Sammy Davis, Jr.--What's My Line

[wewroc99]

had a crush on Sammy my entire childhood....thought he was so SEXY!!!

[MTPippin]

I always thought he was sexy.

[calalilygirl]

Dorothy looks darling in this one.

[calalilygirl]

One of my fav Whats My Lines.

[alexis13thirteen]

I love his voice impressions!

[DrLeonardBonesMcCoy]

I love the way he wrote his nae

[jeanneadele]

it's so very apparent how intelligent Sammy was!

[leavetheherbitalone]

It's not just that he could sing, dance, and act. It's that he could sing anything, dance anything, and act anything.

[xander7ful]

@leavetheherbitalone I think he could play something like 17 instruments too.

[leavetheherbitalone]

@xander7ful At the same time? While riding a unicycle and juggling too, I assume.

[calalilygirl]

Dorothy looks fantastic here.

[calalilygirl]

Sammy really COULD do it all. A GENIUS.

[shazie1436]

What happened to his eye again? They just mentioned an accident.

[CkMaverick]

@shazie1436

He was returning from LA to Vegas and got into a car accident that nearly killed him and resulted in the loss of his eye. The eye patch is temporary, he later got fitted for a glass eye, so this episode was filmed within 6 months of his accident. How he specifically lost it was because of a piece of ornamental chrome that was sticking out of the center of wheel of the vehicle he was driving, surely you can fill in the rest.

[cunttaster]

I had a crush on Arlene Francis when I was young. I thought then and still believe she was a beautiful lady. RIP Arlene

[ismeto]

they are so natural !

[jacksprat1966]

When Dorothy set him up by asking if he was known for being able to do "practically anything," she wasn't gushing even a little bit. His impersonations weren't limited to voice, nor did his best even require him to speak. As for his not being a "leading man," that is a half-truth. He merely confined that aspect of his talents to his private life, inasmuch as was possible for a man so (justifiably) celebrated. His romances were almost signally astonishing for a man of such pedestrian appearance.

[pagalley1]

Sammy was an excellent impersonator, so What's My Line was right up his alley, in terms of fooling the panel and being very entertaining...John's long-winded explanations were always very entertaining...Sammy did a great job utilizing his impersonation skills...When Arlene asked, "Can you do practically anything?", I knew right away she would've gotten it...It's a pity Sammy lost his left eye...That must've been very traumatic for him...It never dimmed his talent one bit though.

[nickelwindow53]

This was 1955 how did a black man get on a show like this? I bet they didnt even air this episode in the south.

[niroontjuh]

@nickelwindow53 Maybe because he's a very famous singer!!!! because of him other african american artist were allowed to enter Las Vegas hotels through the front door !!!

[brVOVds]

@niroontjuh yeah before him Vegas was a backward society

[ccasia2008]

From Chinese in Asia: A Chinese could not be elected in any negro nation simply because of racism which is normal! Just look at what affirmative action and forced racial mixing and political correctness has done to America! It bankrupted America! Your southern leaders predicted what would happen to your nation decades ago! Singapore

[tomitstube]

sammy had his car accident 4 months prior to this appearance. he doesn't have his glass eye yet.

[idster7]

I think this is the best one. Sammy Davis Jr. is so entertaining. arlene francis is sharp & cute. & doesn't Dorothy look beautiful & sweet when she takes her mask off and says "i'm president of the fan club."?

[slippo99]

Jimmy Stewart . . . Cagney . . . Jerry Lewis . . . an indistinct Western actor . . . James Mason . . . "I sing a li'l bit," like Al Pacino . . . he was damn good at impressions, wasn't he?

[MrMZaccone]

@slippo99 Hate to break this to you but when this show was made Al Pacino was still in high school. He was a virtual unknown until 15 years after this aired. Dean Martin, Jimmy Stewart, James Cagney, Jerry Lewis, Bing Crosby, Walter Brennen, Those came through pretty clearly to me. You may be right about James Mason but it sounds like there's some other British actor in there somewhere, maybe even Peter Lawford who was also a member of the "rat pack".

[slippo99]

@MrMZaccone Lawford's accent was that of a slightly younger man; different dialect influences. Davis, Jr. wouldn't have wasted his time on mastering it, when a near-icon like Mason posed a more interesting challenge and a better payoff as far as audience appreciation. And no, I didn't miscalculate Pacino to be of the age of majority in an era when televised programming was B&W. Thanks for the bulletin, though.

[MrMZaccone]

@slippo99 Actually, Lawford would have been a very logical choice for Sammy to use as a model for British accents in general. They were good friends and he'd have plenty of access to learn from. If you didn't think it was Pacino, why did you say "Al Pacino".

[slippo99]

@MrMZaccone Technically I didn't. In fact, when I invoked Pacino's name, it with the qualifier "like" in the sentence (unlike the other actors whose names I ventured), signaling my enjoyment. And regarding "access" to Lawford, versus access to Mason, for the purpose of modeling the accent? Non-issue; two or three of Mason's films and a dinner-party chat would've been enough for a mimic of Davis's calibre to derive everything he needed to do a spot-on knock-off, wouldn't you say.

[MrMZaccone]

@slippo99 "enough for a mimic of Davis's calibre to derive everything he needed to do a spot-on knock-off, wouldn't you say." Yes, I would. Which is why I'm sure it's not Mason he's doing because it sounds NOTHING like him.

[carlsetzer]

Had no idea he wore an eye patch once.

[MrMZaccone]

@carlsetzer This was shortly after The accident that lost him is eye and before he was fitted with a glass one. Injuries usually have to heal first before one can be fitted.

[carlsetzer]

@MrMZaccone Makes sense. Kind of a cool look for him too.

[MrMZaccone]

@carlsetzer Lol, I guess, yeah.

[jennyrgar]

he was one of hollywood involved in satanism.

[debbiechickie5]

"can you do practically anything?" WORD!

[1MoreRoundbrother]

That's a smart cookie

[ifeelnopressure]

SDJr was only a car crash away from being a contestant on the show ...

[TheWuCepticon81]

He looked cooler with the eye patch. 

[phill0329]

busesuck1 Glenn Miller had died about 10 years before this show.

[iansquared3]

i love seeing all the guest's different signatures. i think my favorite so far is paul newmans.

[BitterBosh]

Love that they got it once they knew he did everything!

[busessuck1]

was glenn miller on this show?

[berezin99]

I think Dorothy had a thing for Sam

[mrdroog1999]

@KennySherman "...Davis, driving in the California desert after a Las Vegas engagement, was involved in a serious car accident. The impact fractured the bones of his face and cost him his left eye..."

[summarbummar]

is he the reason samantha's grandpa in 16 candles calls her "sammy baker davis jr."?

[MegaObserver1]

Dorothy was right, Sammy did everything. He could sing, dance, play musical instruments, be funny and act in both comedies and dramas. He was also an effective spokesman for civil rights.

[yanki161]

That "unhappy accident" was poor Sammy trying to off himself. But he overcame a lot. He eventually died in May 1989. (You know how death comes in three's? For me it was him, Jim Henson and my dad, within a day or two. I imagine ol' dad, sitting next to one guy singin' "Candy Man" and another playing with puppets. Hope it was a good ride. God rest them all.)

[filmidioten]

@yanki161 I think you mean 1990, Sammy and Henson died in May 1990. Remember the day myself because it was in the newspapers on our national day here in Norway, May 17th and I remember thinking on such a happy day (our "independence day") how sad that such a huge star like Mr Davis had passed away (I was 14 at the time).

[weightfeather1]

@yanki161 From what I've read and heard, Sammy was definitely not trying to "off" himself. I believe another car pulled out in front of him on the desert highway near Las Vegas, and he didn't have time to avoid it. For a few years, Cadillac had a protrusion right in the middle of the steering wheel and this is what cost him his eye.

[yanki161]

@weightfeather1 I thought I remembered Sammy talking of it himself. I wouldn't argue the point, but I thought he talked about what drove him to that and what brought him back. I think there was even two attempts he spoke of. I could be wrong.

[weightfeather1]

@yanki161 There may have been other incidents in Sammy's life where he was despondant, but as I understand it, the car wreck was definitely accidental. I went back and did a little more research. The accident was caused by a woman who backed her car out of a driveway on old Rt. 66 into the path of Sammy's car. I'm going to have to look into whether Sammy ever considered taking his own life.

[OnCloudNine62]

@weightfeather1 In his autobio he talks about how during the aftermath of the accident, he was told by someone at the scene that his eyeball was hanging out of it's socket. Davis hadn't noticed.

[lmordro]

He's really good at the impersonations.

[MattTheSaiyan]

"What's My Line" was a wonderful, first-rate series. Even the commercials for Stopette and Remington Rand were better than the avarage commercials. The whole show had the best in the business involved.

[BARNEYFATSWALT]

Sammy Davis Jr.! Such a talented man!

[journeyquest1]

Sammy playing a pirate

[RockDoctorLV]

I was disappointed when John Daly mentioned " the unhappy accident" that cost SDJ his left eye. Daly usually had a higher level of rhetoric that irritated Bennett Cerf to no end.

[AniceAct]

My moms name is Sammy! LOL!

Anywho, Sammy Davis Jr. is EPIC!

spot on with the impersonations ;)

[TheInvincibleViolet]

I love love love seeing the old stars... thanks so much for posting !!!!

[FriendofRamblinJack]

I would have given anything to see the Rat Pack in Vegas, but I was only a few yrs old .... always missing somethun...

[Blackjesus3]

sammy is the man

[Hadra568]

This was only a few months after his accident. I'm impressed.

[Aelkamal]

Scarface voice ?

[bookworm1818]

HAHA! He does a perfect Jimmy Stewart and Jimmy Cagney. I love all his impersonations.

[Rico8458]

sammy grandmother was puerto rican.

[Blackjesus3]

@Rico8458 so was his mother 

[KodaRollins]

kind of sounded like bing crosby around 2:50

[thick3t]

He was supposed to, he was the only black entertainer that could impersonate the voices almost perfectly, of white entertainers.

[ApoloExpress]

@KodaRollins haha yeah!! he WAS bing there lol

[ipmoic]

Miss Kilgalen is not a beautiful woman. But sometimes, like here, she can look delightful and terribly attractive.

[weightfeather1]

@ipmoic But of course she looks beautiful here! I do believe that she was a bit smitten with Sammy! It's well known that she was a lover of beautiful popular music. It always amazed me that for such a little fine fellow, Sammy had a such a big and glorious voice! A rare talent.

[funkeekatt]

What's black and white and has two eyes?

Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Falk.

[mattybock]

old tv was full of quality. you can't make this nowadays, no one is that much of a "real" person. they're just all cookie cutter models, and celebs. very sad.

[sayward12]

According to wikipedia, the accident was on November 19, 1954 in San Bernardino, California, and that he wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident.

[myhighlanddream]

I just love Dorothy's hair in this episode.

[BigJulieAndrewsFan]

Brilliant impersonations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­

[brewcrew01984]

I Love bennet cerfs voice!

[Songsmirth]

What an amazing liguist. He's got the accents down. He was/is a hero of mine. Such a sweet little man. One of my favorite movies he ever did was, "Taps." Yes, he was a "great man." Just seemed to come naturately which I envy.

[karvaliok]

GENIOUS!!!

[carolineorchange21]

At 4:00 - 4:01 DK looks very, genuinely, happy and pretty.

[tabernash42]

He sure could do practically anything. Apparently he had just had the beating that took his eye.

[MerleOberon]

He was in a car accident, and kissed the steering wheel of his Cadillac...

[weightfeather1]

@tabernash42 Not a beating, a terrible car wreck.

[DerAdventurer]

Absolutely priceless!

:D

[burrfscott]

There was a time in Hollywood where Sammy Davis,Jr was the fastest draw with a side arm.The man could do anything!There will never be another like him.

[AlexKing666]

Second fastest - Jerry Lewis. Wild world.

[burrfscott]

Wow,i didnt know that,very interesting and thanks

for telling me.

Ric

[cheyenne86]

Sammy Davis was a talented man. i enjoy seeing him at all his many talents.

[JanesCalamity]

Sammy Davis Jr. was SO amazing! What a talent. His impressions are dead on, his singing great, his dancing awesome. And he was a wonderful human being as well.

What a great clip, thanks!

[DancingEwok]

OMG his Cagney impersonation is hilarious

[evfich]

do you take cream and sugar in your eye?

[Aliyeenah]

what a great talent!

[Sluggen80]

Thanks for the vid very very very entertaining!

[Muffy2314]

What a talent Sammy was. No one like him around now.

[VintageLady1980]

This one was great fun to watch. I never knew how good he was at doing different voices and impersonations of various famous people. Very cool! :)

[harwetopa]

You should hear his Jerry Lewis impression!

[ILoveRayMilland]

Love the Jimmy Stewart accent! He nailed it!

[Arsnof]

This just furthers my opinion that an eyepatch makes most everyone a good deal more badass.

[junedeon]

The accident must've JUST recently happened at this point...you can see the bruises on his face. He was/is the consummate entertainer. And is STILL missed. And IS a badass with the eyepatch!

[weightfeather1]

@junedeon If you look, you'll notice the terrible deep scar across his nose. This took a very long time to fade.

[Keltster]

Damn that KILGALLEN

was so good at correctly

guessing the

'Mystery Guest' !

Fun clip.......Thank You !

[bubblinbrownsugar616]

LOL!!!! Yes!!!!

She would have some contestants leave with $5 or $10 dollars!! I know that was much then but its funny now! LOL!

She gets it right, I'm yelling at the tv, "It's time for a vacation!" LOL!!!! :)

[SHRINA17]

Sammy has such a distinctive voice...I'm surprised they didn't guess him immediately...one of the greatest entertainers ever that Sammy was!!! Wonderful!!!!

[carlmays]

great

[millsbrothers]

GREAT!!!