“Gonna build a mountain from a little hill”*

by chuckofish

Today we toast Sammy Davis Jr. who died on this day in 1990.

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Here’s an interesting tidbit for you: John Wayne loaned Sammy Davis Jr. his iconic cavalry hat (the one he had worn in all three of his John Ford-directed calvary films) to wear in Sergeants 3 (1962)–the pretty terrible remake of Gunga Din (1939) which starred the Rat Pack. That was a pretty cool thing for Sammy.

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You can read about the making of the movie here. I can’t really recommend actually watching this movie, as I loathe comedic westerns. If you are in the mood for a Sammy Davis Jr. movie, I would suggest The Cannonball Run (1981) in which Sammy and Dean Martin masquerade as priests in the cross-country car race (along with Burt Reynolds et al) and Dino gets to say, “If we were Methodists we’d have a good shot at gettin’ laid.” Zut alors!

Interesting tidbit #2: Sammy Davis Jr. was the first African-American to be invited to spend the night at the White House. Guess which president invited him? Yes, Richard Nixon.

Fun facts to know and tell.

*Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley