Another fun fact: as Sinatra had gotten his Rat Pack buddies on the JFK Express in 1960, the Kennedys were very concerned about Sammy Davis, Jr. They were terrified with Sammy being on the campaign trail that he would turn-off the Southern White Democrat voters. They were especially horrified at his upcoming marriage to European Caucasian May Britt and wanted him to delay it until AFTER the ‘60 Elections. He did, marrying her 5 days after the November election. Imagine if Sammy had been demanded to do that by a Republican candidate ?
Southerners, I would conjecture, would still appreciate a world-class song and dance man of whatever skin pigmentation. Louis Armstrong was America’s cultural ambassador throughout his career, which spanned the Jim Crow decades and beyond. JFK should have shown some courage. What a dumb-a@@. So should have MGM. I understand they edited out the Nicholson Brothers’ Chattanooga Choochoo dance for Southern audiences, too. Dumb.