Hollywood's biggest tribute: to Sammy with love; parade of stars and celebrities honor veteran entertainer Sammy Davis Jr

Ebony, Feb, 1990 by Aldore Collier

HOLLYWOOD'S BIGGEST TRIBUTE To Sammy With Love

IT WAS one of the biggest tributes of its kind in Hollywood history.

Almost everybody who's anybody--Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Bob Hope, and Anita Baker, Jesse Jackson--showed up at the Shrine Auditorium to pay tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. on his 60th annivesary in show business. But this was more than a routine tribute. It was a happening, an event, an unprecedented outpouring of love and appreciation for a show business giant whose name is synonymous with the golden age of entertainment.

No one understood this better than the guest of honor, who is undergoing treatment for throat cancer. He was so moved by the event that he strained his weak vocal chords to say that this was "the happiest day of my life" and the culmination of a show business journey that began on the vaudeville circuit when he was three years old.

Eddie Murphy hosted the gala which was taped for presentation on the ABC-TV network. The tribute was also a fund-raiser for one of Davis' favorite causes, the United Negro College Fund. Throughout the evening, Davis was serenaded, roasted and thanked by an all-star roster of celebrities, including Richard Pryor, Quincy Jones, Dionne Warwick, Dean Martin, Lola Falana, Stevie Wonder, Earvin (Magic) Johnson, Mike Tyson, Ella Fitzgerald, Goldie Hawn, Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Allen, Diahann Carroll and Clint Eastwood.

The audience was treated to video clips of Davis' performances ranging from that of a three-year-old tap dancer to a television cowboy who twirled a gun faster than a drum majorette spinning batons.

Anita Baker, who performed "Summertime," from Porgy and Bess, a film that co-starred Davis, praised his trail-blazing efforts. "He's knocked down a lot of doors, whereas I just have to kind of lean against them."

Actor/dancer Gregory Hines agreed. "Sammy Davis," he said, "is one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived. In my lifetime, I've never seen anyone to compare with him."

Hines coaxed Sammy onstage for a tap dance duet and kissed his shoes in tribute.

The emotional highlight of the evening was a performance by Michael Jackson, who wrote and sang an original song of praise for Davis:

Yes, I am here

'Cause you were there.