TL;DR:
- Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. met as young performers.
- Frank Sinatra was one of many who offered a moving insight into what Sammy Davis Jr. was like as a friend.
- The singer abandoned tour dates to attend the funeral in California.
Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. were talented entertainers, members of the Rat Pack, and close friends. They performed on the same stage and spent many a late night together in various cities. When Davis died, Sinatra canceled his tour dates to fly in for the funeral. He offered a touching statement on his long-lasting friendship with the one-of-a-kind performer.
Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. were friends for years
Sinatra and Davis met in 1941, when both men were in the early stages of what would become incredibly influential careers in show business. Davis performed with his father and uncle, known as the Will Mastin Trio, in Detroit. At the show, they were opening for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, which Sinatra was a part of. Per ABC News, the two men bonded over a sandwich and remained close friends ever since.
Davis expressed his admiration for Sinatra.
“I wanted to be like him, I wanted to dress like him, I wanted to look like him, I took my hair and had it all done up, Sinatra style, with the little curl here and all,” he said, per Biography.
The ‘My Way’ singer issued a moving statement after his friend’s death
Decades later, in 1990, Davis died of throat cancer at the age of 64. His health had been declining following a lengthy stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Those close to him seemed to agree on one thing: Davis was a one-of-a-kind talent but also a once-in-a-lifetime type of friend. Sinatra gave a moving statement to express how much this friendship meant to him.
“It is difficult to compress a friendship of more than 40 years into a few words,” he said, per the New York Daily News. “I wish the world could have known Sam as I did. Sam never gave less than 100% when he was on stage, and he gave even more to those of us lucky enough to call him friend.”
Per the Chicago Tribune, he added, “It was a generous God who gave him to us for all these years, and a heaven with his magic gives me warmth.”
Frank Sinatra was an honorary pallbearer at Sammy Davis Jr.’s funeral
Sinatra canceled tour dates and flew to California to attend Davis’ funeral. Per UPI, Sinatra was an honorary pallbearer and took a front-row seat along with other members of the Rat Pack. Other celebrity attendees included Dean Martin, Stevie Wonder, Robert Guillaume, and Liza Minnelli.
In Davis’ honor, the lights on the Las Vegas strip were turned off for 10 minutes, and tap dancers danced at his honorary star on Hollywood Boulevard. At least 500 cars drove in the procession from the memorial to the gravesite.
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