Was a acquaintance of Ron Perlman.

Shortly before his death surgeons removed his voice box in a larengectomy, but the cancer had spread.

Starred in the 1964 Broadway Musical "Golden Boy" for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor (Musical) in 1965; he lost to Zero Mostel for "Fiddler on the Roof." "Golden Boy" also featured many then unknown or relatively unknown talents such as Roy Glenn who later portrayed the father of John Prentice/Sidney Poitier in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967); other talents included then very young performers Lola Falana, Louis Gossett Jr., who later won an Oscar for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982); and Johnny Brown who is best remembered for his portrayal of "Nathan 'Buffalo Butt' Bookman" on the popular television sitcom "Good Times" (1974). A then unknown performer named Ben Vereen was Davis' understudy in "Golden Boy."

Father of Mark Davis.

Died the same day as Jim Henson.

Had a relationship with Kim Novak in the 1950s.

According to the "Fastest Gun Who Ever Lived," Bob Munden, Davis was the second-fastest draw in Hollywood, trailing only Jerry Lewis. Davis presented Munden with a customized Colt Peacemaker in recognition of Munden's skill after they appeared together on "The Mike Douglas Show" (1961).

Son of Sammy Davis Sr. and Elvera Davis.

Described himself as "a one-eyed Jewish Negro."

Despite being 64 at the time of his death, he was survived by his mother Elvera Sanchez (1905-2000) and his grandmother, Elvera's mother Luisa (who died in 1996 at 112).

In 1972, Davis told his manager he wanted to leave Reprise Records but was informed that he was obligated to record one more song for the label before he would be able to leave. He showed up at the recording studio neither knowing nor caring what song he was to record, just wanting to get it over with so he could get out of his contract. Producer Mike Curb handed him the lyrics to a song that had been recorded by another singer but that Curb wasn't satisfied with. Davis looked at it, pronounced it to be the stupidest song he had ever seen and predicted that it wouldn't sell a single copy, but agreed to do it in order to fulfill his contract. The song was "Candy Man," which turned out to be the biggest hit record of his career and the one song he will always be identified with (and the song wasn't, as has been long rumored, about cocaine. Davis did have a cocaine problem at the time he recorded it, which led to the rumors, but he wasn't the first singer to record the song, which was from the soundtrack of a children's movie and was about exactly what it said it was about--candy).

Portrayed by Don Cheadle in The Rat Pack (1998) (TV). Cheadle went on to appear in the remake, Ocean's Eleven (2001).

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 235-237. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Father of Tracey Davis, who co-wrote the book: "Sammy Davis Jr.: My Father" with Delores Barclay.

When he married Swedish actress May Britt in 1960, unions between whites and non-whites were still banned in 30 US-states.

Inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2005.

Campaigned for Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election.

Was the childhood idol of director Tim Burton, who wanted to cast him as the title character in Beetle Juice (1988), but Warner Bros. ultimately refused.

Converted to Judaism in the 1950s.

He and the other members of the Rat Pack were banned from Marilyn Monroe`s funeral by Joe DiMaggio

Filmed a cameo appearance for the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971). The scene was ultimately cut, but can be seen in the DVD of the movie.

He was a regular at many of Elvis Presley`s concerts in Las Vegas.

Was given a gift, of a black sapphire ring, by Elvis Presley , who told him, "This is the biggest black star I`ve seen, so I`m giving it to the biggest black star I know."

Once took Donald Rumsfeld to visit Elvis Presley after one of his concerts in Las Vegas.

Died same day as Jim Henson

His mother, Elvera Davis, was born Elvera Sanchez, of Puerto Rican ancestry.

During his childhood as a vaudeville entertainer, he often appeared in states and cities with strict child labor laws. To get around these laws, he was billed as "Silent Sammy, the Dancing Midget", and conspiciously walked around backstage with a rubber cigar in his mouth and a woman on each arm.

Long-time friend Bill Cosby wore a small button with the letters "SD" on episodes of "The Cosby Show" (1984) after his death in 1990 as a tribute.

Smoked 4 packs of cigarettes a day during his lifetime.

He lost his left eye in a car crash when he was his way to record the theme song for the Tony Curtis film, Six Bridges to Cross (1955). He wore an eyepatch for sometime after that, but Humphrey Bogart ultimately convinced him to unmask when he told him that he didn`t want to be known as the kid with the eyepatch.

Always articulate, he never attended school of any kind; performing since the age of five, he was largely self-taught.

Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, Garden of Honor, next to his father Sammy Davis Sr..

Member of the "Rat Pack" with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. All appear in Ocean`s Eleven (1960).

Singer/dancer/actor.

TV composer Morton Stevens ("Hawaii Five-O" (1968), "Police Woman" (1974)) was Davis` musical director between 1950 and 1960 before moving into television music composing. He then returned as music director for Sammy, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Liza Minnelli in the late 1980s.

Has a glass left eye