Sammy Davis, Sr.
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Sammy Davis, Sr. (December 12, 1900 – May 21, 1988), was an American dancer and the father of Sammy Davis, Jr..
Sammy Davis was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He and his wife Elvera Sanchez were both vaudeville dancers. They split up when their son Sammy, Jr. was three. Davis, Sr. obtained custody of his son and took the child with him on tour.
Sammy Davis, Sr. and Will Mastin, the leader of the dance troupe, taught the child how to dance. Soon Sammy, Jr. joined the act and they became known as the Will Mastin Trio. The three appeared in the 1956 Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful.
Sammy Davis Sr. also appeared in two movies, Sweet and Low and The Benny Goodman Story. In The Benny Goodman Story he played bandleader and arranger Fletcher Henderson.
Davis, Sr. died in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 87, of natural causes, just two years before the death of his only child, Sammy Davis, Jr..
