Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. (December 8th 1925 - May 16th 1990) was an American artist touch-with-all. He was dancer, singer, actor, impressionist and musician (vibraphone, trumpet and battery).

Biography

Childhood

Sammy Davis Jr. is born in the district from Harlem with New York. He is the son of Elvera Sanchez, a dancer, and of Sammy Davis Sr., an artist touch-with-all Afro-américain. The couple earns its living while playing in popular comedies with the theater. Infant, it is raised by his paternal grandmother. Small Sammy is old only 3 years when his/her parents divorce. To avoid losing the guard of his/her son, Sammy Sr. takes along with him of turned. About his/her mother, Sammy Davis Jr. all its life will claim which it was Oporto-ricaine, but one of its biographers affirms that this one was in fact of cuban origin. Sammy would have lied to avoid being confronted with the feelings anti-Cubans of America of the Sixties, with their apogee after the crisis of the missiles in 1962.

Child, it learns the dance thanks to his father and with his " oncle" , Will Mastin, the leader of the troop where dance Sammy Sr. Soon, the young person Sammy Jr. joined his/her father and Will Mastin to form the Will Mastin Trio. Throughout its career, Sammy Davis Jr. part of its seals to the members of its old group will transfer.

His/her father and Will Mastin make very to protect the child from the ambient Racisme. They explain to him, for example, why the mocking remarks of which it is victim during the Second world war are the expression of the jealousy. Sammy Jr., which is enlisted in the American forces, is seen then confronted with racism for the first time. He will tell later: “The night, the world was different. It was not any more one question of color. It is there that I realized that my father and Will had protected me up to that point. They had hoped that I can escape from the mockeries and hatred. I was grateful to them, but they had been wrong. It was as if I had passed by a door beating during 18 years, a door which they secretly always had left opened. ”

The career

In spite of the mocking remarks, Sammy Jr. joined a unit of entertainment during its military service, and discovers that the projectors constitute a kind of shield against racism. “My talent was a weapon, a force, a means of defending me. It was the only means I had to try to make reflect the person opposite me” it declared.

Of return to the civil life, it takes part in spectacles of dance and song, and starts to be success. It ends up being made locate by a recording company and records a first album in 1954, Starring Sammy Davis Jr . A second disc, Just for lovers appears the following year. In 1956, whereas its career takes off, it takes down a supporting role with Broadway in the musical comedy Mr. Wondeful at the side of his father and Will Mastin. The spectacle is a success, and will know nearly 400 representations. .

In 1959, his/her old friend Frank Sinatra invites it to join the Rat Pack, a group created and taken along by The Voice, and of which Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin constitutes the most popular members near the public. The Rat Pack records tens of discs and turns of many films of unequal quality, among which Unknown of Las Vegas ( Ocean' S Eleven ) in 1960 or Seven Robbers of Chicago ( Robin and the Seven Hoods ) in 1964. From 1960 to 1966, the troop (which includes/understands many other stars of the time like Peter Lawford or Joey Bishop) plays closed counters in all America with a spectacle mixing music and comedy. Sands Hotel of Las Vegas, true general headquarter of the Rat Pack (and property of Frank Sinatra) sees ravelling the largest celebrities of the Sixties (including politicians) which come to attend representations making of the city from the Nevada the center of the world of the entertainment. Las Vegas is not whereas a vast playing field without another distraction that the many casinos.

Become a star impossible to circumvent, Sammy Davis Jr. refuse to play in the rooms which practice the segregation. These refusal would have taken part in the stop of discriminations in the clubs of Las Vegas and Miami Beach, and in the casinos of the State of Nevada.

Private life

Its career failed to break on November 19th, 1954: it is victim of an car accident on a level crossing of the Route 66 with height of San Berdino (California), whereas it goes to the recording of the credits of film of Tony Curtis the Police force was with go ( Six Bridges to Cross ). He escapes from accuracy from dead but loses the use of his left eye (he will carry a glass eye until his death).

During his stay at the hospital, his/her friend Eddie Cantor speaks to him about the common points between the condition of the American blacks and the people Juif. Davis converts finally with the Judaïsme after the reading of a book on the history of the Jews, always during her convalescence. A paragraph evoking the perseverance of which the Jews made proof, marks it particularly: “The Jews cannot disappear. Three centuries of prophetic teaching resigned them, and gave birth to in them a desire from living that no tragedy could destroy. ”.

In its various autobiographies, Sammy describes a lifestyle dissolue, where alcohol, cocaine, and women mix. It also gives a report on regular financial problems.

In 1960, it created the polemic by marrying the actress of Swedish origin May Britt, in segregationist America still deeply . It receives threatening letters after having been selected to play Broadway in the musical comedy Golden Servant boy in 1964. What does not seem to tarnish the enthusiasm of the fans: the spectacle is a success (at the beginning) but stops finally after some representations. The interraciaux marriages are then prohibited by the law in 31 States, of the laws abolished by the American Supreme court in 1967. May Britt gives rise to a girl and the couple adopts 2 other children. Sammy, which connects the spectacles, spends little time with his wife. He also acknowledges to maintain a relation with the singer Lola Fofana (its partner in Golden Servant boy ), which precipitates the divorce of the couple pronounced in 1968. This same year, Davis Jr. start to attend Altovise Gore, a dancer met at the time of a show TV. They marry in 1970 at the time of a ceremony celebrated by the reverend Jesse Jackson, and will remain plain until the death of Sammy in 1990.

