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72-667: The association was established following the work of vaudeville performer Sherman H. Dudley . By 1909, Dudley was commonly known as the "Lone Star Comedian" and had begun an attempt to have a black-owned and operated string of venues around the United States. By 1911, Dudley was based in Washington, D.C. as general manager and treasurer of the Colored Actors' Union , and set up S. H. Dudley Theatrical Enterprises, which began buying and leasing theaters around Washington and Virginia. By 1916,

144-563: A bout with cirrhosis due to years of drinking, Davis announced his sponsorship of the Sammy Davis Jr. National Liver Institute in Newark, New Jersey in 1985. In August 1989, Davis began to develop symptoms of cancer – a tickle in his throat and an inability to taste food. Doctors found a malignant tumor in Davis's throat. He was a heavy smoker and had often smoked up to four packs of cigarettes

216-534: A comment about Dudley's son, after which Dudley beat him up "$ 5,000 worth", according to Russell; Dudley was arrested and fined $ 1 and court costs, after which Russell sued him for $ 5,000. Other critics were less hesitant to praise Dudley's performance, and he is now credited with having brought "the street to the stage": "Dudley revitalized the Smart Set and made it into an enduring classic of the American popular stage." In

288-630: A commercial success, closing after 383 performances. In 1958, Davis was hired to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest for the famed fourteenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. , held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John , Sam Cooke , Ernie Freeman , and Bo Rhambo . The event featured the top four prominent disc jockeys of Los Angeles. In 1959, Davis became

360-575: A dancer in Golden Boy . They were married on May 11, 1970, by Reverend Jesse Jackson and adopted a son, Manny, in 1989. They remained married until his death in 1990. By the end, Altovise Davis was sharing her mansion with her husband's girlfriend. Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting pictures of family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar titled Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. "Jerry [Lewis] gave me my first important camera, my first 35 millimeter, during

432-550: A day as an adult. When told that surgery ( laryngectomy ) offered him the best chance of survival, Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he was treated with definitive radiation therapy. His larynx was later removed when his cancer recurred. He was released from the hospital on March 13, 1990. Davis died of complications from throat cancer two months later at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on May 16, 1990, at age 64. He

504-825: A documentary about Davis's time in Vietnam performing for troops on behalf of Nixon's drug treatment program. Nixon invited Davis and his wife Altovize to sleep in the White House in 1973, the first time African Americans were invited to do so. The Davizes spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom . Davis later said he regretted supporting Nixon, accusing him of making promises on civil rights that he did not keep. Davis later supported Jesse Jackson ' s 1984 campaign for president. Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954, in San Bernardino, California , as he

576-463: A door which they had always secretly held open." At age seven, Davis played the title role in the film Rufus Jones for President , in which he sang and danced with Ethel Waters . He lived for several years in Boston's South End and reminisced years later about "hoofing and singing" at Izzy Ort's Bar & Grille . In 1944, during World War II , Davis was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 18. He

648-415: A driver, who missed turning at the fork, backed up her car in Davis's lane and he drove into her car. Davis consequently lost his left eye to the bullet-shaped horn button (a standard feature in 1954 and 1955 Cadillacs). His friend, actor Jeff Chandler , said he would give one of his own eyes to keep Davis from total blindness. He wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident. The singer

720-583: A guest star on several television westerns. Davis experimented with Satanism following his 1968 divorce. He became a warlock in the Church of Satan and was a friend of its High Priest, Anton LaVey . Even after cutting ties with the Church, he continued to perform Satanic rituals. After Davis's marriage to May Britt ended in 1968, Davis turned to alcohol. He also "found solace in drugs, particularly cocaine and amyl nitrite " and experimented with pornography. After

792-606: A member of the Rat Pack , led by his friend Frank Sinatra , which included fellow performers Dean Martin , Joey Bishop , and Peter Lawford , a brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy . Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Davis voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the Ku Klux Klan . Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit". One long night of poker that went on into

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864-582: A musical-variety special featuring Nancy Sinatra , the daughter of Frank Sinatra, titled Movin' with Nancy . In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is notable for Nancy Sinatra and Davis greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in US television . Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley in the late 1960s, as they both were top-draw acts in Las Vegas at

