At the Copa...

When I recently read the book "Dean and Me: A Love Story" by Jerry Lewis, I noticed that spoke highly of their days performing at New York's Copacabana Club. Between 1946 and 1956, no one was bigger in show business than Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Their final performance together was at the club in 1956.

In May of 1964, Sammy Davis Jr. broke all attendance records at the club.

The club opened in 1940 in Manhattan, at 10 East 60th Street. Although his name was not on the lease, a partner in the club was powerful mob boss Frank Costello. It remained at the 60th Street location for over 50 years. In 1992, it moved to 57th Street. In 2001, it moved to 34th Street. Since 2011, the Copa has been located in Times Square on 47th Street.

The 1978 song "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow reignited interest in the club. A 1947 film of the same name starred Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda. It has been a setting for many well known more recent films, such as Good Fellas, Raging Bull, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Carlito's Way.

Many famous recordings were taped there such as "Sam Cooke at the Copa" and "The Supremes at the Copa".

*Some information from en.wikipedia.org.

Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness and the Mob

A book's title is an important tool to attract the interest of potential readers. But, when a title is deceptive, readers feel slighted. That is how I felt after reading Matt Birkbeck's book "Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness and the Mob". I have always had an interest in the mega stars that were members of the legendary bunch of entertainers known as The Rat Pack. The group included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.

I expected this book to be all about the life and times of Sammy Davis Jr. I knew that he was a man of many talents, famous for his singing, dancing, acting, his impressions and his overall charisma. I had assumed that the book would tell behind-the-scenes stories about his many experiences in television, film, recording albums and performing all over the world. There is so much that could be covered about a life such as his.

Instead it was a book primarily about his financial indiscretions and how he left his family to clean up the mess he left behind after his death in 1990. Sammy made a lot of money, estimated to be $50 million over his career in show biz. But he also spent a lot, through his gambling, substance abuse, his divorces and his lavish lifestyle. He was known for his extensive collection of jewelry, his fancy homes and cars. He invested in some ill-advised business deals that ended up costing him millions. So, the book was largely about how his wife Altovise Davis tried to figure out how to repay Sammy's enormous debts to the IRS, which totalled $10 million. Everything was liquidated and it still was not enough.

Sammy wrote 2 books about his life himself, one called "Yes I Can" and one called "Why Me?" So, hopefully those will be more up my alley, with plenty of show biz stories.

For a much better book about old school entertainers, check out "Dean and Me: A Love Story" by Jerry Lewis. That book is filled with fascinating stories about Jerry and his deep friendship with Dean Martin. I would also recommend the book "Johnny Carson" by his longtime lawyer/manager/friend Henry Bushkin.

Sammy Davis Jr.---Short in Stature, but a Showbiz Giant

A few days ago I watched the David Letterman 5th year anniversary show from 1987. This was Dave's NBC 12:35 am show that followed Johnny Carson. One of his guests was Sammy Davis Jr. I realized that this was only 3 years prior to Sammy's death, but he looked and sounded as good as ever.

Sammy Davis Jr. packed a lot of living into his too short 64 years on earth. At age 4, in 1929, he started performing with his father, Sammy Davis Sr. and his adopted uncle Will Mastin. They would travel to Vaudeville theatres and little Sam learned the ropes of how to be a performer. In 1933, at age 8, he acted in 2 short films, Rufus Jones for President and Seasoned Greetings. Due to being on the road as a kid, he never had formal education.

In 1954 he was involved in a car accident that caused him to lose one of his eyes. He wore an eye patch for awhile but then decided to have a glass eye implanted. At this time he converted to Judaism.

He developed into a multi-talented powerhouse who could sing, dance, act and play the drums. He had a lot of talent and personality packed into a 5'5" frame. He was a member of the showbiz fraternity known as The Rat Pack with fellow stars Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop.

During his stint in the military and afterwards, Davis fought against the closed minded racists that he came across. He once heard someone complaining about discrimination, and he said, "You got it easy. I'm a short, ugly, one-eyed, black Jew. What do you think it's like for me?"

He had many hits as a singer including The Candy Man, which was a #1 hit, Mr. Bojangles, I've Gotta Be Me, What Kind of Fool Am I, and many others. He acted in many films, some with the Rat Pack guys and some without. He appeared in Ocean's Eleven (the Rat Pack version, long before the George Clooney film), Robin and His Seven Hoods, Cannonball Run, and his final film, Tap. In his final movie he starred with another renowned tap dancer, Gregory Hines.

Like his fellow Rat Pack member Frank Sinatra, there were rumors of Davis Jr.'s ties to the mob. But, in the early days of showbiz, the mob had ownership of many of the nation's largest entertainment venues. So, entertainers could not help but have affiliations with the world of organized crime. Jerry Lewis wrote about this in his book "Dean and Me: A Love Story". Martin and Lewis were regulars at New York's Copacabana, owned by mobsters.

Davis made a lot of money over the years, but also lost a lot. He was notorious for being a Las Vegas high roller. When he died in 1990, he was deep in debt to the IRS. It was said that he earned $50 million over his lifetime but died with debts totalling $10 million. After his death, his family liquidated his estate and his last wife lived in poverty (Altovise Davis). According to an NPR interview with a Davis biographer, Sammy was a fantastic performer, but a rotten parent. He was distant with his kids and after his death there was considerable turmoil in his family battling over his possessions.

He was married 3 times and he had 4 children. Michael Jackson said that he idolized Davis for his massive talent. He was a regular on the Jerry Lewis telethon. Davis was a star of Broadway, film, TV and live performances. He appeared in a memorable episode of All in the Family where he kissed bigot Archie Bunker on the cheek just as their photo was being taken. He also appeared with Sherman Hemsley in The Jeffersons. His other TV appearances included: The Cosby Show, Batman, Laugh-In, One Life to Live, General Hospital and The Patty Duke Show. He died of throat cancer in 1990. He died on the same day as Muppets creator Jim Henson.

Some material from imdb.com.

Showbiz trivia: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

From 1946-1956, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ruled show business. Their live shows were a hit in New York and sometimes they performed as many as 6 shows per day. In his book, "Dean and Me: A Love Story" Jerry described them as the playboy and the putz. Dean was the suave Italian singer and ladies man who played it straight. Jerry was the manic, crazy nerd running around the stage like a madman. By 1948, the Copacabana club in New York City was paying them $7500 per week each to perform there. After parting ways in 1956, Jerry went on to direct and star in many films. He became known as a brilliant film director who taught students how to direct at USC. Two of his film students ended up quite successful: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Jerry starred in the 1982 film The King of Comedy with Robert DeNiro. Martin Scorsese was the director and Lewis played Jerry Langford, a Johnny Carson-like late night host. Dean Martin went on to have a successful singing career as a member of the Rat Pack, along with Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.