It is one of the first male celebrities to publicly admit her taste for the television series with the water of pink, particularly those diffused on ABC. A consent which enables him to take down a small role of drug addict in the series central Hôpital ( General Hospital ), as well as a regular appearance in the series One saw only once ( One Life to Live ) in skin Warren the Chip, a role for which it is nominated with the Daytime Emmy in 1980 (Daytime Emmy reward the programs diffused in day in the United States).

Little before its death, Davis Jr. sees itself rewarded by the black community during an emission of TV. With the general surprise, he thanks Jesus during his speech, which does not fail to cause a finally attenuated polemic when the artist explains that the sentence had been taken out of its context, and did not refer to its personal convictions.

Reached of a cancer of the throat, Sammy Davis Jr. dies in Beverly Hills (California) on May 16th, 1990 at the 64 years age, following complications related to its disease. It is buried with the cemetery of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park of Glendale (California), at the sides of his father and Will Mastin.

An auction is organized shortly after its death in order to settle its many debts, in particular tax arrears claimed by the Federal state.

Catalog of films

Seasoned Greetings (1933) (short-measuring)
Rufus Jones for President (1933) (short-measuring)
Sweet and Low (1947)
Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
Anna Lucasta (1959)
Porgy and Bess ( Porgy and Bess ) (1959)
Unknown of Las Vegas ( Ocean' S Eleven ) (1960)
Pepe (1960) (appearance)
Sergeants 3 (1962)
Convicts 4 (1962)
the Opera of quat' under ( Three Penny Operated ) (1963)
Of Coils and Desire (1963)
Johnny Cool (1963)
the Seven Robbers of Chicago ( Robin and the 7 Hoods ) (1964)
Nightmare in the Sun (1965)
has Man Called Adam (1966)
Salt and Pepper (1968)
Sweet Charity (1969)
One More Time (1970)
Elvis: That' S the Way It Is (1970) (documentary)
Diamonds are Forever (1971) (appearance, crossed to the final assembly)
Save the Children (1973) (documentary)
Gone with the West (1975)
Sammy Stops the World (1978)
Equipped with Cannonball ( The Cannonball Run ) (1981)
Misfortunes of Heidi ( Heidi' S Song ) (1982) (voice)
be to You insane Jerry! ( Cracking Up ) (1983)
Broadway Danny Pink (1984) (appearance)
Equipped with Canonnball II ( The Cannonball Run II ) (1984)
That' S Dance hall! (1985)
Alice with the countries of the wonders ( Alice in Wonderland ) (1985)
The Dangers off P.K (1986)
Knights off the City (1986) (scenes cut to the final assembly)
Moon Over Parador (1988)
Tap Dance ( Tap ) (1989)

Spectacles in Broadway

Mr. Wonderful (1957), Musical comedy
Golden delicious Servant boy (1964), musical comedy - Nominated with the Tony Awards in the " category; Better actor of comedy musicale"
Sammy (1974), single representation, spectacle in trio with the Nicholas Brothers
Stop the World - I Want to Get Off (1978), musical comedy (begun again)

Autobiographies

Yes I Edge (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1965) ISBN 0374522685
Why? (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1980) ISBN 0446360252
Sammy (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (2000) ISBN 0374293554 - Takes again the two preceding books supplemented of new texts
Hollywood in has Suitcase (1980) ISBN 0425050912

Anecdotes

the song The Rhythm off Life , drawn from the musical comedy Sweet Charity , was used for a publicity of the beer mark Guinness, a publicity which gained many prices;
Sammy Davis Jr. is the singer of the credits of the detective series Baretta diffused by ABC between 1975 and 1978;
Fan of long time of the American version of the Family out of gold , Davis was improvised replacing of the presenter of the time Richard Dawson during part of the program, during an emission diffused in 1979;
With the Japan, it appeared in publicities for coffee.
Alice Cooper pays to him homage in its song Model Citizen left in 1980, in the sentence: I am perhaps the saver, come for you/I am a friend of Sammy Davis/By accident ;
Tom Petty evokes Sammy in her song Swinging appeared in 1999 on the album Echo ;
Michael Jackson wrote a song on Sammy Davis Jr. entitled You Were There :

You was there before us/You boxed the blows, you underwent shame/They drew up walls to bar you the road/You overcame them, you triumphed/It was malicious, it was unjust/You very learned to them, you sensitized them/Oui, you were there, and we let us thank you/You opened the passage to us/And we are there, so that everyone sees/Donner best us/Oui, I am here because you were front there - Words and music of Michael Jackson;

At least two songs of the group of American metal GWAR refer to him: Sammy appeared on the album Carnival off chaos in 1997, and Child one appeared on the album We kill Everything in 1999, with this sentence: " It did not include/understand/That I was a gay dog in Sammy Davis Jr., mec" ;
the group of Californian Punk Lagwagon pays homage in a song to him whose title returns to the day of its death, May 16 , published on the album Blaze in 2003;
Sammy Davis Jr. is incarnated by Don Cheadle in the American telefilm The Rat Pack diffused on the cabled chain HBO;
Bill Cosby, a friend of Sammy (it appeared besides in an episode of the Cosby Show in 1989, one of these last appearances on television), carried a pin' S where one could read " SDJR" in its show, death of his/her friend in 1990 until the oddment in 1992;
the Soul Train Music Awards, which reward each year the best American black artists, created a price called the " Sammy Davis Jr. Award" rewarding the best artist for the year, any confused category. Mickael Jackson was one of the first to receive it.
the group Will Haven left in 2007 a title being entitled Sammy Davis Jr' S One Good Eye in the honor the American artist.

being made refuse L access in a restaurant because of its color of its skin, the restaurant for more D one million $ buys, returns all the personnel and resells the restaurant for 750.000 $

See too

The Rat Pack

References

Sources

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