936-475: A national celebrity. In 1957, Davis was involved with actress Kim Novak , who was under contract with Columbia Pictures . Because Novak was white, Harry Cohn , the president of Columbia, gave in to his worries that backlash against the relationship could hurt the studio. There are several accounts of what happened, but they agree that Davis was threatened by organized crime figures close to Cohn. According to one account, Cohn called racketeer John Roselli , who

1008-541: A star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business". Davis' popularity helped break the race barrier of the segregated entertainment industry. 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. 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

1080-631: A young William Basie (before he came to be called "Count") on tour with Gonzelle White , and four-year-old Sammy Davis Jr. all performed on the T.O.B.A. circuit. According to writer Preston Lauterbach, "a basic TOBA troupe carried about all the variety a single stage could hold, not to mention all the personalities one sleeping car could hold", including tap dancers, comedy teams, actors, and blues singers. Their backdrops, costumes and props moved with them. The most prestigious black theaters in Harlem , Philadelphia , and Washington, D.C. , were not part of

1152-559: The American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal , was discharged in 1945 with the rank of private. He later said, "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking." Following his discharge from the Army, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland, Oregon . He also recorded blues songs for Capitol Records in 1949 under

1224-655: 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

1296-629: The Paris Opera , actresses Ruth Attaway and Jane White , and Frederick O'Neal , who founded the American Negro Theater . The network could not get a sponsor, so the show was dropped. In 1954, Davis was hired to sing the title song for the Universal Pictures film Six Bridges to Cross . In 1956, he starred in the Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful , which was panned by critics but was

1368-472: The United States Army during World War II, he was confronted by strong prejudice. He later said: "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color any more. 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. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for 18 years,

1440-464: The Vietnam War , Davis went to Vietnam to observe military drug abuse rehabilitation programs and talk to and entertain the troops. He did this as a representative from President Nixon 's Special Action Office For Drug Abuse Prevention. He performed shows for up to 15,000 troops; after one two-hour performance he reportedly said, "I've never been so tired and felt so good in my life." The U.S. Army made

1512-874: The Whitman Sisters and their Company; musicians Fletcher Henderson , Fats Waller , Louis Armstrong , Noble Sissle , Eubie Blake , Joe "King" Oliver , and Duke Ellington ; comedians Sandy Burns , Salem Whitney Tutt , Boots Hope , Seymour James , and Tom Fletcher ; future Paris sensation Josephine Baker ; songwriter and pianist Perry Bradford , the mime Johnny Hudgins ; dancers U. S. Thompson , Walter Batie , Earl "Snakehips" Tucker , and Valaida Snow ; and many others. In addition, later well-known names such as Florence Mills , Lincoln " Stepin Fetchit " Perry, Hattie McDaniel , Mantan Moreland , Jackie "Moms" Mabley , Dewey Pigmeat Markham , Johnny Lee, Marshall "Garbage" Rogers , Amanda Randolph , Chick Webb , Cab Calloway ,

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1584-648: The Will Mastin Trio , which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became a sensation following key nightclub performances at Ciro's (in West Hollywood ) in 1951, including one after the Academy Awards ceremony . 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

1656-475: The "Dudley Circuit" had extended into the south and Midwest, enabling black entertainers to secure longer-term contracts for an extended season; this circuit provided the basis for T.O.B.A. His circuit was advertised in a weekly column published in black newspapers, "What's What on the Dudley's Circuit", and by 1914 it included over twenty theaters, "all owned or operated by blacks and as far south as Atlanta." T.O.B.A.

1728-657: The "S. H. Dudley's Georgia Minstrels", who were performing in Galveston ; later that same year he was on tour with P. T. Wright 's Nashville Students Company. He gained a reputation for writing popular coon songs (including a hit song called "Mr. Coon, You'se Too Black For Me"), and performed with a number of minstrel comedians in shows in the same vein, including A Holiday in Coonville (his own production) and Coontown Golf Club (a production by Tom Brown and Sam Cousins ). When he toured with Tom Brown and Billy Kersands in 1902, it

1800-514: The 7 Hoods (1964), and they performed onstage together in Las Vegas. In 1964, Davis was the first African American to sing at the Copacabana night club in New York. Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, but owing to Jim Crow practices in Las Vegas, he was required (as were all black performers in the 1950s) to lodge in a rooming house on the west side of the city instead of in

