Sammy Davis Jr.
Sammy Davis Jr.
If you don't know who this is you are missing something. Some say he is the greatest entertainer ever. He is a man who could sing, dance, and act. He is said to be one of the greatest tap dancers ever. Billy Johnson Jr. a senior editor at Yahoo music said, "He just exuded joy, people felt good when they watched him. He [Sammy Davis] was able to present his talent in a way people receive, whether he was singing, dancing, or acting it was because of that joy that made people embrace him."
Start up
Sammy was born on December 8th, 1925. He was first on stage at the young age of three and then started to regularly be there with his father in the Will Mastin trio. During world war II he was drafted into the military. It was here where he got a lot of physical and psychological abuse. It was there he learned that when had sung or danced people were less prejudice to him.
Rise to Stardom
When he came back he released an album that made him a headliner in both New York and Las Vegas. Next he became a broadway star being in both Mr. Wonderful and Golden Boy. He became a star, but in 1954, he got in a car crash that nearly killed him. While he was in the hospital he saw similarities in Judaism and black life and converted to it. Despite the laws against it, he had an interracial marriage with Swedish actress Mary Britt, in 1954, they adopted two sons.
Civil Right Leader
He was also a civil right leader. He marched in all of the Washington marches. He also didn't play in any venues that practiced segregation. He changed the way some of these venues worked. He was a black star in a time that was hard to be a black man.
Fall Down and Death
He became a superstar when he starred in many movies. Then in 1970, he remarried to Altovise Davis. Though despite having his song candyman top the charts he became less popular. One year before his death he starred in the movie casino circuit. Sadly on May 9 16th 1990, he died. Not only was he a musician and actor, but he was an inspiration and a civil right leader. He became a black superstar in a time it was hard to be just black.