One of my favorite Rat Pack singers is Sammy Davis, Jr. Not only is he a great singer and dancer, but he can do particularly good impersonations. (And no, we didn't name our son Samuel David after Sammy Davis!)
This is a really fun television clip that shows Davis' talent at impersonating singers and Hollywood stars. His impersonation of Jerry Lewis is pretty spot-on! I love his Jimmy Stewart impersonation too - it's almost disconcerting to hear Jimmy Stewart's voice coming out of someone else's mouth!
Last week my sister C let me borrow her copy of Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. I didn't know this before, but Sammy Davis, Jr. was an avid photographer. This book by Burt Boyer is filled with photographs that Davis took at different parties, film sets, and public gatherings (e.g., one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches). There are candid photographs of several celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Some of the photographs are quite artsy too, particularly ones of city life that were taken when Davis was on tour. The book also contains commentary by Boyer (a life-long friend of Davis) and also some excerpts from Davis' autobiographies (which Boyer and his wife co-authored with Davis). I think it's a really fun book - it's interesting to see the world of Sammy Davis, Jr. through his camera lens.
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This post is so timely because I just watched the original Ocean's 11 last night. I didn't know Sammy Davis Jr. was a photographer, too, though. That's pretty interesting.
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