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In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
He was, for decades, one of the most recognizable figures in the cultural landscape, his image epitomizing a golden age of American show business. His career spanned a lifetime, but for years he has remained hidden behind the persona he so vigorously generated, and so fiercely protected. Now, in this surprising, illuminating, and compulsively readable biography, we are taken beyond the icon, into the extraordinary, singular life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
In scrupulous detail and with stunning powers of evocation, Wil Haygood takes us back to the era of vaudeville, where it all began for four-year-old Sammy who ran out onstage one night and stole the show. From then on it was a motherless childhood on the road, singing and dancing his way across a segregated America with his father and the formidable showman Will Mastin, struggling together to survive the Depression and the demise of vaudeville itself.
With an ambition honed by poverty and an obsessive need for applause, Sammy drove his way into the nightclub circuit of the 1940s and 1950s, when, his father and Mastin aging and out of style, he slowly began to make a name for himself, hustling his way to top billing and eventually to recording contracts. From there, he was to stake his claim on Broadway, in Hollywood, and, of course, in Las Vegas.
Haygood brings Sammy’s showbiz life into full relief against the backdrop of an America in the throes of racial change. Sammy grew up trapped between the worlds of blacks and whites, with so much invested in both. He made his living entertaining white people but was often denied service in the very venues he played. Drafted into a newly integrated U.S. Army in the 1940s, he saw up close the fierce tensions that seethed below the surface. Dragged into the civil rights movement, he witnessed a hatred that often erupted into violence. In his broad and varied friendships and alliances (with Frank Sinatra; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Richard Nixon; Sidney Poitier; Marilyn Monroe, to name just a few), not to mention his romances (his relationship with Kim Novak and his marriage to the blond beauty May Britt drew death threats), he forged uncharted paths across racial lines. Admired and reviled by both blacks and whites, he was tormented all his life by raging insecurities, and never quite came to terms with his own skin. Ultimately, his only true sense of his identity was as a performer.
Based on painstaking research and more than 250 interviews, Wil Haygood brings us a sweeping and vivid cultural history of the twentieth century, chronicling black entertainment from its beginnings and the birth of popular culture as we know it. In Black and White transcends simple biography to become an important record, both celebratory and elegiacal, of a vanished America and its greatest entertainer.
In scrupulous detail and with stunning powers of evocation, Wil Haygood takes us back to the era of vaudeville, where it all began for four-year-old Sammy who ran out onstage one night and stole the show. From then on it was a motherless childhood on the road, singing and dancing his way across a segregated America with his father and the formidable showman Will Mastin, struggling together to survive the Depression and the demise of vaudeville itself.
With an ambition honed by poverty and an obsessive need for applause, Sammy drove his way into the nightclub circuit of the 1940s and 1950s, when, his father and Mastin aging and out of style, he slowly began to make a name for himself, hustling his way to top billing and eventually to recording contracts. From there, he was to stake his claim on Broadway, in Hollywood, and, of course, in Las Vegas.
Haygood brings Sammy’s showbiz life into full relief against the backdrop of an America in the throes of racial change. Sammy grew up trapped between the worlds of blacks and whites, with so much invested in both. He made his living entertaining white people but was often denied service in the very venues he played. Drafted into a newly integrated U.S. Army in the 1940s, he saw up close the fierce tensions that seethed below the surface. Dragged into the civil rights movement, he witnessed a hatred that often erupted into violence. In his broad and varied friendships and alliances (with Frank Sinatra; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Richard Nixon; Sidney Poitier; Marilyn Monroe, to name just a few), not to mention his romances (his relationship with Kim Novak and his marriage to the blond beauty May Britt drew death threats), he forged uncharted paths across racial lines. Admired and reviled by both blacks and whites, he was tormented all his life by raging insecurities, and never quite came to terms with his own skin. Ultimately, his only true sense of his identity was as a performer.
Based on painstaking research and more than 250 interviews, Wil Haygood brings us a sweeping and vivid cultural history of the twentieth century, chronicling black entertainment from its beginnings and the birth of popular culture as we know it. In Black and White transcends simple biography to become an important record, both celebratory and elegiacal, of a vanished America and its greatest entertainer.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2003
23 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 3, 2019
As usual when I am incredibly moved by a book, I have trouble writing a review. This book will bring Sammy Davis, Jr. back to life. Be sure and visit YouTube as you read, you will be thrilled.
1962
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLd9w...
