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He was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his television performances. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, and his estate was the subject of legal battles after the death of his wife.

Īfter reuniting with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before his death in 1990.

I'm a one-eyed Negro who's Jewish.' This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography and in many articles. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. He did, however, have a complex relationship with the black community and drew criticism after publicly supporting President Richard Nixon in 1972. ĭavis's popularity helped break the race barrier of the segregated entertainment industry. While Davis's career slowed in the late 1960s, his biggest hit, ' The Candy Man', reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1972, and he became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname 'Mister Show Business'. In 1966, he had his own TV variety show, titled The Sammy Davis Jr.

The show featured the first interracial kiss on Broadway. Davis was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. He returned to the stage in 1964 in a musical adaptation of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy. In 1960, he appeared in the Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. ĭavis had a starring role on Broadway in Mr. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. With the trio, he became a recording artist.

After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian and dancer.Īt age three, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr.

Mowtown show at south point casino lasvegas