The Sammy Davis Jr. Show

Variety shows were a popular format in the Sixties, with such successes as The Hollywood Palace and The Carol Burnett Show. It was also a period when the career of Sammy Davis Jr. was at its height. The singer and actor had appeared in such movies as Ocean's 11 (1960) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), as well as such television shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Rifleman, and The Danny Thomas Show. He also had a highly successful recording career, having released albums regularly since 1955. A variety show starring Sammy Davis Jr. would seem to have been primed for success. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way for The Sammy Davis Jr. Show.

Although it was short-lived, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show was historic. While variety shows were common in the Fifties and Sixties, there had been only a few Black performers to have hosted them. In 1948 Bob Howard became the first Black performer to host a regularly scheduled show on television. The Bob Howard Show aired once a week on WCBS, New York City's CBS affiliate. In 1950 Hazel Scott became the first Black performer to host a television show on a broadcast network. The Hazel Scott Show aired on the Dumont Television Network from January 3 1950 to September 29 1950. It was on November 5 1956 that The Nat King Cole Show debuted on NBC. Despite the phenomenal success of Nat King Cole, the show was unable to find a national sponsor. As a result, it aired its last edition on December 17 1957. With The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, Sammy Davis Jr. then became only the fourth Black performer to host his own variety show.

Sammy Davis Jr. had long wanted his own television show. He had filmed a pilot for a sitcom called Three for the Road (and alternatively We Three  and Three's Comany) as early as 1953, but it didn't sell. It was in 1965 that Sammy Davis Jr. shot two television specials for ABC, the first of which (Sammy Davis Jr. and the Wonderful World of Children) aired on November 25 1965. Despite having shot two specials for ABC, it was NBC who approached Sammy Davis Jr. about hosting his own variety show. To a degree this should come as no surprise. Sammy Davis Jr. had hosted NBC's rock 'n' roll show Hullabloo several times. Furthermore, NBC's World War II drama Convoy had absolutely bombed on Friday nights, and the network wanted to replace it as quickly as possible.

To produce The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, Joe Hamilton was tapped. Joe Hamilton had produced the highly successful Garry Moore Show, on which he had met his wife Carol Burnett. The writers on The Sammy Davis Jr. Show included Bill Angelos and Buz Kohan. Bill Angelos was a veteran of The Perry Como Show and had written on Sammy Davis Jr.'s special Sammy Davis Jr. and the Wonderful World of Children. Buz Kohan had worked on the TV series Ford Presents the New Christy Minstrels and had also written on the special Sammy Davis Jr. and the Wonderful World of Children. To better acquaint Joe Hamilton, Bill Angelos, and Buz Kohan with his act, Sammy Davis Jr. had them watch every performance of his four nights at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami, Florida.

Unfortunately, things would go awry for The Sammy Davis Jr. Show almost immediately. With The Sammy Davis Jr. Show set to debut on January 7 1966, ABC decided to air its second Sammy Davis Jr. special (Sammy and Friends) on February 1 1966. This would not be a problem except ABC had a clause in their contract with Sammy Davis Jr. stating that he could not appear on television 21 days before the special and 8 days afterwards. In other words,after the premiere of The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, Sammy Davis Jr. would not be able to host his own show for a month. Unfortunately, NBC would not move the premiere date of The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, nor would ABC air the special at an earlier date in December 1965. ABC even refused an offer from Sammy Davis Jr. to buy the special.

NBC reran the classic television special Peter Pan in the timeslot of The Sammy Davis Jr. Show one night, which left the network and Sammy Davis Jr. with only three guest hosts to find for the show. Ultimately, it would be Johnny Carson, Sean Connery, and Jerry Lewis who would substitute for Sammy Davis Jr. on the show.

If the inability of Sammy Davis Jr. to host his own show was not enough of a problem, a greater problem may have been the critical lambasting the show's premiere received. Sammy Davis Jr.'s guests on the first show were Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the megastars of the highest calibre. Unfortunately, Sammy Davis Jr.'s interview with the two stars turned out to be rather dull, as did Sammy Davis Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton's musical performances. Critics tore the show apart. Tom Mackin of The Newark Evening News commented, "Although no one knows what makes Sammy run, Liz and Dick slowed him to a walk."

The premiere having received blistering reviews from critics, Sammy Davis Jr. then changed the format of the show so that it would more allow himself to be himself. He returned to The Sammy Davis Jr. Show on February 11, with guests Trini Lopez, Paula Wayne, and Corbett Monica. As much as critics hated the premiere episode, they loved the February 11 episode. Further episodes of The Sammy Davis Jr. Show also received good reviews. What is more, the show featured an all-star line-up of guests, including The Supremes, Tom Jones, Judy Garland, Peter Lawford, Diahann Carroll, Mel Torme, and yet others.

Unfortunately, while critics loved The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, the show was faltering in the ratings. The Sammy Davis Jr. Show had received incredible ratings on its premiere, ranking ninth for the week. Sadly, the television audience may have had the same reaction to the premiere as critics and simply did not tune back in. It probably did not help that it aired opposite Hogan's Heroes (which would rank 9th for the year) and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (which ranked no. 2 for the year) on CBS. By February 21 1966, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show had dropped to 100 in the Nielsen ratings.

It was in March 1966 that NBC put out its fall schedule, with The Sammy Davis Jr. Show conspicuously missing. Having failed in the ratings, the show was cancelled. In reaction to the cancellation the NAACP picketed NBC and even promoted a letter writing campaign, but in the end The Sammy Davis Jr. Show remained cancelled. While it might be tempting to chalk the cancellation of The Sammy Davis Jr. Show to racism, it seems likely any show that received ratings that low would be cancelled. The following season The Tammy Grimes Show on ABC was cancelled after only four episodes after similarly disastrous ratings.

In February 1966 a studio album The Sammy Davis Jr. Show was released to take advantage of the new variety show. It was a collection of recording from five different recording sessions from 1961 to 1966. It proved more successful than the television show it was named for, receiving good reviews and selling quite well.

Sadly, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show is not widely available. It has never been released on VHS or DVD. The only way to watch the show currently is at the Paley Centre for Media, which has every episode except two.

While it only lasted briefly and did poorly in the ratings, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show would be historic as one of the earliest variety shows hosted by an African American. Despite its failure, it paved the way for further variety shows with Black hosts. It would be around five years after The Sammy Davis Jr. Show ended its run that The Flip Wilson Show debuted. Unlike The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, The Flip Wilson Show would prove to be a success, topping the ratings in its first season.