Sammy Davis Shooting

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By platinumOwl4

Sammy In Action

Fastest Draw In Hollywood

Many people are familiar with the name Sammy Davis Jr. His showmanship is an accumulation of what he grew up around. His father was an entertainer in Vaudeville and he took Sammy on the road with him. Sammy is well publicized concerning his activity with the “Rat Pack” his close relationship with the late great Frank Sinatra.  Mr. Davis had the ability to impersonate many performers both black and white. In the beginning this offended many who did not believe a black person should impersonate a white person. 

This would soon take a backseat as the civil rights movement escalated. Mr. Davis would at time be at odds with many during the Civil rights movement for a variety of reasons. Many believed Mr. Davis should you his fame to bring more attention to the struggle. Mr. Davis did not necessarily see it this way. He deserves credit for crashing barriers and challenging the status quo. Whatever he was doing whether it was acceptable to the Movement leaders or not Sammy Davis Jr. opened door for many entertainers who would follow in the entertainment business. Mr. was not concerned if any would follow him or not. When he converted to Judaism it was for a reason. It would cause a network of people to view him not only as an entertainer but also in the light of faith. Consequently expanding his exposure in the entertainment world. This presents a little known view of   Sammy Davis.

The Unknown Sammy Davis Jr. made appearance in several western movies. In an episode of the Rifleman he showed off a skill few are familiar. He was a quick draw artist. Seeing him in action is mind altering. He also sings and performs shooting expertise in “Bang Bang” The legendary entertainer suggest that he only felt free “on stage” he constantly gave great performance y et, one thing trouble him as it did Michael Jackson, Miles Davis and a multitude of African American entertainers. The majority of them did not believe they received the same respect as entertainers as their Caucasian counter parts. This

Sammy On Stage

Sammy's Impersonator

Comments

PWalker281 profile image

PWalker281 Level 7 Commenter 12 months ago

Believe it or not, I remember that episode of The Rifleman, which I used to watch as a kid. Talk about memories! Thanks so much for sharing this retrospective of the great Sammy Davis, Jr.!

Hyphenbird profile image

Hyphenbird Level 8 Commenter 11 months ago

I loved Sammy Davis Jr. and indeed all the Rat Pack. Thanks for the memories.

feenix profile image

feenix Level 7 Commenter 11 months ago

platinumOwl4,

What a cool hub. It contains a lot of fond memories for me. I actually saw the premier of that episode of the "Rifleman" that you show on this post. Watched it on my family's black-and-white Hoffman Easy Vision T.V. with a 17" green screen.

Sammy Davis, Jr. is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest performers in the history of entertainment and you did an excellent job of pointing that out.

Thank you for writing and publishing this informative and much-needed post.

CMerritt profile image

CMerritt Level 7 Commenter 10 months ago

Sammy Davis WAS without a doubt, a cool cat!!!

I loved anything with the rat pack...

I have seen that episode of the rifleman before....not the original, but I have watched reruns and THAT was a great one.

Great hub..

James A Watkins profile image

James A Watkins Level 8 Commenter 3 months ago

I enjoyed your Hub about a major talent: Sammy Davis Jr. I saw him on TV the other day when I happened upon an old episode of Laugh-In on PBS. The show did not age well.

Of performing arts, I think comedy ages the least well. You know? Stuff that seemed hilarious to people fifty years ago usually doesn't seem funny today. But drama ages wonderfully. Drama that is hundreds of years old still holds its power.

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