Customer Reviews

In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Sammy Davis, Jr. is probably best known these days as one of Frank Sinatra's sidekicks. But during his lifetime, Davis was a multi-talented performer who could both delight and infuriate his audience.My generation's main memories of Davis tend to be of a man who laughed too hard at jokes that weren't funny, went overboard in trying to be hip until he became a parody and someone who whose discomfort in his own skin was only too apparent.

Davis was a super talent but a complex human being. It would probably be impossible to encompass the whole of his personality in a single book but the author manages to get a good grasp of his subject. Haygood's prose tends to be overdramatic at times but he makes the reader understand Davis' confusion over his racial identity. He also explains the reasons behind many African Americans' ambivalence toward Davis. We also get a fuller and previously untold story about Davis' parents Sam, Sr. and Elvera whose tense relationship with her son was a contributing factor to many of his demons.

Thankfully, Haygood avoids the sleaziness and shallowness of Gary Fishgall's book Gonna Do Great Things. He also presents a fuller picture of Davis than Davis' daughter Tracy did in her book (a horrible work.) He writes of his subject's more questionable habits (sex and drugs) but doesn't lose sight of who Davis was.

Sammy Davis, Jr., the true "I Gotta Be Me," man was not only a topnotch entertainer but also a tortured individual according to this exhaustive biography by journalist Wil Haygood. More than simply a comprehensive biography "In Black and White" is an intriguing chronicle of black entertainment in our country.

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.

- Gail Cooke

The cover of Wil Haygood's book stands in almost absolute contrast to the contents therein. The photo shows Sammy alone, surrounded by nothing. He is literally the only thing in the picture; even his shadow barely registers. In contrast, the book itself goes to painstaking lengths to describe the world and people who surrounded Sammy - the entirety of his universe - and at the center of it all...a void.

That's my fancy way of saying that, for a book about Sammy Davis, Jr., "In Black And White" contains remarkably little Sammy Davis, Jr.

I can appreciate Mr. Haygood's efforts to put things in context. This, he does exceedingly well. But the book is almost entirely context; the reader can, and often does, go pages without encountering any reference to Sammy whatsoever. Example: more time is spent discussing Cuban history than is spent on Sammy's entire stint in the US Army. That seems disproportionate to me.

A random ten-page sample of the book might be broken down thusly:
> 3 pages of biographical background on producer Jule Steyn
> 2 pages of background on Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier
> 2 pages accounting various social issues blacks were facing in the US at the time
> a page covering the history of blacks on Broadway
> a page of assorted people talking about their experiences being around Sammy
> half a page of Broadway folk accounting their reactions to the idea of Sammy coming to Broadway
> and then a few paragraphs that actually relate to what Sammy was doing at the time, some speculation on why, and how the people around him perceived his actions.

One would have a hard time getting through this entire book without wondering at some point or another when the author is finally going to get around to writing about Sammy. As I read the book, I appreciated Mr. Haywood's skill, and I do feel I learned a lot...I just didn't learn a lot about Sammy Davis, Jr.

Wil Haygood, if you're reading this, please know: if I ever amount to anything, I hope you write my biography. I was always a casual Sammy fan, but now I'm fascinated. A story well told, beautifully written. For the generation who (sadly) only knows Sammy from the Billy Crystal imitations, this is a must-read. Sammy was a true giant in American entertainment for more than 50 years, and now he finally has the biography he deserves, warts and all. Sammy had his flaws, but also had more talent than all of today's pop stars put together.

I was put off a bit at first - the book's momentum was slowed by the author's habit of inserting a mini-biography whenever a character was introduced - but I grew to enjoy this fascinating book much more as it progressed. Some may feel that the author goes too far in assuming the reader has never heard of Marcus Garvey, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, etc., and may find the constant summaries of historical events unnecessary. I did. Still, the details of Sammy's growing up on the road, the hardships endured by negro vaudeville performers, the complete lack of formal education, the hand to mouth existence, the constant travel, form a powerful cumulative portrait of a man and his time.

This book drew me in, fascinated me with its psychologically complex picture of Davis, and left me with a desire to reinvestigate the music and films he left behind.

A top-notch biography.

The author takes you inside Sammy Davis Jr. - a performer who became almost a caricature to the public in his last two decades - with an incredibly-researched portrait. Even though the book is very harsh and truthful about Davis, the last chapters are still very moving and the humanity of the man is never lost.

Reading about Sammy Davis Jr is always a Must for me.the Man was not only a Multi-Talented Person but also a Soul Brother who had to deal with alot of Obstacles not that long ago.He held His own in the Rat Pack.He dealt with Racisim&Other forces working against Him&still made folks respect His hard Work as a Entertainer.the Author Wil Haygood explores so much&Brings many elements into the life of Sammy Davis Jr.very detailed book from start to finish.

This impressive biography of SDJ does a stellar job of presenting a portrait not only of this showbiz legend, but of his times. Some Amazon reviewers have criticized a) the structure of the book, b) what they feel is a lack of Sammy focus, or c) a potential bias against Sinatra. To those detractors I say a) read the WHOLE book, because the structure is perfectly accessible and not "fragmented," b) Sammy is CLEARLY the centerpiece of this book; we get plenty of Sammy, and c) get a life. Sinatra is presented in all his complexity. There's the generous Frank; the singer-without-peer Frank; and the slightly unsavory, sometimes megalomaniacal Frank.

Wil Haygood is masterful in presenting a deep and complex portrait of a Sammy who is troubled, gregarious, enormously talented, and, ultimately, scarred by his childhood vaudeville days as well as his gargantuan inferiority complex. Haygood's admirable attempt at objectivity enables us to both disdain some of Sammy's behavior and feel great sympathy for the early life he was forced to live.

What greater compliment can I give than to say that Haygood takes us into Sammy's world with depth and clarity and raw beauty. Knowing Sammy's life, warts and all, only adds to my great respect for his amazing, mid-century achievements.

Maybe the definitive biography of Sammy Davis Jr. can never be written. Or maybe it simply hasn't been done. This book is a mixed bag.

The book filters the story of Sammy Davis Jr. through race, everything is either black or white. As a result, you do get some interesting concepts, that Davis did not want to "be" black, as if all blacks (or for that matter, all whites) had something in common.

You do get extensive thoughts about his love for blonde women, and his affairs with Kim Novak is given a prominent amount of space.

You also have a wonderful portrait of Will Mastin, a man who is ignored in every other book about Davis.

But other things are glossed over, his drug and alcohol abuse, his Rat Pack days, even his marriage to May Britt.

Oh, do not expect anything about his music in here, absolutely nothing about any of his records.

Sometimes when reading a bigraphy, the author makes the mistake of idolizing the subject too much and thus leaves thje reader with a rather distorted fazine in book form. This book startes off this way and I was tempted to put it down but then a third of the way into the author presents critical analysis of Mr. Davis and the storyline is much more engaging. I would have liked a few more photos other than from the Sammy Davis jr. or firnds of Sammy Davis Junior collection to go beyond a snapshot image of this subject. This books ends on a high note by the author when an excellent critique is made. A worthwhile read.