Sammy Davis, Jr. Collection on Letterman, 1985-89

[Applause] [Music] gentlemen welcome back to the show we have a wonderful telecast for a tonight dr. Richard brand is here and a man who is a Whistler Francisco Hernandez will be joining us and also my first guest tonight who is I'll tell you in a second you have a good vacation Paul very very nice vacation yeah anything I always spend a little of it together it's nice to see the Beeching yeah a lot of fun you insisted on going nude on the beach which I don't know why you know like tan lines I guess no no how did you have a nice vacation yes thank you very much our director ladies gentlemen Halliburton Barbara you have a good vacation okay we're back and we're ready to go and this gentleman is very exciting for us to have him here he has been in show business for 55 years this is the first time he has been on our program it's truly a pleasure to have him here please welcome Sammy Davis jr. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah how does that make you feel you must get this wherever you go this kind of response don't you it's it makes me feel very very good it really does I can't lie can you go anywhere like shopping to the any place without being mobbed can you go to say you want to go to the zoo with your kids or you want to go anyplace or you want to see are you just well nobody mobs me David it's like people to say hey Sam how are you you know and you know the brothers go eh bro what's happening and there's always somebody it will say invariably a house Frankie you know but there's never the other kind of thing with tearing and all of you know and I never have people are very very nice very nice and it's like I'm family yes I like that fifty five years in show business I hate to correct your point but it's 57 years the what was your first job and how old were you you must have been what you were like five years old I was three words like my first I won an amateur contest at the Stanley Theatre in Philadelphia when I was three and a half years old singing I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you you're obviously your folks energy in the contest right yes my dad and will Mastin my uncle and I affectionately called him my uncle who's my godfather really they were on the bill and they have an amateur contest and they brought me on and then those days and brought about David they used to they used to have an after piece after the act they'd do a little encore and if there was a younger member of the family they would bring the younger member and and he would do some sort of obnoxious number something you know and it was only a few of us and Micky did it Mickey Rooney did it Donald O'Connor did it and I did you know and we were still around here like a good luck you know where there are other three-year-olds competing in this talent show No [Laughter] I don't believe this there was it wasn't Megan's kitties it was it was a regular adult amateur show and I walked out and saying I'll be glad when you did you even stole the show stole the show and won $10.00 yeah what do you know people are always talking about vaudeville what does the word itself mean we know what it meant generically it was a a circuit of theaters for live performances and they would do five or six shows a day and so on and so forth now you did you did three shows a day mm-hmm it went from two shows the three shows and it wasn't until the presentation with big bands that they started doing four and five shows a day like at the Strand Theatre here or the low state in New York or the Roxy we did for the Paramount we did four and five shows a day I had the good fortune of working all of those theaters as an opening act with my dad and my uncle before it started to happen but do you know what it with the term mint where it water bill mint variety a variety show where you would there would be the juggler the comedian the the two-man act the hand balancing team the next closing was the top spot and if you were a next to closing act you were at the top of the bill but what would they do to the poor a person a man or woman or juggler or whatever who had to close the show that would have been a tough a tough spot well usually the closing spot was left for a big big variety a revue type of thing well people and they come up and nobody cared you know now where were we oh no but then you started working regularly after your debut in the amateur all right yeah and and you're your parents your family is this true that they said you were a so you could get by a labor laws I'm going to say a line now that's going to probably cause a great deal of laughter and some consternation I appeared in blackface that means burnt cork right with the thing and they I had a little chocolate cigar mm-hmm and they would dress me in in the long pants and I was about the same size I am now so actually I got away with it and they said I was a 44 year old so when I tell people now some of the people from the old days I say they said how are you gonna be Sam I go in December I'll be 60 and they go come on you know cuz they don't believe it can't remember a yeah that's an unbelievable life isn't it it is an unbelievable life and it's the best it's ever been right now there well congratulations to you know in the early days did you go to school and stuff no I never went I never had any formal education at all no I'm not proud of that statement but I survived you but you must have had an education of some kind I mean yes education give you give you books and help you read and then introduce you to different subjects and so on it's over now none of that there was a guy that played piano with the act he