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Remembering Ford Freedom Award honoree Sammy DavisJr., who overcame prejudice

Wha t Made

SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News

S

ammy Davis Jr. fans will
remember him singing stan-
dards in clubs and on TV,
cigarette in hand at a time
when smoking seemed sophisticated.
But "Sammy tried not to smoke on
Yom Kippur," recalls his widow,
Altovise Davis, who attended services
with her late husband and knows
about his participation in prayer. "If
he did smoke, it was only one ciga-
rette, and he'd hold to that. He always
wanted to have a base for his family,
and I think observing Judaism was
that family base."
All kinds of recollections of the
singer-dancer-actor are likely to be
called to mind in Detroit this month

2/11

2000

76

as the Charles H. Wright Museum of
African American History celebrates
the entertainer's life by conferring the
Ford Freedom Award in his honor.
The award, which will be accepted
by his widow, recognizes the all-
around entertainer's impact on
improving the African American com-
munity and the world at large through
his chosen field.
Altovise Davis, the showman's third
wife, is looking forward to the two-
day program, which includes an instal-
lation ceremony, gala dinner and
scholar lecture. Motown remains spe-
cial to her because that's where she
met her late husband, who introduced
her to Judaism.
The two appeared together as
brother and sister in the 1964 musical
Golden Boy at the Fisher Theatre, and

they started dating in England, where
the play had moved.
"I think this is a wonderful aWard,
and it's even better to receive it in the
first year of the new century," she says.
"As someone who championed civil
rights all of his life, Sammy would be
very proud and happy because that
was the nature of his manhood."
The Ford Freedom Award is
bestowed posthumously every
February in honor of Black History
Month. The recipient is commemorat-
ed by a brass nameplate placed in the
Ford Freedom Rotunda of the muse-
um and recalled by a scholar, an indi-
vidual who has excelled on a national
or international level in the same field
as the award recipient.
This year, the scholar is singer-
dancer-actor Gregory Hines, who

remained very close to Davis and con-
sidered him his mentor. The two
starred in Davis' last film, Tap.
"Sammy and Gregory were some-
times like brothers and sometimes like
father and son," Altovise Davis recalls.
"When Sammy started his career, he
danced with his dad and his uncle.
When Gregory started out, he danced
with his brother and dad. Both had
worked in family trios, and both could
dance to any tune very well. They
shared a special camaraderie."
Born in 1925, Sammy Davis Jr.
went on stage with his dad just two
years later. At age 7, he won the title
role in the movie Rufus Jones for
President, and during his youth went
on to tour extensively with the Will
Mastin Trio.
After being drafted into the army at