Sammy Davis, Jr., in December 1954, in his first public appearance after the loss of his eye in an auto accident. He was at a night club on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood with Marilyn Monroe, Jacques Cernes, Mel Torme and Milton Greene, Marilyn’s escort.

Eartha Kitt was born on this day in 1927. Here she is with her ex-fiance Sammy Davis Jr. filming Anna Lucasta in 1958. They were very briefly engaged in 1952 (or, as Ms. Kitt told me in 2001 - before he lost his eye!) and starred in the film with a cast of greats from the black theater, particularly those who were members of the American Negro Theater. Kitt and Davis not only starred in the film, they had financial participation - which came with considerable headaches. 

vintagecamerastyle:

James Dean and Sammy Davis Jr.

James Dean and Sammy Davis Jr.

frankie-machine:

Self-portraits by Sammy Davis, Jr.

Self-portraits by Sammy Davis, Jr.

(Source: frankiemachines)

Regal Esther Rolle chats with Sammy Davis Jr. on “Sammy & Company” in the early 1970s. Charo, Danny Thomas and Charley Pride are also on the couch. Via @swtblackberry

As of today, 25,000 @Tumblr followers for @VintageBlkGlam - Thank you! In the photo, Sammy Davis Jr. is celebrating his new album on Frank Sinatra’s record label, Reprise, in London on September 5, 1961. Photo via Hulton-Deutsch/Corbis

Have you ever seen Sammy dance with Eartha Kitt? Like to see it? Here it go! #AnnaLucasta 

Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis, Jr. dancing in the infamous mambo sequence from their controversial film, Anna Lucasta. 

Kitt and Davis not only starred in the film, they had financial participation. Before Anna Lucasta’s world premiere in 1958, the MPAA Advertising Code Administration refused to approve several ads for the film claiming, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “that the ads blatantly portray the femme lead as a prostitute” and that the ‘art emphasizes her posterior.”  Kitt and Davis also sent letters to hundreds of exhibitors in the south because many Southern theaters did not book the film on “racial grounds.” 

http://55secretstreet.typepad.com/anovelista/2009/02/eartha-kitt-the-oscar-montage-omission-and-why-it-matters.html

(Source: vintageblackglamour)

Chatting about Sammy Davis Jr. on VBG’s Facebook page put me in a Sammy kind of mood tonight. Here he is on the September 1967 cover of GQ. He was the first Black man to appear on the cover.

Being a star made it possible for me to get insulted in places where the average Negro could never hope to go and get insulted. ~ Sammy Davis Jr. 

(Source: vintageblackglamour)

wayblackwhen:

Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr, circa 1950s. By the way, he was an accomplished photographer himself.

(via blackculture)

Sammy Davis Jr. snapping a picture of Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher. Photo by Arthur Silber, Jr.