[Graybeard58]

a man who arguably was the world’s greatest entertainer

Gimme a break.

[ClearCase_guy]

Hey, as long as they make a big deal out of the fact that Davis, like Jackie Robinson, like MLK, was a Republican, I would be happy to go see it.

[potlatch]

Lol, you forgot Shirley McLain - to round out that group!
I don't consider Sammy even close to being the greatest entertainer but he seemed like a ‘nice man’.

I met and talked to him at Caesar's Palace in Vegas and he was kind enough to pose for pictures. I am 5'6” and scotched down a bit as he was so short!

[Random Access]

I don’t know if he was the worlds best but I did see him one time in Reno. It was the most amazing show I have ever seen. He put 110% into every second he was on stage. I really enjoyed the show.

[GOP Poet]

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[M. Espinola]

Sammy had an incredible talent as an impressionist & photographer, in addition to everything else he excelled at. He was one cool cat!

[Vince Ferrer]

He may not have been the world's greatest entertainer, but he absolutely deserves to have his life story told in a way that we can appreciate him and his time. This man was a true pioneer in race relations, and got an astounding amount of abuse from both whites and blacks.

He fought back not through protests, courts, violence, or returning the hate, but by focusing on his talent, and becoming even better and more famous despite those who hated him. His career was his answer to racism, and every time he got onstage, or on tv, or into movies, there was a black man reaching all Americans with a smile on his face. We in this time should not underestimate how much that effected change in America.

People can compare him to the others in the rat pack, but the others didn't carry the cross he was carrying, and that's what makes him important.

[jimfree]

I have a video of a show Sammy did in Germany in 1985. It's a delightful 40 minutes or so. Sammy is on my list of the top 10 entertainers of my lifetime. Such lists, when I create them often don't have a number 1. I will prefer any of five at a given moment.

I give points (again no fixed scale) for quality of the work, depth of the work (no one-hit wonders), breadth of the work (dancer plus singer gets a bump here over dancer or singer alone), and the timelessness of the work. (Frank proudly shines here, Sammy shines just a little less brightly)

I'm not sure where to put one more attribute - it's having what is considered to be the (or a) definitive version of a piece - here I would give Frank It Was a Very Good Year hands down, among others; Sammy clearly had one of the best versions of Mr Bo Jangles. Both artists have other examples.

Sammy earns lots of points in several of these factors - he has some great quality, great depth, good breadth (singing, dancing, acting), and work that has stood and will continue to stand the test of time. On top of all of that he was indeed a nice guy.

[Bon mots]

Sammy was a great performer and a class act with a lot of good friends who helped him in an unfair world. He was never bitter and kept his chin up all the time.

Too bad the race baiters are going to ruin his reputation now.

[mysterio]

Sammy Davis Jr. was a great entertainer as well as a great American. It will be a long time before we see the likes of him again, if ever.

[dfwgator]

Funniest moment in TV History.

[Artemis Webb]

I always felt bad for Sammy that his death was somewhat overshadowed by the death of Jim Henson that same day.