Singer, actor, dancer. Born in Harlem, New York to black vaudeville star Sammy Davis, Sr., and the Puerto Rican dancer, Elvera “Baby” Sanchez. When he was two, Davis’s parents divorced, and he was raised by his father.
A multi-talented performer, Davis recorded forty albums and made countless film, television and Las Vegas appearances in his lifetime.
Davis began his career in vaudeville, tap dancing and singing at the age of four with his adopted uncle in an act they called “Will Mastin’s Gang, featuring Little Sammy.” When authorities threatened to close down the act due to child labor laws, Mastin gave the tiny Davis a cigar to hold and billed him as “Silent Sam, the Dancing Midget.”
Davis made his film debut by tap dancing in the 1932 short Rufus Jones For President. After continuing to perform with Mastin throughout the 1930s, at age eighteen Davis was drafted and served in the Special Services in World War II. When the war ended, he resumed dancing with what was now the Will Mastin Trio, after Davis’s father joined the troupe. In 1946, Davis recorded “The Way You Look Tonight” for Capitol Records, which was chosen by Metronome magazine as Record of the Year. In the late 1940s, Davis (still with the Will Mastin Trio) opened for Frank Sinatra at the Capitol Theatre in New York, which ignited a friendship that would last a lifetime. He toured for six months with Mickey Rooney and performed in a Bob Hope benefit show. Through Jack Benny, read more
Source: http://www.gmmy.com/
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