Hollywood's stars shed tears for Sammy Davis Jr., the exuberant song-and-dance man who started as a goggle-eyed child vaudevillian and battled to the glittery top of the entertainment world.
The man who joked he was the nation's only "black, one-eyed, Jewish entertainer" died Wednesday of throat cancer at 64."A heaven with his magic gives me warmth," said Frank Sinatra. "Sam was the best friend a man could have. He was a class act and I will miss him forever."
Davis died at his Beverly Hills home, his wife, Altovise, and three of his four children at his side. He was diagnosed with throat cancer eight months ago and had returned home from the hospital March 13 after a two-month stay.
Davis - actor, singer, dancer and impressionist - performed on stage, on television and in the movies, a powerhouse packed into a bantam, 5-foot-6 frame.
His gold chains, heavy rings and gaudy bracelets were as much a part of his personality as his chain smoking, his self-mocking hip patter of "peace" and "love" and his membership in Hollywood's Rat Pack.
"I would say that Sammy Davis Jr. was the greatest entertainer in show business," George Burns said. "There wasn't anything Sammy Davis couldn't do."
"He was the entertainer we all strived to live up to," said Liza Minnelli, who toured with Davis and Sinatra last year. "I never saw anyone give so much."
Sinatra canceled the remainder of a weeklong concert series at Radio City Music Hall after learning of Davis' death.
A funeral is planned for Friday at the 1,200-seat Hall of Liberty in the Hollywood Hills.
Davis' energetic performances and upbeat manner were therapy for a life scarred by bigotry, failed marriages, drug and alcohol abuse and crippling tax problems.
He wrote two autobiographies, "Yes, I Can" in 1965, and "Why Me?" in 1989. In the latter, he described his all-night partying, endless drug use and womanizing - the hallmark of the 1960s Rat Pack, which also included Sinatra, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine.
But friends said they remembered Davis for his warmth and generosity.
"As great an entertainer as Sammy was, he was an even greater friend, not only to me, but to anyone whose life he touched," said Martin.
Jerry Lewis wept as he spoke about Davis. "I lost a brother," Lewis said. "The whole world is a lot less now than when we had him." Davis was active in many charitable causes, often appearing on Lewis' telethons for muscular dystrophy.
"The world has lost not only an irreplaceable talent, but a humanitarian whose heart was so big, so filled with caring for others," said Benjamin L. Hooks, executive director of the NAACP.
Dancer Gregory Hines, who appeared with Davis in "Taps," his last film, spoke in Cincinnati of the man Hines idolized since his youth.
"Sometimes people say, `Only in America can somebody achieve those kind of things,' and I think in Sammy Davis' instance, it was in spite of America that he was able to achieve the kind of success because he had so many obstacles to overcome," Hines said.
Comedian Eddie Murphy said, "Sammy was . . . a trailblazer for all of us, and the world is certainly a better place because of the joy he spread."