1872-900: The Ciro's period, early '50s", Boyar quotes Davis as saying "And he hooked me." Davis used a medium format camera later on to capture images. Boyar reports that Davis had said, "Nobody interrupts a man taking a picture to ask... 'What's that nigger doin' here?'". His catalog includes rare photos of his father dancing onstage as part of the Will Mastin Trio and intimate snapshots of close friends Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Nat "King" Cole, and Marilyn Monroe. His political affiliations also were represented, in his images of Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. His most revealing work comes in photographs of wife May Britt and their three children, Tracey, Jeff and Mark. Davis

1944-540: The Smart Set for years with great success, though one critic, Sylvester Russell (a writer for the Indianapolis Freeman ), was hard on him from the beginning, presumably because he felt that Dudley's minstrel show background made him unworthy; in 1906, Russell referred to him as "this loathsome comedian who hails from the Lone Star State." It seems that Dudley took all this in stride until 1911, when Russell made

2016-532: The U.S. still stood in 23 states, and a 1958 opinion poll revealed only 4% of Americans supported marriage between black and white spouses. During 1964–66, Davis received racist hate mail while starring in the Broadway adaptation of Golden Boy , in which his character is in a relationship with a white woman, paralleling his own interracial relationship. At the time Davis appeared in the musical, although New York had no laws against it, debate about interracial marriage

2088-452: The Washington, D.C. area). After 1917 Dudley devoted himself to producing black musicals, including updated Smart Set productions. He sold his theaters around 1930 (due to economic forces "beyond his control" ), and retired to a farm in Maryland where he bred thoroughbred racehorses. In 1903 Dudley married Alberta Ormes, with whom he'd been performing since at least 1901, and was on tour

2160-517: The association was generally known as Toby Time ( Time was a common term for vaudeville circuits). It booked only black artists into a series of theatres on the East Coast and as far west as Oklahoma . T.O.B.A. venues were the only ones south of the Mason-Dixon line that regularly sought black audiences, according to one reference. T.O.B.A. paid less and generally had worse touring arrangements, which

2232-529: The basis for the Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.). His circuit was advertised in a weekly column published in black newspapers, "What's What on the Dudley's Circuit", and by 1914 it included over twenty theaters, "all owned or operated by blacks and as far south as Atlanta." T.O.B.A. was founded by people associated with Dudley's circuit, and while the organization was white-owned it had black regional managers, including Dudley (for

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2304-513: The book A History of the Jews by Abram L. Sachar ), describing the endurance of the Jewish people, interested him in particular: "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." The accident marked a turning point in Davis's career, taking him from a well-known entertainer to

2376-481: The circuit, booking acts independently; the T.O.B.A. was considered less prestigious. Many black performers, such as Bert Williams , George Walker, Johnson and Dean , Bill "Bojangles" Robinson , Irving Jones , Tim Moore, and Johnny Hudgins , also performed in white vaudeville, often in blackface . Sherman H. Dudley Sherman Houston Dudley (1872 – March 1, 1940) was an African-American vaudeville performer and theatre entrepreneur. He gained notability in

2448-554: The color barrier in U.S. broadcast television, and in 1959 he starred in his own TV special, Sammy's Parade , on the Canadian network CBC . It was a breakthrough event for the performer, as in the United States in the 1950s corporate sponsors largely controlled the screen: "Black people [were] not portrayed very well on television, if at all", according to Jason King of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. In 1964, Davis

2520-551: The early morning saw the men drunken and disheveled. As Angie Dickinson approached the group, she said, "You all look like a pack of rats." The nickname caught on, and they were then called the Rat Pack, the name of the earlier group led by Humphrey Bogart and his wife, Lauren Bacall , who originally made the remark about the "pack of rats" they associated with. The group around Sinatra made several movies together, including Ocean's 11 (1960), Sergeants 3 (1962), and Robin and

2592-526: The first annual 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation telethon . Guests included Muhammad Ali , Paul Anka , Jack Barry , Joyce Brothers , Ray Charles , Dick Clark , Roy Clark , Howard Cosell , Ossie Davis , Ruby Dee , Joe Franklin , Cliff Gorman , Richie Havens , Danny Kaye , Jerry Lewis , Hal Linden , Rich Little , Butterfly McQueen , Minnie Pearl , Boots Randolph , Tex Ritter , Phil Rizzuto , The Rockettes , Nipsey Russell , Sally Struthers , Mel Tillis , Ben Vereen , and Lawrence Welk . It

