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Why Me?: The Autobiography of Sammy Davis, Jr.
Paperback
,
356 pages
Published
May 17th 1990
by Time Warner Paperbacks
(first published 1989)
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Community Reviews
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He seems like such a nice guy, but he had a bad self-image. He acts like he owes Frank Sinatra his life, because he helped him get a table in a restaurant once. He was forced to dance for change by his parents, and gave his father and some other person HALF of everything he made forever. He doesn't realize the sadness of any of this, which makes it ten times worse. He lost his eye, and all he could think about is how it would put people out to visit him in the hospital. He was five foot one inch
...more
The title of this book is "Why Me" as in 'why have I been so lucky.' And it is far more interesting, honest, and complete than the earlier Sammy Davis Jr autobiography "Yes I Can."
Sammy tells the real, true story of his life. Including his childhood spent on the vaudeville circuit, his years in the US military (this was the first year the US military was fully integrated, including first time ever racially integrated barracks), his friendship with Frank Sinatra, his interracial marriage and t ...more
Sammy tells the real, true story of his life. Including his childhood spent on the vaudeville circuit, his years in the US military (this was the first year the US military was fully integrated, including first time ever racially integrated barracks), his friendship with Frank Sinatra, his interracial marriage and t ...more
I entertained my friends for months with Sammy anecdotes. Poor Sammy.
I was surprised to find this on a list of best music-related books of all time. I bought it and put my somewhat low opinion of Davis aside and was rewarded with one hell of a great read. If there's a flaw in this book it is that the anecdotes come at you so fast and furious that you sometimes want to slow the book down and get more information. I came away really liking the person inside this book -- Sammy Davis Jr. was a remarkable man with an unbelievable life and a showman's talent second to
...more
Sammy didn't win any literary prizes to my knowledge but this is a hell of a good read. His sheer force of personality really comes across well in this book. What a man! To say he had a tough life would be an understatement - the childhood on the road with his dad and uncle performing where they'd have them, his experiences of blatant racism through an American upbringing and into the armed forces, and into his breakthrough into Hollywood success - his suffering at the racial prejudices of other
...more
Another book I came across in my library that's a must re-read.
What a crazy read! He jumps from ridiculous story to ridiculous story, and whenever things are going really well.. blam! something terrible happens. It's interesting to read such a personal account of a celebrity, and even more so to learn more about the civil rights era (and the insane racism he encountered, and how he dealt with it) from someone who "was just trying to help."
Not done yet, but so hard to put down!
Not done yet, but so hard to put down!
It was interesting learning more about Sammy and his life struggles. It made him more human and helped me to appreciate again the struggles of early african american entertainers and the humiliations they suffered to share thier craft.
Good read!
Swinging, Frank & the mob, Satanism, JFK & Nixon, Drugs and Lionel Blair!?!
Swinging, Frank & the mob, Satanism, JFK & Nixon, Drugs and Lionel Blair!?!
Enjoyed first half, then got boring with all the Kennedy crap.
Brutal, unflinching and memorable.
Apr 09, 2014
Mark Shaw
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-keeper-of-the-wind
Great book
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Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, he also had many acting roles on stage and screen, and was noted for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities.
More about Sammy Davis Jr....