Sammy was always around and I always loved him. I admire anyone who has such a partnership with their body, since I have to fight with mine all the time. I also admire anyone with the discipline to develop a talent, make performing look easy, and enjoy himself to boot.
The fast draw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6aNz...
He seemed to be an eternal little boy, needing the reassurance that he was loved by someone. He was raised by his father, out on the vaudeville circuit by the time he was 4. And he discovered that spark inside himself that thrived on the work, the performing, the love he felt from the audience.
I never knew too much about Sammy. I only knew he was cool. And he had a stage presence that made me watch him even when he shared the stage with Dean and Frank.
This book shows the offstage Sammy as well as the entertainer. He had problems like all of us do. And he had a whole passel of other issues in his life because of who he was. Death threats from whites, death threats from blacks. He spent money before he made it, and drove himself through life at a blistering pace.
Maybe he was naive and made some unfortunate choices over the years, but so do we all. The point for me is that he lived his way, being true to himself as best as he could. That is all any of us can do.
The song Mr. Bojangles touched my heart for years, always making me a little blue. I knew it became Sammy's song, but I did not know he eventually used it as a closer in all of his live concerts. I never connected the words with the man until I got to the end of the book, went to YouTube one more time, and listened to the words with my new knowledge of Sammy still filling my heart. Even a week later, I still can't watch it without tears coming.
Oh, how I wish he could come back and dance.
Mr. Bojangles, 1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fju4...
1962
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLd9w...
Sammy was always around and I always loved him. I admire anyone who has such a partnership with their body, since I have to fight with mine all the time. I also admire anyone with the discipline to develop a talent, make performing look easy, and enjoy himself to boot.
The fast draw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6aNz...
He seemed to be an eternal little boy, needing the reassurance that he was loved by someone. He was raised by his father, out on the vaudeville circuit by the time he was 4. And he discovered that spark inside himself that thrived on the work, the performing, the love he felt from the audience.
I never knew too much about Sammy. I only knew he was cool. And he had a stage presence that made me watch him even when he shared the stage with Dean and Frank.
This book shows the offstage Sammy as well as the entertainer. He had problems like all of us do. And he had a whole passel of other issues in his life because of who he was. Death threats from whites, death threats from blacks. He spent money before he made it, and drove himself through life at a blistering pace.
Maybe he was naive and made some unfortunate choices over the years, but so do we all. The point for me is that he lived his way, being true to himself as best as he could. That is all any of us can do.
The song Mr. Bojangles touched my heart for years, always making me a little blue. I knew it became Sammy's song, but I did not know he eventually used it as a closer in all of his live concerts. I never connected the words with the man until I got to the end of the book, went to YouTube one more time, and listened to the words with my new knowledge of Sammy still filling my heart. Even a week later, I still can't watch it without tears coming.
Oh, how I wish he could come back and dance.
Mr. Bojangles, 1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fju4...
May 18, 2023
Sammy Davis Jr. started as a child in Vaudeville with a tap dance trio, consisting of his father and Will Mastin, the manager and promotor of The Will Mastin Trio. He became the mainstay of the act, moving into singing, comedy, spokesperson, impressions and all-round entertaining. As an adult, he added acting and branched out onto Broadway and film. He was distant from his mother and sister but adored by his grandmother. He learned to curry favor with white audiences and the white club owners and (dangerously) white females, who were his ideal of beauty. As times changed and the civil rights era dawned he also tried, less successfully perhaps, to branch out into the black community, who he seemed to have a less comfortable relationship with. He courted Republican politicians, most controversially Richard Nixon. He also adored Frank Sinatra and became one of the so-called "Rat Pack," though Sinatra called him "Smokey" and many thought patronized him. Will Haygood writes a detailed biography which covers all aspects of Davis, including his historical and social context, doing all aspects of his life justice. An important document on a pivotal figure of the entertainment world. BH.
September 14, 2016
This book is both wonderful and infuriating in equal measure.
First, the positive, the sheer amount of research that has been done is stunning and goes far beyond the life of Sammy Davis Jr. There are many anecdotes from people who had not spoken about Sammy before and these help to paint a clearer picture of the man himself, and not just his work. It's certainly a book I'd recommend to someone who learning about Sammy's life for the first time.
The negative: The author has a somewhat irritating tendency to go off on a tangent. I would not go so far as to say these parts are boring, not at all, but there are countless instances whereby the author detours away from Sammy's life and into social context to the point that it almost feels like the author has forgotten what the book is supposed to be about.
While the research may be extensive, all that information is quite often unnecessary. The reader really doesn't need the full list of credits for every actor Sammy comes into contact with, the occupation of the parents of every singer he sings with, the backstory of each songwriter or, a list of books that were published by the same publisher as his autobiography. These pauses in the narrative are jarring and by the middle of the book, I found myself beginning to skip those paragraphs, eager to get back to Sammy's story.
These tangents would, perhaps, not be so irritating if it didn't result in many moments in Sammy's life being skimmed over if not missed completely. For example, this book will tell you all about the history of Cuban-American relations but seems to fail to even mention the adoption of Sammy's fourth child. (His children in fact are mentioned less than a handful of times). It also feels as if Sammy's life from around 1977 to his death in 1990 are rushed in the book.
The author also seems to have a habit of jumping around in time, going into great detail about something that happened in the 80s, only to return back to the 40s in the next paragraph, which can be disorientating.
The author can also be quite repetitive. Can't help but feel the editor did a fairly poor job. This book could easily be halved in length.
But all in all, a fascinating read about a fascinating man, well worth a look.
First, the positive, the sheer amount of research that has been done is stunning and goes far beyond the life of Sammy Davis Jr. There are many anecdotes from people who had not spoken about Sammy before and these help to paint a clearer picture of the man himself, and not just his work. It's certainly a book I'd recommend to someone who learning about Sammy's life for the first time.
The negative: The author has a somewhat irritating tendency to go off on a tangent. I would not go so far as to say these parts are boring, not at all, but there are countless instances whereby the author detours away from Sammy's life and into social context to the point that it almost feels like the author has forgotten what the book is supposed to be about.
While the research may be extensive, all that information is quite often unnecessary. The reader really doesn't need the full list of credits for every actor Sammy comes into contact with, the occupation of the parents of every singer he sings with, the backstory of each songwriter or, a list of books that were published by the same publisher as his autobiography. These pauses in the narrative are jarring and by the middle of the book, I found myself beginning to skip those paragraphs, eager to get back to Sammy's story.
These tangents would, perhaps, not be so irritating if it didn't result in many moments in Sammy's life being skimmed over if not missed completely. For example, this book will tell you all about the history of Cuban-American relations but seems to fail to even mention the adoption of Sammy's fourth child. (His children in fact are mentioned less than a handful of times). It also feels as if Sammy's life from around 1977 to his death in 1990 are rushed in the book.
The author also seems to have a habit of jumping around in time, going into great detail about something that happened in the 80s, only to return back to the 40s in the next paragraph, which can be disorientating.
The author can also be quite repetitive. Can't help but feel the editor did a fairly poor job. This book could easily be halved in length.
But all in all, a fascinating read about a fascinating man, well worth a look.
March 24, 2015
5 Stars***** Whew ~ 23 hours of Sammy!! Really interesting and thorough look at an enormously talented and kindhearted, but ultimately sad man, who was always searching for the childhood love and security he never had. The author missed nothing ~ its all here starting with Sammy's Cuban grandmother and ending on his deathbed. If you are a fan, you'll be a bigger fan, if you aren't, I think you'll still find this a fascinating story of a young boy who's talent supported his father and "uncle" in the segregated depression era, his lust for white women (as many as possible!) at a time where that could get you killed and his inability to connect with his own race - it really baffled him. Segregation, civil rights movement, Rat Pat, Broadway, movies, Nixon, drugs, huge money problems, this has everything including his strange and sad hero worship of Sinatra.
I'm a big fan of this amazing entertainer and sorely regret that I'll never get to see him perform live. In Black and White gave me a complete picture of Sammy and shed more light on the good and bad of what I already knew and a whole lot I didn't know. Two Big thumbs up.
I'm a big fan of this amazing entertainer and sorely regret that I'll never get to see him perform live. In Black and White gave me a complete picture of Sammy and shed more light on the good and bad of what I already knew and a whole lot I didn't know. Two Big thumbs up.
July 27, 2009
This excellent biography fixes Sammy Davis jr in the various turbulent times he lived through, and goes someway to explaining how he could sometimes seem so out of step with the world around him. The narrative flows with ease from the vaudeville days of the 30s to the civil rights movement of the 60s and beyond, making sure that Sammy and his actions are in context the whole way.
Anyone seeking another rat pack book will be disappointed, Frank and Dean do drift into the pages occasionally (although Sinatra really does not come out well) but this book is all about Sammy. And what emerges is a fragile figure who is both endearing and horribly naive.
