Sammy Davis Jr."Mister Show Business"
Sammy Davis Jr. was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world" and "The total entertainment package".A star showman in the oldest vaudeville tradition. Davis was a well rounded performer of the sort found only rarely these days: he could sing, he could act, he could dance, and he could make people laugh.With a microphone and a backup ensemble he could entertain solo for two hours at a time.He of the very few stars to receive Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award nominations.
He began performing almost as soon as he could walk. Both of his parents were vaudevillians who danced with the Will Mastin Troupe. In 1928, when he was only three, he joined the Mastin Troupe as its youngest member.
He became a regular in 1930 and travelled with his father on the vaudeville circuit.Davis learned to tap dance from Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. The demanding schedule of train rides, practice, and performances left little time for formal education, and Davis was always just one step ahead. Young Sammy learned how to please an audience, how to tap dance like a master, and how to move people with a smile and a song.
During service in World War II, the Army assigned Davis to an integrated entertainment Special Services unit and he found that the spotlight lessened the prejudice. Even prejudiced white men admired and respected his performances. "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking," he said.
After his discharge from the army, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland, Oregon. He also recorded blues songs for Capitol Records in 1949, under the pseudonyms Shorty Muggins and Charlie Green.
By 1960, Davis was a star in his own right. But he was also a member of the legendary Rat Pack, comprised of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, the hard-partying superstars of the Las Vegas and Los Angeles nightclub scenes. Davis appeared with members of the pack in the films Ocean’s 11, Sergeants 3 and Robin and the 7 Hoods.
Davis was also a featured player in films outside of the pack, including A Man Called Adam , having the titular role opposite Louis Armstrong. And he was unforgettable in Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity in which Davis appeared as the charismatic, singing and strutting guru Big Daddy.
