In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
by Wil Haygood

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Book Reviews of In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.

Book Review: INTRIGUING BIO AND CHRONICLE
Summary: 5 Stars

Trained by his father and uncle Sammy had no classroom education but a world of stage smarts. As a small child he mastered soft shoe and tap to become the star of the vaudeville threesome "The Will Mastin Trio." There seemed to be nothing the youngster couldn't do whether it was singing, dancing, playing an instrument or miming other performers.

This energetic bundle of talent couldn't be contained. He burst upon the television screen and was soon a member of Hollywood's celebrated "Rat Pack" paling around and joking on stage with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Joey Bishop.

Nonetheless, Sammy was black and they were white. He was very aware of the difference - where he could stay and where he could not. Once married to a black girl he later started dating blond white actresses and eventually wed May Britt, a union that shocked.

He survived a 1954 car accident which caused him to lose an eye, and his face with the black eye patch soon became familiar. For reasons unknown and only surmised he converted to Judaism. When he told Jerry Lewis of his plan, Lewis asked, "Don't you already have enough problems?"

Problems were to dog him for all of his life. Beneath the happy veneer was a wellspring of anguish.

"In Black and White" is a memorable biography of a one-of-a-kind entertainer and an eye-opening glimpse of the world of entertainment as it once was.

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