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Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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Sammy Davis Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samuel George Davis December 12, 1900 |
| Died | May 21, 1988 (aged 87) |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, including Sammy Davis Jr. |
Samuel George Davis Sr. (December 12, 1900 – May 21, 1988) was an American dancer and the father of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.
Davis was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Rosa B. Taylor (1870–1956) and Robert Davis (1868–1948). He and his former wife Elvera Sanchez were both dancers in a vaudeville troupe. The couple split up when their son Sammy Jr. was three. Davis took custody of his son, who then went into show business with his father. He and Will Mastin, the leader of the dance troupe, taught Sammy Jr. how to dance and they performed together as the Will Mastin Trio.
Sammy Jr. once stated, "When I was nine I told my father, 'I can outdance you'. 'Oh yeah? What makes you think that?' he asked. 'Cause you taught me everything I know'. 'Yeah, but I didn't teach you everything I know.'"[1]
Davis began dancing early in life, and as a young man joined Will Mastin to form a dancing troupe. Soon Sammy Jr. joined the act and they became known as the Will Mastin Trio. The three appeared in the 1956 Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful.
Davis also appeared in two movies, Sweet and Low (1947) with the Will Mastin Trio, and The Benny Goodman Story (1956), in which he played the bandleader and arranger Fletcher Henderson.
Davis died May 21, 1988, in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 87, of natural causes,[2] just two years before the death of his son, Sammy Davis Jr.[3]
He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Samuel George Davis Sr. (December 12, 1900 – May 21, 1988) was an American dancer and the father of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian and dancer. Known as "Mr. Entertainment" and "Mister Show Business", Davis was regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century and as a black entertainer, he helped to break racial barriers in several venues, including nightclubs, music, film and television. Davis began his career at the age of two in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and Will Mastin in the Will Mastin Trio. At seven, he started his film career with the musical shorts Rufus Jones for President and Seasoned Greetings. In 1951, Davis's career breakthrough came after he and the Will Mastin Trio opened for Janis Paige the week before the 23rd Academy Awards at the Hollywood nightclub Ciro's. Three years later he became the first black entertainer to headline a show in Las Vegas and two years later starred in his first Broadway musical, Mr. Wonderful. After starring in his first box-office film, Anna Lucasta (1958), Davis earned rave reviews for his role in Porgy and Bess (1959). A year later he became a member of the Rat Pack alongside lifelong friends Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In 1964, he returned to Broadway in the musical adaptation of Clifford Odets's Golden Boy, which featured the first interracial kiss in a Broadway play and won Davis a Tony Award nomination. Two years after that, Davis hosted his own variety series. Davis also became a successful recording artist. His 1955 debut album, Starring Sammy Davis Jr., spawned hits such as "Hey There" and "The Birth of the Blues" and topped the Billboard pop albums chart. His other hits included "Something's Gotta Give", "That Old Black Magic" and the Grammy Award-nominated "What Kind of Fool Am I?". Later hits "I've Gotta Be Me", "The Candy Man" (his only number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Mr. Bojangles" became his signature songs. In 1954, at the age of 29, Davis lost his left eye in a car accident. Three years later, Davis faced backlash for his involvement with white actress Kim Novak at a time when interracial relationships were taboo in the U.S. and when interracial marriage was not yet legalized nationwide (until 1967). In 1960, Davis converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by both African Americans and Jewish Americans. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap. I'm a one-eyed Negro who's Jewish." This was to become a signature comment. After reuniting with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally before his death from lung cancer in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, and his estate was the subject of legal battles after the death of his wife. Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Primetime Emmy Award for his television performances. He was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, Davis was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
Sammy Davis may refer to: Sammy Davis (racing driver) (1887–1981), British journalist and motor racing driver Sammy Davis (footballer) (1900–1988), English footballer Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988), American dancer Sammy Davis Jr. (1925–1990), American singer Little Sammy Davis (1928–2018), American blues harmonica player and singer Sammy L. Davis (born 1946), American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient Sammy Davis (American football) (born 1980), American football player Sammy Davis (ice hockey) (born 1997), American ice hockey forward
Samuel or Sam Davis may refer to: Samuel Davis (orientalist) (1760–1819), British orientalist and amateur artist Samuel Davis (American politician) (1774–1831), U.S. representative from Massachusetts Samuel Davis (Louisiana planter) (1780s–1853), American slave owner and land speculator Samuel Davis (Canadian politician) (1914–1996), Canadian politician, mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick Samuel H. Davis (civil rights leader) (1810–?), American religious and civil rights leader Samuel Howard Davis (1896–1921), pilot and namesake for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Samuel Post Davis (1850–1918), American journalist and politician Samuel W. Davis (1845–?), American Civil War sailor and Medal of Honor recipient Sam Davis (1842–1863), Confederate States Army soldier, "Boy Hero of the Confederacy" Sam Davis (American football) (1944–2019), American football player Sam Davis (footballer) (1890–?), English footballer Sammy Davis (footballer) (1900–1988), English footballer Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988), American dancer, father of Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy Davis Jr. (1925–1990), American entertainer Sam Davis (rugby league) (born 1998), English rugby footballer
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.
