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.
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.
The Hit
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.
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.
Passing On
Sammy Davis Jr. died in 1990 at the age of 64. His death didn’t come as a shock to those closest to him, who knew he’d been battling cancer since the year before. He passed away from throat cancer, which probably resulted from him smoking up to four packs of cigarettes every day.
He tried to leave his $4 million estates to his widow, Altovise Davis, but the IRS had other plans. He owed them more than $5 million, which had accrued interest and penalties and risen to over $7 million – which resulted in Altovise going into debt.