2664-602: The first black operated vaudeville circuit and led the way for what became the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.). Reportedly, Dudley was born in 1872 in Dallas , Texas (some sources list his year of birth as around 1870 or 1873 ), "of humble parentage". A jockey early in his youth, he turned to theater and gained a reputation by singing in a medicine show on a Dallas street corner, singing " Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again ". By 1897 he had his own show,

2736-485: The first black vaudeville circuit, initially around Washington and Virginia; he had bought his first theater, in Baltimore, in 1912. In August 1912, he played his last season with the Smart Set, from then on devoting himself to his "circuit of theaters." By 1916 the "Dudley Circuit" had extended into the south and Midwest, enabling black entertainers to secure longer term contracts for an extended season; his circuit provided

2808-556: The following year with Richard and Pringle's Georgia Minstrels . Alberta was murdered in 1926 by Police George S. Davis. Articles stated the couple had been in the midst of a divorce, but had recently reconciled. Actor Sherman H. Dudley Jr. was his son. Sammy Davis Jr. 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

2880-483: The hotels as his white colleagues did. No dressing rooms were provided for black performers, and they had to wait outside by the swimming pool between acts. Davis and other black artists could entertain but could not stay at the hotels where they performed, gamble in the casinos, or dine or drink in the hotel restaurants and bars. Davis later refused to work at places that practiced racial segregation . Canada provided opportunities for performers like Davis unable to break

2952-520: The late nineteenth and early twentieth century as an individual performer, a composer of ragtime songs, and as a member and later owner of various minstrel shows including the Smart Set Company . Dudley is also notable as one of the first African Americans to combine business with theater, by starting a black theater circuit, in which theaters were owned or operated by African Americans and provided entertainment by and for African Americans. He created

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3024-562: The latter by his understudy, Salem Tutt Whitney ; their 1909-10 production, His Honor, the Barber was written by a white playwright, Edwin Handford , with music written for the show by black composers James Tim Brymn , Chris Smith , and James Burris . The show opened in New Jersey for a mixed audience, and by the time of the final run Aida Overton Walker had joined the cast. By this time, Dudley

3096-484: The next Smart Set show, The Black Politician (1906), Dudley got to use his jockey skills riding a horse on stage, and when in October 1906 a donkey named Shamus O'Brien was added (though another source lists the donkey's name as "Patrick" ), the donkey and Dudley received high praise from critics, even from Russell. In 1909, the Smart Set split up in a Northern and a Southern Smart Set, the first being directed by Dudley and

3168-490: 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 when 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

3240-548: The performers had to pay for themselves, than the white vaudeville counterpart. T.O.B.A. became less successful as the Great Depression struck, collapsing in late 1930 when Dudley sold his chain of theaters to a cinema company. Its earliest star performers included singers Ethel Waters , Gertrude Ma Rainey , Bessie Smith , Edmonia Henderson , Mamie Smith , Minto Cato and Adelaide Hall ; comedian Tim Moore with his Chicago Follies company (which included his wife Gertie);

3312-461: The pseudonyms Shorty Muggins and Charlie Green. In March 1951, the Will Mastin Trio appeared at Ciro's as the opening act for headliner Janis Paige . They were to perform for only 20 minutes, but the reaction from the celebrity-filled crowd was so enthusiastic, especially when Davis launched into his impressions, that they performed for nearly an hour, and Paige insisted the order of the show be flipped. Davis began to achieve success on his own and

3384-621: The same time. Davis was in many ways just as reclusive during his hotel gigs as Elvis was, holding parties mainly in his penthouse suite that Elvis occasionally attended. Davis sang a version of Presley's song " In the Ghetto " and made a cameo appearance in Presley's 1970 concert film Elvis: That's the Way It Is . One year later, he made a cameo appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever , but

3456-662: The scene was cut. In Japan, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee and Suntory Whiskey. In the United States he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership. Although he was still popular in Las Vegas, he saw his musical career decline by the late 1960s. He had a No. 11 hit (No. 1 on the Easy Listening singles chart ) with " I've Gotta Be Me " in 1969. He signed with Motown to update his sound and appeal to young people. Davis had an unexpected No. 1 hit with " The Candy Man " with MGM Records in 1972. He did not particularly care for

