What would it take to put together a show that would include live appearances and performances by Eddie Murphy, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Stevie Wonder, Gregory Hines, Shirley MacLaine, Richard Pryor, Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Clint Eastwood, Goldie Hawn and sports heroes Mike Tyson and Magic Johnson?
A miracle?Yeah, I guess so. And that miracle's name is Sammy.
That august body of entertainers - and others ranging from Dean Martin to Tony Danza - gathered last November in Los Angeles to celebrate Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration (Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Ch. 4). The result is a 2 1/2-hour ABC special that is as moving as it is entertaining.
And it is indeed both. Incredibly so.
It would take a unique performer to engender the kind of feeling that made this benefit for the United Negro College Fund a Hollywood "must" last year. And the 64-year-old Davis, who started his show biz career on the vaudeville circuit at age 4, seems to be that performer. Not only has he been successful in a variety of mediums - stage, screen, records and television - but he was able to break through racial and cultural barriers during an era of incredible social upheaval in America.
And he obviously made a lot of friends along the way. Host Murphy speaks emotionally, almost tenderly, of the Davis legacy to black entertainers. Martin and Sinatra recall their "Rat Pack" days with Davis with obvious feeling and affection. And Jackson performs a new song, "You Were There," which he wrote expressly for the occasion with Buz Kohan.
Davis, who seems to have aged markedly during his recent bout with throat cancer, is genuinely moved by it all. He obviously takes equal pleasure in performers who do their own songs in his honor (such as Houston's "One Moment in Time") and those who do his songs their own way (especially a medley that features Warwick, Fitzgerald, Diahann Carroll, Nell Carter, Lola Falana and Debbie Allen doing standards like "What Kind of Fool Am I?" "Who Can I Turn To?" and "Gonna Build a Mountain").
He even seems to get a kick out of Danza's admittedly feeble attempt to soft-shoe his way through "Candy Man."
And why not? It's all done in a spirit of fun and love. And love, as we all know, is a miracle.
Sort of like this show.