Sammy Davis Jr.

Also known as Samuel George Davis Jr., Sammy Davis Jr

American entertainer (1925–1990)

OverviewAI-generated

Sammy Davis Jr. was an American television and film actor, autobiographer, and jazz musician. Born Samuel George Davis in New York City on December 8, 1925, he served in the United States Army during World War II. His musical career included performances in jazz, traditional pop, easy listening, and show tune genres, with recordings released by Decca, Reprise Records, Verve Records, and Motown. He played the vibraphone and piano.

Davis received the Spingarn Medal, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors, and holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. He was married to May Britt and had four children. He died of natural causes due to head and neck cancer in Beverly Hills on May 16, 1990, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Synthesized by Vinony from 33 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis was a childhood vaudevillian who became known for his performances on Broadway and in Las Vegas, as a recording artist, television and film star, and as a member of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack". At the age of four Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father…

Known for

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert — Self (archive footage)2026
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)2025
BRATS — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)2024
Soul of a Nation Presents: Black in Vegas — Self2023
Kim Novak: Hollywood's Golden Age Rebel — Self (archive footage)2023
Gone Before His Time: Freddie Prinze Sr. — Self (archive footage)2023
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia — Self2023
Commitment to Life — Self (archive footage)2023
Rat Pack — Self (archive footage)2022
This Is Joan Collins — Self (Archive Footage)2022

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Gender: Male
Country: United States
Active from: 1925
Active to: 1990

Discography

Member of

The Rat Pack

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 330,634
Total plays: 1,815,253

Key facts

Born: Samuel George Davis Jr. , ( 1925-12-08 ) December 8, 1925, New York City, U.S.
Died: May 16, 1990 (1990-05-16) (aged 64), Beverly Hills, California , U.S.
Resting place: Forest Lawn Memorial Park , Glendale, California
Occupations: Singer actor comedian dancer
Years active: 1928–1990
Spouses: Loray White ( married"}]]}'>m. 1958 ; divorced"}]]}'>div. 1959 ) May Britt ( married"}]]}'>m. 1960 ; divorced"}]]}'>div. 1968 ) Altovise Gore ( married"}]]}'>m. 1970 )
Parents: Sammy Davis Sr. Elvera Sanchez
Genres: Traditional pop big band jazz easy listening show tunes swing blues
Instruments: Vocals piano drums vibraphone
Labels: Decca Reprise Verve Motown MGM RCA 20th Century Applause
Formerly of: Rat Pack
Allegiance: United States
Branch: United States Army
Service years: 1944–1945
Rank: Private
Unit: Special Services
War: World War II
Website: sammydavisjr .com

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: George
Family name: Davis
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: New York City
Place of death: Beverly Hills
Father: Sammy Davis, Sr.
Occupation: autobiographer
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Award: star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Genre: jazz
Instrument: piano
Conflict: World War II
Military branch: United States Army
Official website: www.sammydavis-jr.com
Image: Sammy Davis Jnr Allan Warren.jpg
Height: 165
Number of children: 4

Show 17 more facts

place of burial: Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Commons category: Sammy Davis, Jr.
date of birth: 1925-12-08
date of death: 1990-05-16
cause of death: head and neck cancer
manner of death: natural causes
nominated for: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award
Commons gallery: Sammy Davis, Jr.
topic's main category: Category:Sammy Davis Jr.
start of work period: 1928-00-00
birth name: Samuel George Davis
name in native language: Sammy Davis Jr.
member of: Rat Pack
end of work period: 1990-00-00
writing language: English language
dance style: tap dance
ethnic group: African Americans

Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~37 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician.

At age four, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. His film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and produced nightclub performances at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) in 1951, including one after the Academy Awards ceremony. With the trio, he became a recording artist.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sammy Davis Jr.” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.