Haygood is a gifted writer who manages to wear his clearly extensive research lightly, and has crafted a showbiz biog which has depth and insight and keeps you turning the pages.
Anyone seeking another rat pack book will be disappointed, Frank and Dean do drift into the pages occasionally (although Sinatra really does not come out well) but this book is all about Sammy. And what emerges is a fragile figure who is both endearing and horribly naive.
Haygood is a gifted writer who manages to wear his clearly extensive research lightly, and has crafted a showbiz biog which has depth and insight and keeps you turning the pages.
November 11, 2019
" I knew a man, Bojangles, and he danced for you, in worn- out shoes
With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants, the old soft-shoe
He jumped so high, jumped so high
Then he lightly touched down."
Great read.
With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants, the old soft-shoe
He jumped so high, jumped so high
Then he lightly touched down."
Great read.
October 11, 2020
An excellent overview of one of the 20th century’s most prolific entertainers.
Beginning with Vaudeville and then moving to feature films, Broadway, television and even a number one billboard hit, Sammy did it all. He was even one of the largest financiers of the American civil rights movement.
The story is researched with excellence, it’s well paced with no slow spots.
His famous relationships with Sinatra and Martin are well presented.
10/10.
Beginning with Vaudeville and then moving to feature films, Broadway, television and even a number one billboard hit, Sammy did it all. He was even one of the largest financiers of the American civil rights movement.
The story is researched with excellence, it’s well paced with no slow spots.
His famous relationships with Sinatra and Martin are well presented.
10/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2022
Wow! This book was so much more than I expected. Haygood is a masterful writer and gives and incisive view into Davis' life. He is unflinchingly honest about Davis - his generosity and his well, debauchery, his confusion as he straddled generations and fought to be successful in times & places that Davis struggled to fit into.
September 28, 2020
Fascinating history of SDJ. Vaudeville as a youth and no schooling. Interracial dating and ratpack membership. Broadway star. He did it all but was shunned by many of his race since he dated white women and embarrassed them with Archie Bunker and RMN embraces. He adored Sinatra a little too much.
December 27, 2020
In depth biography with interesting info from many interviews. By the time I was done I felt like I knew the man and all his flaws and loved the guy.
I read the book because I wanted to understand his path to success. By the end, I felt the author had given me the full tour of that path.
I read the book because I wanted to understand his path to success. By the end, I felt the author had given me the full tour of that path.
September 30, 2021
Roughly the first 1/4 of the book is about before he was born. It so a slow start to say the least. His life was interesting, once you do finally get into it. I don't think I'll ever pick up this book again though.
December 26, 2020
This was a pretty good book. I will put this one with my collection.
December 29, 2020
Extremely well written bio of Sammy Davis, Jr. A real page turner.
April 2, 2021
Well written and extensively researched, I was riveted by the "flavor" of the time period of Sammy's rise to fame.
February 17, 2022
Auto biographies and biographies are fluid depending on the perception of the author. Interesting book.
March 10, 2023
tabloid-ish... and lots of non-Sammy filler, like what others think about him (ie per White women) vs what he reveals about self... still a decent read w/ little know details
April 23, 2024
Interresting Side of the story
March 5, 2025
Excellent story. Incredible life of Sammy Davis Jr. The story telling was a little long. Some parts the author lost me is what seemed to be reading of scripts. Not necessary.
July 5, 2025
Love the subject but poorly written. Had to abandon after 30 pages.
September 2, 2025
Gift from a friend. Read mostly via Audio. Not a great book but glad I know more about another Rat Pack member.
October 4, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit over the top at times and I finished it with the suspicion that a lot was left out. Unfortunately, the author spends too much time summarizing the details of just about anyone that SDJ met. At first, it's interesting but after a while, it's frustrating. ex. when he gets to the part about Nixon, we have to read quite a bit of backstory that's more about Nixon and not about Sammy. I think there was probably more to Sammy's life and the minute details about others seemed to be just filler. My other issue is that the beginning of SDJ's life up until... about.. 1980 or so was FULL but the last 10 years or so of his life seemed to be glossed over. Considering how much detail was poured into the beginning of the biography, it seems unfortunate that the years after Cannonball Run seemed rushed. It could just have been because at that point SDJ was at the end of his career. Who knows. In any event, I DID enjoy this book despite those things. I definitely recommend.
