American writer James Baldwin believed that Sammy Davis Jr. had a simple choice in life: He had to decide between greatness and madness. Baldwin believed he chose greatness—but if you know anything about his life behind the scenes, it’s clear that more than a little madness leaked in too.
Davis loved women, and he spent his rise to the top having an unending string of one-night stands. Sometimes he went home with Ava Gardner, and sometimes it was simply a pretty girl who caught his eye, but in either case, "love" hadn't really been on the menu. That all changed one night in 1957 at Chicago's Chez Paree, when he met actress Kim Novak.
Davis and Novak embarked on a love affair—not knowing the danger that they were in. Torn apart by the prejudices of the time, they never saw a happy ending. In 1958, Chicago mobsters kidnapped Davis off the street, threatened him, and gave him a chilling ultimatum: he had to break up with Novak and marry a Black woman...or else. He married Loray White within a matter of days.
When photos of Davis’s wedding to Loray White came out, fans might have thought that it looked like a fairy tale—not knowing the horror story behind it. Davis never truly cared for White. He was miserable throughout their entire wedding and drank heavily to cope. It must have been devastating for him, being forced to marry a woman he didn't love—but that doesn't forgive what he did to her that night.
