Person Open DS/UK/16287 Davis Jr; Sammy (8 December 1925-16 May 1990); American singer, musician, dancer, actor, vaudevillian, comedian and activist Davis Jr Sammy 8 December 1925-16 May 1990 American singer, musician, dancer, actor, vaudevillian, comedian and activist Male (cisgender) Samuel George Davis Jr https://thirdlight.royalalberthall.com/pf.tlx?UQfUsyUKCEHl Harlem, New York, United States (born)

Beverly Hills, California, United States (died)

American Musician; Vocals Variety; Vaudeville Activist Black Physical disability - accident Jewish Son of Sammy Davis Sr (African-American entertainer) and Elvera Sanchez (American-born Cuban tap dancer). Both were vaudeville dancers. Partner of Kim Novak (white actress) in 1957. Novak was under contract with Columbia Pictures. Harry Cohn, president of Columbia, worried that racist backlash against the relationship could hurt the studio. Davis was threatened by organized crime figures close to Cohn. 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. Former husband of Loray White (black dancer). Davis married White in 1958 to protext himself from mob violence. He paid her a lump sum to engage in a marriage on the condition that it would be dissolved before the end of the year. The couple never lived together and commenced divorce proceedings in September 1958. The divorce was granted in April 1959. Former husband of May Britt (white Swedish-born actress). The couple married in 1960, however, while interracial marriage had been legal in California since 1948, anti-miscegenation laws in the United States still stood in 23 states. They divorced in 1968 after Davis admitted to having had as affiar. Husband of Altovise Gore (black dancer). They married in 1970 and remained married until his death in 1990. Heterosexual Sammy Davis Jr was an American singer, musician, dancer, actor, vaudevillian, comedian and activist known for his impressions of actors, musicians and other celebrities. At age three, Davis Jr. began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and his uncle Will Mastin, billed as the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. During World War II, Davis was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. He was frequently abused by white soldiers from the South and later recounted that "I must have had a knockdown, drag-out fight every two days.” He was reassigned to the Army's Special Services branch, which put on performances for troops. Davis, who earned the American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal, was discharged in 1945 with the rank of private. After military service, Davis Jr. returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's, West Hollywood after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities In 1959, Davis became 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. Davis was also a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, but, due to Jim Crow practices in Las Vegas, black performers were required to lodge in a rooming house on the west side of the city, instead of in the hotels as his white colleagues did. No dressing rooms were provided for black performers. Davis later refused to work at places which practiced racial segregation. After a starring role on Broadway in Mr Wonderful (1956), he returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy. Davis Jr.'s film career began as a child in 1933. In 1960, he appeared in the Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. In 1966, he had his own TV variety show, titled The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. While Davis' career slowed in the late 1960s, his biggest hit, "The Candy Man", reached the Hot 100 summit on 10-24 June 1972, and he became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business". In 1972, during the later stages of 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. The U.S. Army made a documentary about Davis' time in Vietnam performing for troops on behalf of Nixon's drug treatment program. After reuniting with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally. He was recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Awards, Honours and Legacy: In 1967 NBC broadcast 'Movin' with Nancy', a musical-variety special featuring Nancy Sinatra. In addition to Emmy Award-winning performances, the show is notable for Sinatra and Davis greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in US television. Activism and Views: Davis was a registered Democrat and supported John F. Kennedy's 1960 election campaign as well as Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 campaign. John F. Kennedy would later refuse to allow Davis to perform at his inauguration on account of his marriage with the white actress May Britt. Davis had a complex relationship with the black community and drew criticism after publicly supporting President Richard Nixon in 1972. Davis later said he regretted supporting Nixon, accusing Nixon of making promises on civil rights that he did not keep. Davis was a long-time donor to the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH organization. Family, Sexuality and Relationships: Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley in the late 1960s, as they both were top-draw acts in Vegas at the same time. Universal Fire: In 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Sammy Davis Jr. among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Davis_Jr. (2019) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHSkeyte 5/13/2014 RAHAKirkbride 5/11/2023 a67a84d6-8270-42be-99f7-1b95596c0b08