had wanted to be a teacher and he taught me a little bit I didn't learn how to write until I went into the army at the age of 18 so I'm like a knife it was a spotty reader but I forced myself something happens to you when you or when you don't take it for granted and it's not just laid on you man I learned everything I had to learn so that I wanted to just fill my head with knowledge about so that subsequently like to thank God I can go now and have dinner with someone and I don't have to talk just show business you know yeah but that was the that's the way it was I never missed it but you know it's because you didn't have an education that you weren't able to make anything out of yourself [Laughter] we'll do any commercial and then we'll be back with Sammy Davis [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] what do you think of the boys alright I can't get over that I really can't just wonderful we have we have a few seconds of a motion picture they were in as a child I don't know how old you were in this and I'm not sure the the kind of film it was do you have any idea what I'm talking about I think it's Rufus Jones for president and I was five and a half five and a half all right let's say is there anything well you don't know what we're gonna look at I don't know either let's say well let's see what the the film a up from the motion picture Rufus Jones for president [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] or you or something mr. big shot there oh my goodness no are you seeing that before but it's been some time since so when you look at it from time to time where the first time you looked at it what it can you you understand who that person was there no I have no idea yeah no I really don't it I relate to it only in the fact that I remember somewhere along the line that I danced and I remember somewhere along the line that I sang I can't see I never took lessons for an evening and I was one of those people and thanks to the business at that time that you just suddenly have people you say to someone I remember saying to Buddy Rich playing with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra right and this was in 1940 I said how do you do that and he went what do you mean I say you do a thing that goes and he went well that's a well show you you go like this boom boom chicka doctor capita came up and I said he's a triad and I went but don't bump chicken bottom to cut him to come down he said give me back the sticks everything was on-the-job training you had you experts all around you to help yeah yes are you surprised when you look at that and how good you were out with a slick little performer you were at five years old I mean at five years old you know most kids are sitting in mud you know [Laughter] you know I mean there you are you are a delight oh sure yeah no no no I mean that when you look at the little kid there doesn't that just take your breath away no it doesn't what what it looks what it reminds me of to be absolutely honest with you David it reminds me that I must have been hell on wheels I must have been terribly obnoxious you know to to have ever gone that far to be that precocious to get up there at that age and go look I'm gonna show you how good and nowadays you get up on the stage and you perform but I think it's I think it's nice yeah and it's nice for me because as a grandfather now Mike's my oldest boy and Mark just and his wife just presented we have a we have a little grandbaby and four weeks old and it's nice to look back and one day he'll be able to look at that and say that's my grandpa when he was my age or even younger you know it's I tell you I've had not having seen that before it's stunning to see what a cute little kid you were and then what happened to me what happened to you what are you doing for fun these days that you mentioned you just finished working and you're going home what do you do for fun you go home now you're off for four weeks you said yeah I'm off for four weeks a play a little golf yeah relax with my family enjoy my grandson and my wife and see the house it's a good it's a good time for me and thanks to two audiences around the world it's a good I'm not fighting those Devils anymore you know I don't fight the chant one about I just go out and do my show now it's a good time now you're talking about Devils you just mean the anxieties you can generate yeah personal Devils I wonder how good I can be and who's that and you get envious of that person and who's that I look at all the young performance today and I go like this yeah go ahead cook I've been there and I have no envy I just go like this I did it all [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you so much welcome back to the festivities ladies and gentlemen our first guest tonight this man has been called mr. entertainment certainly no stranger to Las Vegas and no stranger to this program please welcome an original member of the Rat Pack Sammy Davis jr. