toobfreak
Tungsten/Glass Member
I was reading up on the life of Sammy Davis Jr. because I recently caught a clip of him performing with Ella Fitzgerald back on the Ed Sullivan Show (a phenomenal tour de force of vocal excellence), and I was shocked to read that Sammy was only 64 years old when he passed away!
I was further surprised to read that how Sammy lost his eye was actually from a car accident; he was driving back to Ca from doing a Vegas show and a lady ahead of him missed her turn on a windy turn and backed up causing Davis to hit into her, but it wasn't the accident that caused the loss of his eye, it was a POINTED HORN BUTTON on the steering wheel of his Cadillac that apparently drove into his eye. Even stranger, a friend had given him a good luck charm which Davis normally wore around his neck--- that night of the accident was the only day he had ever forgotten to wear it. A friend offered to donate his own eye so that Sammy could see again, but eventually, he just got a glass eye. Sammy was actually an avid photographer and loved taking pictures of everything.
Sammy Davis was also the first black man to ever sleep in the White House, invited to stay over with his wife by President Richard Nixon.
Davis was a heavy smoker smoking four packs of cigarettes a day; he died of throat cancer in 1990 after radiation failed to cure it. Even more incredible if you can believe it, Sammy died broke. BROKE! His estate was worth an estimated $4 million dollars at the time of his death (about 9.5 million today) but incredibly, he owed over 5 million in back taxes to the IRS which with interest and penalties came to around 7 million. His wife had to auction off his home and property to pay the debt.
en.wikipedia.org
I was further surprised to read that how Sammy lost his eye was actually from a car accident; he was driving back to Ca from doing a Vegas show and a lady ahead of him missed her turn on a windy turn and backed up causing Davis to hit into her, but it wasn't the accident that caused the loss of his eye, it was a POINTED HORN BUTTON on the steering wheel of his Cadillac that apparently drove into his eye. Even stranger, a friend had given him a good luck charm which Davis normally wore around his neck--- that night of the accident was the only day he had ever forgotten to wear it. A friend offered to donate his own eye so that Sammy could see again, but eventually, he just got a glass eye. Sammy was actually an avid photographer and loved taking pictures of everything.
Sammy Davis was also the first black man to ever sleep in the White House, invited to stay over with his wife by President Richard Nixon.
Davis was a heavy smoker smoking four packs of cigarettes a day; he died of throat cancer in 1990 after radiation failed to cure it. Even more incredible if you can believe it, Sammy died broke. BROKE! His estate was worth an estimated $4 million dollars at the time of his death (about 9.5 million today) but incredibly, he owed over 5 million in back taxes to the IRS which with interest and penalties came to around 7 million. His wife had to auction off his home and property to pay the debt.
Sammy Davis Jr. - Wikipedia
