It’s well known that Frank Sinatra stood with Black performers, using his star power to break the so-called “color line” that was ubiquitous back in the 1950s and early 1960s. But to hear one of those stories from Frank himself, in conversation with Sammy Davis, Jr., was an eye-opener.
In September 1988, my husband and I had just arrived at Sammy Davis, Jr. and his wife Altovise’s suite at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, excited to be with them for the first performance of “The Ultimate Tour,” kind of a Rat Pack Revamped Tour, with Liza Minelli subbing in for Dean Martin. (Sammy had been a dear friend for decades, ever since he married my former roommate, Altovise.)
Before we could even settle in, Sammy said, “Come on! Frank’s invited us down before the show.”
Now, in my dancing/acting days in Hollywood, I had the chance to hang out with or work with major stars ... but Sinatra! That was huge ... and even more so for my husband, Rod, who hadn’t experienced the show biz life I had in my 20s.
The four of us walked out to Sinatra’s suite, where we met him, his wife Barbara, Liza Minelli and her former husband, Jack Haley, Jr., along with Frank Sinatra, Jr., who was conducting the show. Just the nine of us for drinks and snacks in the suite.
After introductions and banter, we heard stories about Frank growing up in New Jersey and the strong force his mother had been in his life. Liza Minelli talked a bit about her childhood with her mom, and about emerging from Judy Garland’s shadow.
Then Sammy and Frank talked about the old days. The history they shared was powerful, as was their strong mutual respect.
Sammy told us about Frank breaking color barriers for him and future Black performers in Las Vegas. As recently as the early 1960s, when Sammy performed at The Sands neither he nor his band was allowed to stay in that hotel. He couldn’t even have a formal dressing room there. Instead, he and his band had to stay in North Vegas, the minority section of town, and come to The Sands ready to go on stage.
As Frank and Sammy told the story: When Frank learned from Sammy how he and other Black performers were being treated, he told The Sands management if Sammy couldn’t stay at the Sands and have the star’s dressing room when he was performing there, then Frank wouldn’t perform there either. Period.
And thus the policy changed.
In the 20 years I’d known Sammy and the months I’d been one of his dancers performing at The Sands with him, I had never known that piece of history. I simply took it for granted that after the show we could all just hang out and have a late dinner in Sammy’s suite at The Sands. I never knew that just a little more than a decade earlier, that wouldn’t have been possible had one major star not stood up for another – and for what was right.