Sammy Davis Jr.
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
182
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-12-08
Day of death
1990-05-16 (64 years old)
Place of Birth
Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Sammy Davis Jr.
Biography
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
Known For
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Great Performances
Batman
The Cosby Show
The Rifleman
The Dick Cavett Show
What's My Line?
Wogan
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Champs-Elysées
The Merv Griffin Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Oscars
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Hunter
All in the Family
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
The Jack Benny Program
I Dream of Jeannie
Ben Casey
People's Choice Awards
Here's Lucy
Burke's Law
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
The Ed Sullivan Show
Sweet Charity
Salt & Pepper
Drama 61-67
Dinah!
Rat Pack
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
The Kennedy Center Honors
Cain's Hundred
Old Faithful
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Johnny Cool
77 Sunset Strip
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Threepenny Opera
Smorgasbord
BRATS
The Mod Squad
Poor Devil
The Wrecking Crew
Robin and the 7 Hoods
V.I.P. Schaukel
James Dean Remembered
Ocean's Eleven
Sammy Stops the World
The Flip Wilson Show
The Patty Duke Show
4-3-2-1 Hot and Sweet
Heidi's Song
Please Turn the Page
One More Time
Tap
Chico and the Man
The Cannonball Run
The Emmy Awards
That's Dancing!
…Sings Musicals
The Hollywood Palace
Cannonball Run II
Seasoned Greetings
Night of 100 Stars
The Big Party
Alice in Wonderland
The Sixties
Pepe
The Julie Andrews Hour
This Is Elvis
Nightmare in the Sun
Bio’s Bahnhof
The Movie Orgy
Sanford
Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Porgy and Bess
Sweet and Low
This Is Joan Collins
Meet Me in Las Vegas
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
Moon Over Parador
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
Dean Martin: King of Cool
Frank Sinatra Spectacular
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Sergeants 3
John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
All Star Party for Lucille Ball
All Star Party for Clint Eastwood
Television: The First Fifty Years
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
A Man Called Adam
Jingle Bells: RFK - 1964
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Six Bridges to Cross
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Elvis: That's the Way It Is
It's Black Entertainment
The Trackers
This Is Bob Hope...
The Rat Pack
Kim Novak: Hollywood's Golden Age Rebel
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Dean Martin: The One and Only
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration
Playboy's Penthouse
Fight of the Century
Save the Children
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
Convicts 4
The Sammy Davis Jr. Show
Magic Night
The Pigeon
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
Anna Lucasta
The Day of the Fox
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Uptown Comedy Express
Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time
Frank, Liza & Sammy: The Ultimate Event
Hanna-Barbera's 50th
The 1974 Annual Las Vegas Entertainment Awards
Sammy and Company
Rufus Jones for President
Cinderella at the Palace
Gone with the West
Jackpot at Tahoe
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1
The Rat Pack
Happy Birthday, Las Vegas
The Enemy
Pioneers of Primetime
The Perils of P.K
Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 2
Soul of a Nation Presents: Black in Vegas
Let's Play, Boy
Gone Before His Time: Freddie Prinze Sr.
The Strolling '20s
Movin' with Nancy
James Dean: The First American Teenager
The Legendary Nat King Cole
Sammy Davis Jr.: Live In Germany
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Elvis Through the Years
Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin
The Billy Martin Celebrity Roast
Nat King Cole & Friends Unforgettable Hits
The Music According to Tom Jobim
The Ocean's 11 Story
The Fall
Doris Day Today
The Rat Pack - The Greatest Hits
Sammy and Bruce
An Evening with Sammy Davis, Jr. & Jerry Lewis
Bob Hope's Bicentennial Star Spangled Spectacular
Jazz Ball
Christmas with The Martins and The Sinatras
Sammy Davis Jr. in Europa
The Definitive Elvis: The Television Years
The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show (Vol. 1)
Today: While You Were Away (1964-1973 Retrospective)
The Best Of Sammy David Jr. Live
The Ratpack
Frank Sinatra's Welcome Home Party for Elvis Presley
Bomb Disposal
Sammy Davis, Jr.: One Cool Cat