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we look like a couple of guys you can see riding on a bus going to Albuquerque you came in from where where the heck was it this morning all the way back you somewhere I was in Boston yeah yes I had the good fortune of appearing with John Williams and the Boston pop very nice good gig huh yes yes good and from here you're going you're still working you're always working you're going from here where well I have a few days off I'm going to Lake Tahoe yeah Harris said look John it's great up there now what was I've only been the last week it's like three times in my life and and every time I'm here it's it just takes your your breath away when you first see the city at night now what was it like the first time you played here when was that that was in nineteen 1945 yeah and I played it and it was only two hotels on what we now call a strip huh huh that was the last frontier and the old Rancho Vegas yeah nothing else it was all desert and that was it and the population of the town was what about than 500 a thousand if you didn't include the gas station attendant but did people know you were working there or were you just doing it for that well at that particular point in time David Reno was the big city in Nevada yeah and it was Northern Nevada that was really where all the entertainment was and Southern Nevada didn't make it for until about 1950 then they start building all the hotels now in those days you just went nuts when he came to town didn't you gamble a lot didn't you well I didn't but you never have gambled oh yes that yes I i have gambled that i owned two or three of the hotels no seriously I come to town and just go nuts and yes I did yeah it's a way it's the biggest amount you drop well alright I'll tell the truth I did six weeks at the new frontier hotel and at that time my dad my uncle and myself were making we were getting the most money ever gotten at that particular time twenty five thousand dollars a week and when I remember that that was in 1950 yeah 1953 that's good dough geez that's still good though yes and when I 25 a week I know I can't get cab fare when I left I owed $80,000 so I don't I don't do that or you learn lesson now that happens to a lot of people we've heard stories like that over and over again guys come in and just just drop because you forget that when you say this to the pit-boss he gives you a stack of chips just a thousand dollars yeah and I had never said that this is a thousand dollars oh and I had my finger working overtime David we should all right we have to do a comer freaking hang around for a second then you're gonna sing for us as well right all right okay we'll be right back here [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh okay folks now here with Paul and the band and all of the folks over there once again Sammy Davis jr. thank you very much ladies and gentlemen when I did David's show some months ago he made a promise to me because I asked if I could be able to sing but Paul and his gentlemen and is it okay now we do do you sound like Billy Crystal it's amazing go ahead Paul I'm in your hands in my life I got someone needs me someone I've needed so go once and afraid I can go where life leads me be strong I can turn what my heart used to dream of I knew someone like you would make my dreams once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me not like it hurt me before had found me someone I know deserted me I won't be alone anymore for once I can say it's mine they can't take it long as I got your love I'm gonna make it for once in my life I got someone [Music] [Applause] for once in my life I won't let sorrow not like it hurt me before I caught me someone I know do you certainly feel [Music] we [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right bring out our first guest job let's go quit so funny cut I'm excited okay this man refused to rehearse with me is that right refused it will be a song yes do well because I think we'd all be disappointed before her song you said I just want to wing something really yeah so this is quite a challenge for you and the boy waiting for us yeah and of course the late-night brownies brownies are with us yeah there they are right there do you recognize one of the brownies by the way yes I do he was in our new slogan contest yes you a catchphrase yes do a little of it for us Kenya I'm a sweet little cupcake [Applause] I know mom and dad are mighty proud despite several appearances on this program our first guest continues to be one of the legends of modern show business he is a prodigiously talented performer and he has written a new autobiography I have it right here it's entitled why me ladies and gentlemen please welcome Sammy Davis jr. [Applause] we're gonna fear Feaster motor [Applause] [Music] good to see you the last time we saw one another you were on the show I guess we were in Las Vegas was a place about a year and a half ago two years ago whatever it was closer to two I think anyway good to see it you look terrific and now another autobiography yeah it's nice to part two how many of there been just the tour this is only the second one wasn't there one a long time ago there was one at 65 right that's one and this one so that's part two yes so it's part two hi stalking to you I was under the impression that this was your third not it's my third book there I bought a book about Hollywood and movies and all of that so then strictly speaking this isn't part three it's part two no I'm not gonna go for it now anyway the now this book there's there's a lot of stuff in here that I was not aware of about your life you you've had jeez a very interesting life to say the least yes it is not not everything maybe that one would even want to include in a book but yet it's all in the book right there well I don't know about that it all depends on where you're coming from meaning that if you're going to want people to understand where you are now you've got to explain the beginning of your life and you can't see progress unless you want to look backwards then you can see what the progress is there right sure you look at today we just accept today until that's wonderful but the people have to know hey it took some other things and it ain't all Candyman and Bojangles I know now that's what I want to get to let's get to the stuff that ain't all that let's let's let's