Search results
Elvera "Baby" Sanchez Davis (September 1, 1905 – September 3, 2000) was an American dancer and the mother of Sammy Davis Jr.
Sep 9, 2000 · Elvera Sanchez Davis, 95, a tap dancer and the mother of Sammy Davis Jr., died Sept. 2 at her home in Manhattan. Ms. Davis, known as Baby Sanchez, began performing at 16 in the chorus line at the...
Apr 13, 2023 · Born Sept. 1, 1905, Elvera was known as “Baby Sanchez.” She began performing as a dancer during her teen years.
- The Will Mastin Trio
- Military Service Leaves Its Scars
- Honing His Talents with Legends
Ramona stayed with her grandmother but Sam Davis, Sr. collected his son and took him on the road with him. The boy soon developed a love for show business and at the age of 3 became a bit player in Mastin’s latest revue, Struttin’ Hannah from Savannah. He soon learned to dance, mug, sing and joke, and Mastin started using Sammy more and more. The a...
Three years later at age 18, Davis was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Warren, Cheyenne in Wyoming for basic training. In March 1943, the War Department had racially integrated all recreation and transportation facilities on stateside bases, and Davis’s experiences in this environment were scarifying – given he had been sheltered from an und...
After his discharge in 1945, Davis left Wyoming and returned to the Trio’s act, which toured the country in theatres, carnivals, and increasingly as an opening act in nightclubs. Davis toured with Mickey Rooney (who tried to get Davis cast in his upcoming film, but MGM refused to cast a black man in the role), hung out in Los Angeles and New York w...
Vaudeville Entertainer, Tap Dancer and Actress. Mother of Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990). Wife of Sammy Davis Sr. (1900-1988). Began performing at age 16 in the chorus line at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem. She worked into the early 1940s, dancing for six years in the chorus line at the Apollo Theatre.
Elvera Sanchez was a chorus-line dancer at Apollo Theater for six years. She continued to dance until the 1940s. From 1989, until her death, she was an adviser to the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day.
Elvera Davis. Actress: A Man Called Adam. Tap dancer, began performing at age 16 in the chorus line at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem. She continued her career into the early 1940s, dancing for six years in the chorus line at the Apollo Theatre.
