teens. However, while he lacked much formal education, the education he was receiving on the workings of show business from his father and "Uncle" were superb, preparing Sammy to eventually step out of the trio act and grace the spotlight with confidence solo. They bestowed Sammy with knowledge of dancing, singing and the art of engaging audiences with confident patter and an easy smile.

But as the rise of motion pictures began stealing the spotlight from vaudeville, acts all across the country died out. Eventually, the larger Mastin Troupe was reduced to a trio consisting of Sammy, his father and Mastin. Gradually the younger Davis became the trio's shining star, taking the act to larger and better clubs. Along the way, Sammy met and became friends with entertainers such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who also taught the young Sammy a step or two. Then big band leader Tommy Dorsey introduced Sammy to Frank Sinatra, who would become a lifelong colleague and a close, personal friend. And the rest, as they say, is history. The Mastin Trio's momentum was abruptly interrupted when Davis turned 18 and was drafted into the United States Army.

Sammy Davis Jr. in his Army Years

Sammy was sent to basic training in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he first encountered the rampant racism that his father and Mastin had shielded him from for so long. "Overnight the world looked different," Davis would later say. "It wasn't one color anymore. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong."

Sammy found comfort away from the constant humiliation in his friendship with a black sergeant, who taught Davis to read and lent him books to distract him from his anger. Sammy was eventually transferred to an entertainment regiment, and began to perform to the cheers of those who had previously abused him. It was something of a revelation for him. "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight," he said in a later interview. "It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking."

Davis' return from duty allowed him to rejoin the Will Mastin Trio and it was as if he’d never left. In the late 1940's Davis would take the trio to new heights. He lead them on a six-month tour with Mickey Rooney, who was so impressed with Davis's impromptu impersonations that he urged Davis to include them in the Trio's act. This was followed by a three-week engagement at the Capitol Theater in New York on a bill headlined by the Voice, Frank Sinatra, and a featured spot on a Bob Hope benefit show.

But now something had changed and it was palpable. As Sammy's father and "Uncle" began to show significant signs of age, Sammy was coming into his own as a performer. He was almost ready to strike out on his own. The time was the early 1950's.

Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1950’s

Sammy Davis Jr. was dealt a cruel blow on November 19, 1954, when he very nearly died in an automobile accident in San Bernardino, California on trip back from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Sammy lost his left eye in the car crash that occurred as he was driving his Cadillac back to L.A. to record the soundtrack for the film “Six Bridges to Cross.”. The accident happened on a curve in U.S. Highway 66 at a railroad bridge. Support for one of Hollywood’s coolest cats came pretty swiftly. Even Walter Winchell sent his best wishes on his radio program, telling Sammy, ''Sammy, remember, no champ ever lost a fight by being knocked down, only by staying down!'' While Sammy was recovering in the hospital, a good friend Eddie Cantor, told him about the similarities between the Jewish and black peoples and their respective cultures. It was during this hospitalization that Sammy Davis Jr. converted to Judaism. Davis converted to Judaism after reading a history of the Jews. One paragraph about the ultimate endurance and perseverance of the Jewish people intrigued him most: "The Jews would not die. Three millennia of prophetic teaching had given them an unwavering spirit of resignation and had created in them a will to live which no disaster could crush." Sammy Davis Jr. would adopt this “no surrender” attitude and make it a hallmark of his life and career.

In spite of the accident, Fortune seemed to be smiling upon Sammy in a number of ways. First off, the older woman who backed into Sammy’s car (backing out of her driveway) causing the accident, sued him for 75 grand and lost. Second, while Sammy’s career was just really beginning to take off when the accident happened (Davis’ first top 20 song “Hey There” had just begun to start his rise), the media attention following the crash catapulted Davis into the celebrity stratosphere. Finally, while he was still recovering from his injuries, Davis was offered Vegas bookings at $25,000 a week! That was three times what he was making prior to the accident. Less than 8 weeks after the accident, Sammy Davis Jr. took the stage at Ciro’s in Hollywood sporting a silk eye-patch and a second chance at life.

