WEB EXCLUSIVE: Frank Sinatra Jr. on Sammy Davis Jr. and Fighting Racism

January 19, 2012

Frank Sinatra Jr. is on the show tonight. He may not have been part of the Rat Pack like his dad, but he knew Sammy Davis Jr. and even performed with him sometimes. He also saw first-hand the struggle to change racial attitudes in 20th-century America.
In this clip, Frank Jr. remembers Davis, and recalls how his dad supported him during the civil rights movement.









Remembering Sammy
"Sammy was just a master, and he was just so much energy. He was so much energetic, my only regret is that it burnt him out at the age of 64."

How his dad Frank Sinatra supported Sammy Davis Jr. and the civil rights movement
"In the days when Las Vegas began to become popular, the black performers could play in showrooms, but they couldn't stay in the hotel. And it was Frank Sinatra who went to the board of directors, who had rather shady pasts, and he said, 'Are you guys going to come into the twentieth century, or aren't you?'...Somebody said 'Well, we have white people, we have black people." Sinatra, the story goes, said to them, "The money is green. How about that?" And they began to look at each other and the wheels were turning, and because of Sammy, Las Vegas became integrated

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