3528-554: The song and was chagrined that he had become known for it, but Davis made the most of his opportunity and revitalized his career. Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy popularity with his 1976 performance of the theme song from the Baretta television series, "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)" (1975–1978), which was released as a single ( 20th Century Records ). On May 27–28, 1973, Davis hosted (with Monty Hall )

3600-530: 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

3672-633: Was 23 and twice divorced and had a six-year-old child. He paid her a lump sum – $ 10,000 or $ 25,000 – to engage in a marriage on the condition that it would be dissolved before the end of the year. Davis became inebriated at the wedding and attempted to strangle White en route to their wedding suite. Checking on him later, Davis's personal assistant Arthur Silber Jr. found Davis with a gun to his head. Davis despairingly said to Silber, "Why won't they let me live my life?" The couple never lived together and commenced divorce proceedings in September 1958. The divorce

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3744-544: Was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan . However, in the 2003 biography In Black and White , author Wil Haygood wrote that Davis's mother was born in New York City to Cuban parents who were of Afro-Cuban background, and that Davis claimed he was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales. Davis's parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was reared by his paternal grandmother. When he

3816-486: Was a financial disaster. The total amount of pledges was $ 1.2 million. Actual pledges received were $ 525,000. Davis was a huge fan of daytime television, particularly the soap operas produced by the American Broadcasting Company. He made a cameo appearance on General Hospital and had a recurring role as Chip Warren on One Life to Live , for which he received a 1980 Daytime Emmy Award nomination. He

3888-403: Was a registered Democrat and supported John F. Kennedy 's 1960 election campaign as well as Robert F. Kennedy 's 1968 campaign . He went on to become a close friend of President Richard Nixon (a Republican) and publicly endorsed him at the 1972 Republican National Convention . Davis also made a USO tour to South Vietnam at Nixon's request. In February 1972, during the later stages of

3960-433: Was also a game show fan, appearing on Family Feud in 1979 and Tattletales with his wife Altovize in the 1970s. In 1988, Davis was billed to tour with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, but Sinatra and Martin had a falling out. Liza Minnelli replaced Martin on the tour dubbed as ''The Ultimate Event''. During the tour in 1989, Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer; his treatments prevented him from performing. Davis

4032-474: Was an enthusiastic shooter and gun owner. He participated in fast-draw competitions. Johnny Cash recalled that Davis was said to be capable of drawing and firing a Colt Single Action Army revolver in less than a quarter of a second. Davis was skilled at fast and fancy gunspinning and appeared on television variety shows showing off this skill. He also demonstrated gunspinning to Mark on The Rifleman in "Two Ounces of Tin". He appeared in western films and as

4104-669: Was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California . On May 18, 1990, two days after his death, the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip were darkened for ten minutes as a tribute. Davis left the bulk of his estate, estimated at $ 4,000,000 (U.S.), to his widow Altovise Davis , but he owed the IRS $ 5,200,000, which after interest and penalties had increased to over $ 7,000,000. Altovise became liable for his debt because they had filed jointly and she had co-signed their tax returns. She

4176-678: Was clear that he was a popular, well-known artist in the South, and was billed as "the Lone-Star comedian". By 1903, he received star billing. In the summer of 1904 he left that company and moved to Chicago to take over the leading role in Gus Hill 's Smart Set Company after the death of Tom McIntosh , performing in the show A Southern Enchantment . In 1904 he also opened a cafe and bar on State Street in Chicago with boxer Jack Johnson. Dudley performed with

4248-495: Was confirmed by director Sam Pollard, who revealed in a 2017 American Masters documentary that Davis's invitation to perform at the inauguration was abruptly canceled on the night of JFK's inaugural party. In addition to Tracey, Davis and Britt adopted two sons, Mark and Jeff. Davis performed almost continuously and spent little time with his wife. They divorced in 1968 after Davis admitted to an affair with singer Lola Falana . In 1968, Davis started dating Altovise Gore ,

4320-517: Was featured with the patch on the cover of his debut album and appeared on What's My Line? wearing the patch. Later, Davis was fitted for a glass eye , which he wore for the rest of his life. In the hospital, Eddie Cantor described to Sammy the similarities between Jewish and Black cultures. Davis, born to a Catholic mother and Baptist father, was raised Catholic and began studying Jewish history as an adult, converting to Judaism several years later in 1960. One passage from his readings (from

