Sammy and Altovise in better days
On March 15, the widow of Sammy Davis Jr. died. She was only 65, and died of a stroke, and no doubt the stress of living with a wild bisexual celebrity contributed to her early demise.
That of course, doesn't mean that it's always tough to be married to a bisexual, but Davis was known for his philandering ways with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, and he was also infamous for his sexual prowess.
I was fortunate enough to meet Altovise Joanne Gore Davis twice. Once, before Sammy died, at a charity event they were both attending after I first moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, and once after his death after she was having trouble with the IRS. Each time, she knew me as an entertainment writer, and I helped research James Spada's biography on Peter Lawford "The Man Who Kept Secrets," who was a good buddy of Sammy's. Whether she was dazzling in formal wear, or near-destitute and desperate in both of the extreme situations I met her, she was always a tall, upstanding, straight-forward and seemingly brave woman.
Authors Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince who wrote "Hollywood Babylon: It's Back," declared outright that Davis was bisexual, and occasionally fooled around with Lawford. But, I also know from first-hand information from a very reliable source, that Davis particularly liked guys. In fact, a gent I know who still works for a Southern California military base, was one of the guys who helped introduce young soldiers to Davis for their secret liaisons. This guy has nothing to gain from telling his story, and in fact wrote about it himself three decades ago, so I have no reason to doubt his stories.
Of course, I didn't have the guts (or the reason) to ask Davis in person, nor did I talk about it to his wife.
Altovise loved talking about her days as a dancer, that is what I remember best. She was Sammy's third wife, and nabbed him in 1970 and stayed with him as he suffered from throat cancer and died in 1990. She died at Cedars-Sinai after her stroke.
She never talked about Davis's bisexuality—and that is a shame, because a lot of secrets died with her—and she undoubtedly did have a good relationship with him and loved him very much, but the closest thing I got from her was, "Yes, being to married to Sammy wasn't easy." And she said it with a big sigh.
Comments
Thanks for this article! I didn't know much about Ms. Davis's life – or even Sammy Davis Jr.'s bisexuality, for that matter – before reading it. I featured your article in The Weekend Embrace today. Come on over and post a comment!
I totally disagree with Sammy Davis Jr. being called Bi-sexual
wasn't adolph hitler XI bin laden's boyfriend at arms? bi is so illl, like kim jung illlll!
MSchmitz says:
"I totally disagree with Sammy Davis Jr. being called Bi-sexual"
Wow! I feel a lot better now.
There rumors always swirrlin around him about being gay. and he flaunted a "somewhat richly effeminate" vibe.{see long cigarette holder, different colored hair and just him in general.I know he loved his wife. But he probably tapped a candy bar or too JMO
A comsumate entertainer and one of the talented men on the planet before he died...I think unless you were physically in bed with him doing unspeakable things.how can you disagree? I would be surprised if he wasn't gay! ..after all juggling the black thng with the dance thing with a bunch of white boys...I think it's a good bet..I hope he was and a bride from sweden. If he wasn't gay he was skipping to the gay bus 1oved sammy! That man could really hoof and sang.
Mmm
I guess being gay is a worse crime then being a mass murderer.
I will bet you their is no one on this planet that can throw a stone or even pick one up
to hit any other human cause if your not gay you got some other kind of freak in you.
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