Sammy Davis Jr.

Davis started at four, touring vaudeville with his father and the Will Mastin Trio, then moved into film by age eight. After military service he came back to nightclubs, breaking through at Ciro's in 1951. Three years later a car accident took his left eye; two years after that his relationship with a white actress drew backlash in a country where interracial marriage was still illegal. He converted to Judaism in 1960, seeing a shared history of oppression. Broadway gave him Mr. Wonderful in 1956 and Golden Boy in 1964 - the latter staged the first interracial kiss on Broadway and earned him a Tony nomination. The Rat Pack's Ocean's 11 arrived in 1960; a short-lived variety show in 1966. "The Candy Man" became his unlikely smash in 1972, and Las Vegas made him "Mister Show Business." He toured with Sinatra, Martin, and Minnelli in 1987, three years before he died owing the IRS and leaving an estate mired in legal fights.