April 8, 2009
This is a great book. I learned much about Sammy Davis, Jr. that I didn't know, from his vaudeville childhood (he literally never went to school a day in his life, on the road with his father from infancy), to his porn fetish and more. Summing it up like this doesn't do it justice, though.
Wil Haygood is such a good author; when I say he writes like a great newspaper columnist, I mean it as a compliment. He is poetic in his language, but not to the point of annoyance (for an example of how to be too fancy with the language--in another Rat Pack bio, oddly enough--see Nick Tosches' book on Dean Martin, which is just awful). Some of the passages here are heartbreaking.
The gold standard of entertainment biographies is, for me, Peter Guralnick's two volumes on Elvis Presley, encyclopedic but not at all boring. In Black and White is far from encyclopedic--I learned from Altovise Davis' recent obituaries that she and Sammy adopted a child--but it is definitely never boring.
Wil Haygood is such a good author; when I say he writes like a great newspaper columnist, I mean it as a compliment. He is poetic in his language, but not to the point of annoyance (for an example of how to be too fancy with the language--in another Rat Pack bio, oddly enough--see Nick Tosches' book on Dean Martin, which is just awful). Some of the passages here are heartbreaking.
The gold standard of entertainment biographies is, for me, Peter Guralnick's two volumes on Elvis Presley, encyclopedic but not at all boring. In Black and White is far from encyclopedic--I learned from Altovise Davis' recent obituaries that she and Sammy adopted a child--but it is definitely never boring.
April 16, 2016
Sammy Davis Jr. was a man raised on a stage who had no roots other than the road. I can't imagine what it does to a psyche when you become the primary breadwinner at 5, on the road your entire life with a father who relies on your performance and a mother who doesn't seem to care that you had no childhood because she is chasing dreams of her own. Davis was a walking contradiction, someone who tried to laugh with the jokers so he didn't have to admit they were laughing at him, a true genius when performing and someone who was never comfortable in his own skin. It was a story of a man but more broadly of a time in old Hollywood and pre-Hollywood vaudeville. An interesting read, glad I picked it up.
December 1, 2013
A beautiful bio by a writer who obviously cared about his subject. That's not to say he doesn't dish the dirt, he does but it's done thoughtfully and within reason. I wish there had been more info on Sammy's recording processes, how he worked out the songs, how he decided what arrangements he liked. I would like to have heard about his final recording session, a gorgeous song done as a duet for Lena Horne. But those are small gripes compared with what we are given by the author. If you like Sammy this is the book you want to read.
September 6, 2010
I was only mildly interested in Sammy Davis Jr. when I picked up this book; remembering my mother's copy of "Yes I Can" when I was a kid, so I gave it a try. I have to say, this is the best celebrity biography I have ever read. Incredibly rich in detail. I was especially fascinated by the description of Sammy's day's in vaudeville. This man had such an incredible life. I highly recommend this!
March 12, 2011
A semi-comprehensive overview of Sammy's life, from his early years in vaudeville to his death from throat cancer at the relatively early age of 64.
Reads much like a travelogue, highlighting places you'd like to visit but wish that you could linger at a bit longer. The book never really delves into the motivation driving the scenery, it merely tells the story from the perspective of a tourist.
Bottom line: informative and entertaining. A nice way to spend 500 pages.
Reads much like a travelogue, highlighting places you'd like to visit but wish that you could linger at a bit longer. The book never really delves into the motivation driving the scenery, it merely tells the story from the perspective of a tourist.
Bottom line: informative and entertaining. A nice way to spend 500 pages.
July 26, 2015
Conocí a un hombre, Bojangles, y él bailaba para nosotros Sammy Davis Jr. El hombre que no podían categorizar, que se le negaba todo quería probarlo todo, tragarse el mundo sin digerirlo, ¿No era su vida? ¿Por qué tenía que vivir de acuerdo con las reglas de los demás? luchó toda su vida hacia el día en que ningún hombre blanco podía decirle cómo vivir..... The Candy Man can because he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
June 12, 2015
The book reads much like a novel. Davis started in show business as vaudeville was coming to an end. Haygood was able to tell the story of the evolution of entertainment commingled wit the rise of the civil rights movement. The bio is told not only with compassion but also with clarity. His sources are evident without being intrusive.
December 6, 2009
This is well written, thorough, entertaining, and really a superb history lesson. Great Job Mr. Haygood.
Read
September 22, 2009Acutely drawn portrait of sammy davis junior and his times, I'm loving it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews