Kim Novak was Columbia Pictures head, Harry Cohn’s, favorite project – and cash cow. He was apparently pretty heated up when he found out about the relationship. So heated, that he reportedly ordered a mob hit to scare the two apart. The hit involved a lot of large, scary men showing up to bully Davis Jr. into leaving Novak.
And, it worked. It worked so well that within a very short time, he would find himself marrying his new wife.
Oscar Bloopers
Unlike a blooper reel at the end of a film, mistakes that happen live on stage aren’t exactly able to be edited out. In 1964, he was invited to perform as an announcer at that year’s Academy Awards. His job was to announce the winner for Best Music Score – simple enough, right? Unfortunately, someone handed him the wrong envelope, which led to him announcing the wrong name.
Whoops! Luckily, he was able to jokingly move past it and everything turned out to be just fine. In fact, the audience seemed to think it was hilarious, as evidenced by their roaring applause and laughter.
Forbidden Love
The entertainer first met his first love, Kim Novak, in 1957. At the time, she was already a huge star, created to be such by the head of Columbia Pictures. She was this beautiful blonde movie star, and he was moving on up just as quickly in the industry. But in Hollywood’s Golden Age, interracial relationships were strictly forbidden.
Thus, the two entered into a sort of sneaky love affair, where they’d run around and hide everything so as not to cause a public stir. Unfortunately, word would get out and when it did – it resulted in such extreme backlash it resulted in a mob hit being ordered.
Picking His Wife
Davis would find himself tying the knot to a woman named Loray White. White, who had dabbled in entertainment herself, was called up by the entertainer and allegedly offered money for marrying him for a short period of time. He explained the situation to her, and she agreed to help him out.
Though she probably enjoyed the six months of marriage to a star, she knew it wasn’t meant to last. After all, the entire thing was staged so that Davis Jr. could continue working in Hollywood.
The Meanest Mogul
Harry Cohn was both hated and feared around Hollywood. He was known for being able to either make you or break you. Some said that he was one of the meanest moguls in the industry.
So, when he sent his men after Sammy Davis Jr., the entertainer felt powerless against him, and like he had no choice but to agree to call it quits with his beloved.