The Rat Pack Las Vegas Years

The years that constitute the Las Vegas Rat Pack period are really from about 1960 until the latter part of the decade. During this time, Sammy Davis Jr. was instrumental in the success of the group. Throughout his career Sammy was often referred to as “The World’s Greatest Living Entertainer”, and with good reason. Much has been written about the performers as individuals and as a group, yet it must be noted that Sammy Davis Jr. was a true musical genius. Of the Rat Pack, Sammy was the only performer who could sing, dance, and play multiple instruments, all at very accomplished levels.

In 1959, Sammy Davis Jr. became a member of the Sinatra incarnation of the Rat Pack, which Frank took to calling “The Clan.” Sammy objected due to the similarity to the name of the Klu Klux Klan and Frank acquiesced by renaming them “The Summit.” Regardless of what the boys called their group, the media and public still referred to them as the Rat Pack. Sammy was particularly recognized for his high energy performances and the sheer number of different things he could do so very well. He was an expert tap-dancer, a great singer, and a remarkable impressionist.

It was during the Rat Pack Las Vegas years that Sammy Davis Jr. and the guys had a measurable impact on the growing civil rights movement. During this period it was frequently the case that African-American performers could perform at a hotel but not stay as a guest. Davis absolutely refused to perform at any establishment that practiced any form of racial segregation. This refusal, coupled with the booming popularity of the Pack and their significant influence, helped lead to the desegregation of Miami Beach nightclubs and Las Vegas casinos. Later on Sammy would recall that this was one of his proudest accomplishments.

Personal Life and Romantic Relationships

Though Sammy saw great success as a performer, his life was not free from the adversity of troubles and addictions. Sammy himself was rather candid in his autobiography admitting to a lifestyle that consisted of heavy drinking, cocaine use, and a four-pack a day cigarette habit (they didn’t call him Smokey for nothing!). Although much of the Rat Pack drank heavily at times, Sammy clearly crossed over into the realm of narcotic addiction. In fact, Sammy’s drug problem eventually progressed to the point that Frank Sinatra cut all ties with his close pal for a time. Frank could not stand being around “druggies” and probably also could not stand to see what Sammy was doing to himself.

Sammy Davis Jr. caused quite a stir in the mid-1950’s when he began dating Columbia Pictures contract star Kim Novak. Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia Pictures reached out to a friendly mob boss who politely told Sammy this whole Kim Novak interracial relationship was probably not the best idea – the romance abruptly ended.

In 1960 Davis sparked controversy again when he married Swedish-born, white actress May Britt. The couple had one biological daughter and adopted two sons in a time when interracial marriage was illegal in most states in America. Davis track record at home was less than stellar due to his hectic work schedule and lifestyle choices. Sammy performed and traveled almost all the time, spending very little time at home with his wife and family. In fact, Sammy admitted to May an affair with singer Lola Falana. The Sammy Davis Jr. - May Britt marriage ended in divorce in 1968, ironically just one year after the United States Supreme Court abolished laws restricting interracial marriage across the country.

The very same year of his divorce, Sammy started dating Altovise Gore, a dancer in “Golden Boy.” The couple were wed in 1970 by Reverend Jesse Jackson and remained married until Sammy’s death in 1990.

The Death of Sammy Davis Jr.

Even fast-tapping Sammy Davis Jr. ultimately could not outrun the years of hard-living and excess that epitomized the Las Vegas Rat Pack years. The world lost one of the all-time greatest performers on May 16, 1990 as Sammy soft-shoed his way through the pearly gates. In the end, the very cigarettes that gave Sammy his moniker “Smokey” also gave him what Sinatra called “the Big Casino”, and he passed too soon at the age of 64 of throat cancer.

Sadly, following Sammy Davis Jr.’s death, much of his personal memorabilia was auctioned off to pay late federal income taxes to the IRS. Phyllis Diller once remarked that “Sammy had it all. He just never bothered to pay for it.” Fittingly, Davis is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California next to his father and “Uncle” Will Mastin. The trio that started Davis’ meteoric rise rests together for eternity.

Here is a complete Sammy Davis Jr. filmography with active links to some of his more memorable film appearances as selected by Rat Pack Memories. For any other film information on Sammy, check his IMDB page.

Sammy Davis Jr. Discography

Broadway Performances