4392-591: Was forced to auction his personal possessions and real estate. Some of his friends in the industry, including Quincy Jones , Joey Bishop , Ed Asner , Jayne Meadows , and Steve Allen , participated in a fundraising concert at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Altovise and the IRS reached a settlement in 1997. After she died in 2009, their son Manny was named executor of the estate and majority-rights holder of his intellectual property. Shortly before his death in 1990, ABC aired

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4464-524: Was formally established in 1920 by people associated with Dudley's circuit. Its President was Milton Starr, owner of the Bijou Theatre in Nashville ; its chief booker was Sam Reevin of Chattanooga . The organization had more than 100 theaters at its peak in the early to mid 1920s. Often referred to by the black performers as Tough on Black Artists (or, by Gertrude "Ma" Rainey , as Tough on Black Asses ),

4536-473: Was frequently abused by white soldiers from the South and later recounted: "I must have had a knockdown, drag-out fight every two days." His nose was broken numerous times and permanently flattened. At one point he was offered a beer laced with urine. He was reassigned to the Army's Special Services branch, which put on performances for troops. At one show he found himself performing in front of soldiers who had previously racially abused him. Davis, who earned

4608-424: Was granted in April 1959. In 1959, Davis had "a short, stormy, exciting relationship" with Nichelle Nichols . In 1960, there was another racially charged public controversy when Davis married white, Swedish-born actress May Britt in a ceremony officiated by Rabbi William M. Kramer at Temple Israel of Hollywood. While interracial marriage had been legal in California since 1948, anti-miscegenation laws in

4680-442: Was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. During the previous year, he had started a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor , who had given him a mezuzah . Instead of putting it by his door as a traditional blessing, Davis wore it around his neck for good luck. The only time he forgot it was the night of the accident. The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Route 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive, when

4752-464: Was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . In 2017, Davis was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame . Davis was born on December 8, 1925, in the Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City, the son of African American entertainer and stage performer Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988) and Cuban-American tap dancer and stage performer Elvera Sanchez (1905–2000). During his lifetime, Davis stated that his mother

4824-438: Was singled out for praise by critics, releasing several albums. In 1953, Davis was offered his own television show on ABC , Three for the Road—with the Will Mastin Trio . The network spent $ 20,000 filming the pilot, which presented African Americans as struggling musicians, not slapstick comedy or the stereotypical mammy roles of the time. The cast included Frances Davis , who was the first black ballerina to perform for

4896-451: Was starring in Golden Boy at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day. When he could get a day off from the theater, he recorded songs in the studio, performed at charity events in Chicago, Miami, or Las Vegas, or appeared on television variety specials in Los Angeles. Davis felt he was cheating his family of his company, but he said he was incapable of standing still. On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast

4968-508: Was still ongoing in America as Loving v. Virginia was being fought. It was only in 1967, after the musical finished, that anti-miscegenation laws in all states were ruled unconstitutional (via the 14th Amendment adopted in 1868) by the U.S. Supreme Court . May Britt's and Davis's daughter Tracey Davis (July 5, 1961 – November 2, 2020) alleged in a 2014 book that the marriage to Britt also resulted in President Kennedy refusing to allow Davis to perform at his inauguration . The snub

5040-469: Was three years old, his parents separated. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour. Davis learned to dance from his father and his godfather Will Mastin . Davis joined the act as a child, and they became the Will Mastin Trio . Throughout his career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing. Mastin and his father shielded him from racism, for example by dismissing race-based snubs as jealousy. However, when Davis served in

5112-621: Was told to inform Davis that he must stop seeing Novak. To try to scare Davis, Roselli had him kidnapped for a few hours. Another account relates that the threat was conveyed to Davis's father by mobster Mickey Cohen . Davis was threatened with the loss of his other eye or a broken leg if he did not marry a black woman within two days. Davis sought the protection of Chicago mobster Sam Giancana , who said that he could protect him in Chicago and Las Vegas but not California. Davis briefly married black dancer Loray White in 1958 to protect himself from mob violence; Davis had previously dated White, who

5184-478: Was widely known as the "Lone Star Comedian" and had begun to expand his business ventures, moving into theater in an attempt to have a black-owned and operated string of venues around the United States, a dream of his since at least 1907. By about 1910 Dudley was based in Washington D.C., where he served as general manager and treasurer of the Colored Actors' Union . In 1911 he set up S. H. Dudley Theatrical Enterprises, and began buying and leasing theaters to develop

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