Sammy Davis, Jr.

1925 - 1990  (64 years)    Has 2 ancestors and one descendant in this family tree.

• Name	Sammy Davis
  Suffix	Jr.
  Relationship	with Francis Fox
  Born	8 Dec 1925	Harlem, New York, USA
  Gender	Male
  Died	16 May 1990	Beverly Hills, California, USA
  Person ID	I329666	Geneagraphie
  Links To	This person is also Sammy Davis, Jr. at Wikipedia
  Last Modified	26 May 2006

  
  

  Father	Sammy Davis, Sr.,   b. 12 Dec 1900, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA ,   d. 21 May 1988, Beverly Hills, California, USA  (Age 87 years)
  Mother	Elvera Sanchez,   b. 1 Sep 1905, New York, NY, USA ,   d. 2 Sep 2000, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA  (Age 95 years)
  Family ID	F144729	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Living
  Last Modified	26 May 2006
  Family ID	F145270	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Loray White,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	1 Jan 1958
  Divorced	1959
  Last Modified	26 May 2006
  Family ID	F144727	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 3	May Britt,   b. 22 Mar 1933, Lidingö, Stockholms län, Sweden ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	13 Nov 1960
  They have one daughter and adopted two sons, Mark and Jeff.
  Divorced	1968
  Children	1. Tracey Davis,   b. 5 Jul 1961,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	26 May 2006
  Family ID	F144728	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 4	Lola Falana,   b. 11 Sep 1942, Camden, New Jersey ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	Abt 1968
  Last Modified	26 May 2006
  Family ID	F144723	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 5	Altovise,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	11 May 1970
  They adopted a child
  Last Modified	26 May 2006
  Family ID	F144726	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Sammy_Davis_Jr.

  
  

• Notes

  TV composer Morton Stevens ("Hawaii Five-O" (1968), _"Police Woman" (1974/I)_ was his musical director between 1950 and 1960 before moving into television music composing. He then returned as music director for Sammy, Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin and Liza Minnelli in the late 1980s. Singer/dancer/actor. Member of the "Rat Pack" with Dean Martin , Frank Sinatra , Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop . All appear in Ocean's Eleven (1960). Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, Garden of Honor, next to his father Sammy Davis Sr. . Son of Sammy Davis Sr. and Elvera Davis Starred in the 1964 Broadway Musical "Golden Boy" for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor (Musical) in 1965; he lost to Zero Mostel for "Fiddler on the Roof." "Golden Boy" also featured many then unknown or relatively unknown talents such as Roy Glenn who later portrayed the father of John Prentice /Sidney Poitier in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967); other talents included then very young performers Lola Falana , Louis Gossett Jr. , who later won an Oscar for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982); and Johnny Brown who is best remembered for his portrayal of "Nathan 'Buffalo Butt' Bookman" on the popular television sitcom "Good Times" (1974). A then unknown performer named Ben Vereen was Davis' understudy in "Golden Boy". Always articulate, he never attended school of any kind; performing since the age of five, he was largely self-taught. He lost his left eye in a car crash when he was his way to record the theme song for the Tony Curtis film, Six Bridges to Cross (1955). He wore an eyepatch for sometime after that, but Humphrey Bogart ultimately convinced him to unmask when he told him that he didn't want to be known as the kid with the eyepatch. Smoked 4 packs of cigarettes a day during his lifetime. Long-time friend Bill Cosby wore a small button with the letters "SD" on episodes of "The Cosby Show" (1984) after his death in 1990 as a tribute. During his childhood as a vaudeville entertainer, he often appeared in states and cities with strict child labor laws. To get around these laws, he was billed as "Silent Sammy, the Dancing Midget", and conspiciously walked around backstage with a rubber cigar in his mouth and a woman on each arm. His mother, Elvera Davis , was born Elvera Sanchez, of Puerto Rican ancestry. Died the same day as Jim Henson . Once took Donald Rumsfeld to visit Elvis Presley after one of his concerts in Las Vegas. Was given a gift, of a black sapphire ring, by Elvis Presley , who told him, "This is the biggest black star I've seen, so I'm giving it to the biggest black star I know." He was a regular at many of Elvis Presley 's concerts in Las Vegas. Filmed a cameo appearance for the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971). The scene was ultimately cut, but can be seen in the DVD of the movie. In 1972 Davis told his manager he wanted to leave Reprise Records but was informed that he was obligated to record one more song for the label before he would be able to leave. He showed up at the recording studio neither knowing nor caring what song he was to record, just wanting to get it over with so he could get out of his contract. Producer Mike Curb handed him the lyrics to a song that had been recorded by another singer but that Curb wasn't satisfied with. Davis looked at it, pronounced it to be the stupidest song he had ever seen and predicted that it wouldn't sell a single copy, but agreed to do it in order to fulfill his contract. The song was "Candy Man," which turned out to be the biggest hit record of his career and the one song he will always be identified with (and the song wasn't, as has been long rumored, about cocaine. Davis did have a cocaine problem at the time he recorded it, which led to the rumors, but he wasn't the first singer to record the song, which was from the soundtrack of a children's movie and was about exactly what it said it was about--candy). Father of Mark Davis . He and the other members of the Rat Pack were banned from Marilyn Monroe 's funeral by Joe DiMaggio Described himself as "a one-eyed Jewish Negro". Was a good friend of Ron Perlman . Was the childhood idol of director Tim Burton , and he wanted to cast him as the title character in Beetle Juice (1988), but Warner Bros. ultimately refused. According to the "Fastest Gun Who Ever Lived," Bob Munden, Sammy Davis, Jr was the second-fastest draw in Hollywood, trailing only Jerry Lewis. Davis presented Munden with a customized Colt Peacemaker in recognition of Munden's skill after they appeared together on "The Mike Douglas Show." Father of Tracey Davis, who co-wrote the book: "Sammy Davis Jr.: My Father" with Delores Barclay. Personal quotes "Being a star has made it possible for me to get insulted in places where the average Negro could never hope to get insulted" When asked what his golf handicap was, he replied, "My handicap? Man, I am a one-eyed, black Jew! THAT'S my handicap!" "I'm colored, Jewish and Puerto Rican. When I move into a neighborhood, I wipe it out!" "You have to be able to look back at your own life and say 'Yeah, that was fun.' The only person I ever hurt was myself and even that I did to the minimum. If you can do that and you're still functioning, you're the luckiest person in the world." "I'm 64 years old, but I feel I've lived the life of a person at 164." Salary Ocean's Eleven (1960) $125,000 Anna Lucasta (1959) $50,000 (Medical):A glass eye (the left eye)