The Death of Sammy Davis Jr

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Sammy Davis Jr.

"Being a star made it possible for me to get
insulted in places where the average Negro
could never hope to go and get insulted."

He was great. He was fine. He was talented. Here come da judge. He lost an eye in the 50’s, in a car crash.

In September of 1989, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and he was given radiation treatment. His last performance was at Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe, the night before his first radiation treatment. It was thought that the cancer was under control, until February of the next year.

Realizing that Sammy wasn’t going to be around much longer, a television special was planned. 26 entertainers had a two and a half-hour tribute to Sammy, which he attended. At the end of it (it aired Feb 4), Sammy got up, did not speak, and did a little soft-shoe, to a standing ovation.

Later that month, Sammy’s health was deteriorating rapidly. He re-entered Cedars Sinai because the cancer had returned. On the 13^th of March, Sammy was released, and went home to die. One report stated that Davis had dwindled to a mere 60 pounds, and was in the fetal position. Frank Sinatra visited him. According to the National Enquirer (and why would they make this up?), "A softball size tumor stuck out of Sammy’s neck, giving off a horrible odor. And the sight devastated Sinatra." Yech.

His house was on Summit Drive, in Beverly Hills. Here is the house, and the mailbox, with a little bit of construction, thrown in for fun.

The deathwatch was on. Reporters gathered at Sammy’s house, waiting for the inevitable news. He died on Wednesday May 16^th, in his home. He was 64 years old. By the time they removed Sammy’s body from his home, hundreds of people lined the streets. That night, the lights on the Vegas strip were dimmed for 10 minutes.

It was decided that his funeral would be open to the public, and on Friday morning, 400 tickets were given to those that got to Forest Lawn early enough. People started lining up at 6am. I was really upset. At this time, I was living in Chicago, and I was coincidentally going to be in LA on that day, but not till later that afternoon. Bum me out. I missed one of the coolest funerals.

It was an open casket. I heard a report that some photographer took pics, and Shirley McLaine phoned him up to tell him that Sinatra was going to have him killed if he didn’t hand over the negatives. The photographer handed them over. Shit.

His funeral was held on Friday, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. 1200 people jammed the church, and hundreds more were outside. "I’ve Got To Be Me" was played on the loudspeaker, and the crowd cheered. The service lasted for 90 minutes. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson eulogized him. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby were honorary pallbearers. Other guests included Gregory Hines, Liza with a Z, Stevie Wonder, Carroll O’Connor, Ben Vereen, Billy Crystal, Tony Danza, Shirley McLaine, Robert Wagner, Jill St. John, Angie Dickinson, Robert Guillaume, Ricardo Montalban and Burt Reynolds. Sammy was buried at Forest Lawn Glendale.

After the service, everyone (well, the stars) went back to Sammy's house for punch and cookies.

Okay, so I didn’t get to the funeral, but I did get in to the Garden of Honor, where Sammy is planted, the very next day. Here is the wall of flowers that was still there, and here is Sammy’s fresh grave, covered in flowers.

Did you know that Sammy was a devil worshipper? Button pushed.

After the funeral, Sammy’s wife Altovise went through all kinds of financial troubles with the estate. Frankly, they are too dull to get in to. Sorry.

Trivia: TV star Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson) says that he was rescued from the grip of a suicidal depression by the ghost of Sammy.

Findadeath.com friend Naomi Krueger sent me a bit of trivia that I overlooked. Sammy died on the same day that Jim Henson died. Interesting. Thanks Naomi.

Trivia from Kevin Hassell: Frank Sinatra gave Sammy's widow, Altovise Davis, a million dollars in cash after he died.

There was an auction held for Sammy's estate after his death, and Jason Priestley bought a pair of Sammy's cufflinks.

January 2004, from Findadeath friend Mike Crews:

I cannot recall where I read this, but Mr. Davis was supposed to be buried with approximately $70,000 in jewelry on him. Due to Altovise's financial troubles after her husbands' death, the body was disinterred, and the jewelry was removed and sold at auction. I'm not sure of the validity of this, but I was wondering if you had heard this?

Can anyone out there clarify this? Thanks, Mike!

Ruth sends us this:

I was looking at the entries on Sammy Davis. Sam gave away most of his jewelry to people he cared about in the months before his death. According to his right hand man, Brian Dellow, one particular item he kept-- saying "this goes in the box with me." it was the watch that Frank Sinatra had given to him much earlier.

Sammy was an old, dear friend of mine, and I was one of the people invited to the private viewing. While Sam was decked out in a fine pin striped suit, red tie and handkerchief, he did not have any jewelry on his hands either. So I doubt the story about Altovise digging up his body to take the jewelry could be true.

UPDATE February 2005, from Findadeath friend James:

I was watching an old episode of Charlie's Angels, which guest starred Sammy as himself, and a look-a-like that had been kidnapped. The house they used as Sammy's was his real house, I recognized it from the photos on your site. From the looks of it they also used his real house to film the interiors, it looked very nice inside.

Thanks, James!