get to the let's get to the the peculiar stuff but kill yes yeah and I mean I'm I'm trying not to bring it up here so maybe you'll bring it up you know what I'm saying well frankly no well there was all right here let me just we'll start with an easy one there was a certain movie a x-rated movie are you talking about deep throat well there you go now you rent it out like a theater and well finish yes yeah I rented out the pussycat theater and invited my friends to go see it yeah because everybody wanted to see it nobody and you must remember when this was now yeah when was this this was 14 years ago and everybody was it that porno thing at the time was kind of chic and everybody said hey well let's go and do it it really was considered chic in those days well debut weren't around in those days here by the way we have brownies here Sammy before you go any farther no I mean I didn't ask to tell this story you know the West Side Highway is closed don't you yeah anyway so now did we finish this story or not no it was just that I rented it out all of the people who the couples who had wanted to see the movie who who was there Gary and Lucille Lucille Ball and her husband Gary Morton a lot of people in the business and out of the business who are friends and I said hey I've got the theater do you want to go see it we all stayed I think we stayed though I stayed the longest and what is that like two shows no no no like most of most of the x-rated things you watch about 15 minutes and that's the end of it uh-huh you start to giggle and the lines being thrown by the comic it must have been very funny that was funny people went like this yeah I see so it was done more as a fun kind of deal absolutely no we went serious [Laughter] it was fun and I can a giggle and and the idea of renting a theater to see deep throat in itself is a giggle who wouldn't want to rent a theater yeah you see anything like that suppose that's true okay all right so we'll do a commercial here and then now you are gonna sing something a little later right yes we'll be back here [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] obviously a Sammy Davis jr. is here you do impressions yeah yes yeah I used to you don't do it anymore no I don't do it man what what kinds did you do why did you stop I stopped only because I couldn't keep up keep up with what has no meaning I couldn't keep up with and end Styles changed the you know as hard as I would try I don't think I could do a lot of the people who are popular now yeah and in the old days I had all the people and if I did that which I occasionally do on stage it sounds like you know it's like the old cliche now let's go to show business heaven yeah but most of the people have passed but but but still in all people enjoy I think impressions generally yes if you do like a couple for us here like let me ask you if you do this one you do Elvis Presley no I never did oh he never did over I did him for a while I'll do a little of him now let's go to show business heaven no business heaven with the curtain guys - ding ding ding Frank Sinatra yes I do Frank give me a give me a keynote when somebody loves you it's no good unless she loves you [Music] [Music] [Applause] we just worked together last night yeah well you guys have been working together for over on the aircraft carrier yes how'd that go it was dynamite he raised a lot of money Digital rain horribly yesterday yeah but not on having the aircraft it was all covered every rain to every place else but not on the entropy yeah see you know what's nice about you I I'm just pretending to be in show business you're really in show business you know you this is your the real show business get a D Oh what do I get this little nickel dime deal here at 12:30 at night I don't I do this in your dime deal no pretty much I don't you know I don't have a big band I don't sing I don't do impressions you're you know you're in good luck if you don't sing and don't do impressions there is no need for a big band is there no that's true you know I mean yeah what do you do you do extremely well no no no but anyway now let me know what are we doing here we what we have to do a commercial why why can't we just do it all now what'll happen if we do it now I know you're the producer you what do you huh I know I'll call listen to him cut the only is a nickel and dime store I'll leave it up to you you want to do it now because I want Amir once or impression and then we could do a song look I think it's best if we pay attention to what they say and go over here and sing a song okay [Applause] [Music] this is a goodie I've been around the world in a plane are several revolutions in Spain the knothole I have charted but I can't get started with you why on the golf course I'm under par and Eddie Murphy as a strategist I've got the house and the show place but still I can't get no place with your horse oh-ho-ho sup lyrics I'm right of you scheme just for the sight of you they scream both day and night of you but what good does it do why on the golf course I'm rather shocked and when I go to England I can't get started [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we did live we die [Music] you're so sir yeah the lyrics are right of you me just for the sight of you and they ski for you but twenty nine [Music] be so dumb it was I get started [Music] yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to work out our way we're flowing [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Don Giller

Views: 164,546

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Id: iIZxk4J7mWY

Length: 37min 20sec (2240 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 22 2020