8 Things You Might Not Have Known About Sammy Davis Jr.
Dubbed the “world’s greatest entertainer,” Sammy Davis Jr. lit up any room he entered with his radiant smile, lovable laugh and calm, approachable cool. Born in Harlem in 1925 to vaudeville entertainers Sammy Davis Sr. and Elvera Sanchez, Sammy was just 3 years old when his parents divorced and he began his obsession with superstardom.
Taking to the road as a tot with his father and music partner “Uncle” Will Mastin, he was quick to show what a prodigy (he could sing and dance, and his comic timing was spot on) he truly was. The men incorporated Sammy into their act — the Will Mastin Trio — and his show business career officially began.
“My home has always been show business,” Sammy wrote in his book Why Me? “That’s where I’ve lived since the age of 3.” Here we look at the adored entertainment icon and his fascinating (and at times heartbreaking) life and career.
1 Sammy met Frank years before they talked
Everett Collection
It was 1940 when Sammy first encountered Frank Sinatra as the Will Mastin Trio opened for the Tommy Dorsey band, in which Sinatra was lead singer. They never met then; however, in 1945 when Sammy attended a Sinatra autograph-signing event, Frank recognized him and liked him. Shortly after, the Trio opened for Sinatra at the Capitol Theatre in New York, and their lifelong friendship began.
2 He lost his left eye in a car accident
On Nov. 19, 1954, Sammy, then 28, was driving his new lime green Cadillac convertible through the Cajon Pass on Route 66 in San Bernardino, California, when he slammed into a stopped car. His face pounded into his coned steering wheel (Cadillac later changed the wheel design because of this). Jerry Lewis got a call at 3am and he hired a plane and flew to be at Sammy’s side. “All I did was sit with him, for seven days, never left his room,” Lewis said. Davis recuperated at Sinatra’s house and took the stage just weeks after, wearing an eye patch and later a prosthetic eye.
3 While Sammy never went to school, he made sure others did
Although he never was schooled formally and didn’t know how to read or write in his teens, Sammy was the first person to contribute money to all 42 of the United Negro College Fund institutions.
4 Racism had a profound impact on his life
Sammy was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 18, where he was a victim of vicious racism. He was physically abused, mocked and urinated on. Other GIs’ actions and prejudice had a profound influence on his life. “My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight,” Sammy said. “It was the one way I might hope to affect a man’s thinking.”
5 He was the first Black man to sleep at the White House
Trikosko, Marion S./Library of Congress
While Booker T. Washington was the first Black man to dine at the White House in 1901, Sammy Davis Jr. was believed to be the first Black man to sleep there, in the Lincoln Bedroom, in 1973 when he was a guest of President Richard M. Nixon.
6 Extravagance and collecting memorabilia was a way of life
Adorned in bespoke suits and fine jewelry, Sammy was obsessed with fame and decorated his Beverly Hills mansion with some fascinating memorabilia. Among his belongings were things like Marilyn Monroe’s high heels, Gene Kelly’s shoes, John Wayne’s hat and gun belt, James Dean’s red jacket from Rebel Without a Cause, Leslie Caron’s corset from Gigi and more.
7 Hollywood paid a timely tribute to Sammy
In February of 1990, a few months prior to his death on May 16, ABC aired Sammy Davis Jr.’s 60th Anniversary Celebration. The moving tribute gathered all of Sammy’s friends, from Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, Bob Hope, Stevie Wonder, Clint Eastwood, Eddie Murphy, and more. Sammy even took the stage for a tap-dancing showdown with Gregory Hines. Sinatra took the stage and moved Sammy to near tears saying: “My little friend, who’s the best friend I ever had. Sixty years — that’s a lot of bourbon under the bridge, baby, and I knew you’d amount to something, but I didn’t feel that you were going to amount to everything.”
8 Sammy died bankrupt, and the IRS claimed his estate and Beverly Hills home
Upon his death, Sammy and his wife Altovise owed over $6 million in taxes, interest and penalties accrued over the years. The IRS eventually liquidated the Davises’ assets, including their Beverly Hills home and personal possessions. “It was the largest single open case of an individual taxpayer debt in the nation,” wrote Matt Birkbeck in Deconstructing Sammy. When Sammy’s will went to probate, hundreds of items were missing, including pieces of jewelry valued at over $500,000, an Andy Warhol painting titled Campbell’s Soup Cans valued at $80,000 and multiple fur coats.
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