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Date of Birth
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08-December-1925
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Place of Birth
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Harlem
(New York City, Manhattan, United States of America, New York, New York metropolitan area)
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Nationality
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United States of America
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Also know as
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Sammy Davis Jnr, Samuel George Davis, Jr., Samuel George Davis Jr., Davis, Sammy, Jr., Samuel George Davis, Sammy Davis, Will Mastin Trio, Will Maston Trio, Smoky, Mister Show Business, Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr., Sammy, Silent Sammy, the Dancing Midget
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Profession
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Singer, Dancer, Actor, Musician, Entertainer, Film Producer, Television Producer, Television Director
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Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. was an American entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, he also had many acting roles on stage and screen, and was noted for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities. At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and Will Mastin as the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. After military service Davis returned to the trio. Davis became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, he lost his left eye in an automobile accident, and several years later, he converted to Judaism.
Davis' film career began as a child in 1933. In 1960, he appeared in the first Rat Pack film, Ocean's 11. After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr Wonderful, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Davis' career slowed in the late 1960s, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man" in 1972 and became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business".
As an African-American, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life and was a large financial supporter of the Civil Rights movement. Davis had a complex relationship with the African-American community, and drew criticism after physically embracing President Richard M. Nixon in 1972. 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 Jew." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography, and in countless articles.
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