Sammy Davis Jr. at home: 7 photos of “Mister Show Business” off duty

Sammy Davis Jr., otherwise known as “Mister Show Business,” was one of Hollywood’s brightest (and most versatile) stars during the 1950s and ’60s. Born in 1925 in Harlem, New York, Davis began performing as a child in his family’s dance troupe before rising to fame on Broadway in the musical Mr. Wonderful. From there, he went on to headline in Las Vegas, host the variety program The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, release chart-topping music like the hit single “The Candy Man,” and appear in a string of memorable films, including Ocean’s Eleven, starring alongside fellow Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Ever the showman, Davis also considered his true home to be the entertainment industry. “My home has always been show business,” he wrote in his 1989 autobiography, Why Me?: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story. “That’s where I’ve lived since the age of three. I’ve slept in hotels and rooming houses, in cars, on trains and buses, in our dressing rooms … But home was where the lights were, the people out front, the laughter and applause, the acts I watched from the wings all day long.”

Still, his offstage residences across Hollywood and Beverly Hills were just as dazzling as his career. Below, we’ve rounded up 7 photos that offer a glimpse at Davis’s domestic life.

A star on the rise

Ready for his close-up

In this 1955 photo, Davis is shown during the filming of the CBS interview special Person to Person. At the time, he was still in the early days of his Hollywood career—so early, in fact, that when the CBS crew was scheduled to arrive at his home in the Hollywood Hills to prepare for the interview, the space, which he shared with his grandmother, was barely furnished. In his 1965 autobiography, Yes, I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr., Davis recalled the frantic scene. “I couldn’t afford to pass up the importance of that kind of exposure, so almost overnight I had to get the house furnished,” he wrote. “Crews of workmen were swarming around the place, hammering down carpet, putting up curtains and draperies, bringing in chairs, lamps, pictures, and parts of beds, working with hectic efficiency—like they were putting together a movie set.”

Here comes the bride

The newlyweds

In this 1960 photo, Davis is pictured with his second wife, the Swedish actress May Britt, during their wedding ceremony at his home in the Hollywood Hills. At the time, their relationship sparked controversy since interracial relationships were still unusual and controversial. In her 2014 book, Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal Journey With My Father, their daughter Tracey Davis wrote about her parents’ decision to have a home wedding. “My parents wanted a dignified wedding, not a publicity circus about this taboo marriage,” she wrote. “So they had a small, private ceremony at their Hollywood home on Evanview Drive off the Sunset Strip.”

Full house

A family photo

In this 1962 photo, Davis and Britt are seen with their children, Tracey and Mark, in their home garden. After Tracey was born in 1961, Davis and Britt adopted Mark in 1962, when he was two years old. In 1963, they adopted another son, Jeff, when he was four months old. “Your mother and I spoke about adopting kids way back when we were dating,” he said, according to Tracey’s book. “We both believed in providing a good home for children in need. What joy they brought to our lives.”

Entertaining at home

The storyteller at work

After living on Evanview Drive, the Davis family moved into a Beverly Hills mansion previously owned by the producer David O. Selznick. In Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal Journey With My Father, Tracey wrote that her mother discovered the house. Britt reportedly said, “I found this house, it is simply elegant, pure class, doesn’t scream gaudy, just breathtaking and homey.” Davis told her to get it, sight unseen. “The 1934 mansion was designed by Roland Coate and built in Beverly Hills for Selznick, who won best picture for Gone with the Wind,” Tracey wrote. “It was a simple, traditional house, with all the trimmings of sheer elegance. The house had seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms with more than three-quarters of an acre of manicured grounds, including a pool. It had a two-story entry, a formal living room, and a dining room with multiple fireplaces with original Greek keystone-shaped marble. The house had a walk-in bar in the family room, a library, a billiards room, an office, and two maids’ quarters.” Davis, shown here regaling guests in a 1965 photo, often entertained celebrities at home, including Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli. “I cannot remember all the times I’ve been sitting at the bar in my house, chatting away with all sorts of people—producers, directors, writers, even actors,” Davis wrote in his 1980 autobiography Hollywood in a Suitcase.

Hollywood star

In his office

By the 1960s, Davis was a legitimate Hollywood star. In this 1963 photo, where he’s pictured in his office, he had just starred in two films featuring the Rat Pack, Ocean’s Eleven and Sergeant’s Three, and Robin and the 7 Hoods was set to be released the following year. In Hollywood in a Suitcase, Davis shared how Frank Sinatra helped him during their movie-making days. “Frank, who’d had a great deal more movie experience than I did, helped me professionally,” he wrote. “He humored me when I tried to learn how certain scenes should be played. He had an instinct about how some things would look on screen.” He also wrote about being apprehensive about acting when he first started. “Most of my life as an entertainer had been dominated by my holding a microphone. I felt a little naked without it.”

Host with the most

After the Oscars

In this 1972 photo, Davis and his third wife, Altovise Gore, are pictured at the Oscars after-party they hosted in their home after Davis became the first Black person to cohost the Academy Awards ceremony. Davis and Britt divorced in 1968, and in 1970, Davis wed Gore and the couple moved into a house previously owned by Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. Davis described the personal touches that Gore added to their house in Why Me?: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story. “Upstairs in the foyer between the guest rooms, she’d put my pool table and hung my gun collection on the walls around it,” he wrote. “And half a floor below our bedroom, she’d built an office for me with shelves for all my record albums and videotapes, and closets built for my cameras. In our bedroom, the television set was hung just right for watching in bed.”

Rat Pack forever

The boys are back in town.

In this 1988 photo, Davis is pictured at his home with fellow members of the infamous Rat Pack, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Towards the end of his life, Davis lived at a home in Beverly Hills on Summit Drive. His daughter Tracey described the home in her book. “Pop’s 1151 Summit Drive estate held fond memories of years of Hollywood entertaining,” she wrote. “Pop’s most sacred sanctuary was his 2.5 acres of lavish emerald gardens with pungent eucalyptus trees and a sparkling pool. It was a tranquil oasis where he could drink in the air and reflect. It is where my father would spend the last days of his life.” In 1990, Davis died from throat cancer at his home in Beverly Hills, but the tales of good times shared there live on.