Davis received racist hate mail while starring in the Broadway adaptation of Golden Boy during 1964–1966, in which his character is in a relationship with a white woman, paralleling his own interracial relationship. While interracial marriage had been legal in California since 1948, anti-miscegenation laws in the United States still stood in 23 states, and a 1958 opinion poll had found that only 4 percent of Americans supported marriage between black and white spouses. In 1960, there was another racist public controversy when Davis married married white, Swedish-born actress May Britt in a ceremony officiated by Rabbi William M. Later, he was fitted for a glass eye, which he wore for the rest of his life. He was featured with the patch on the cover of his debut album and appeared on What's My Line? wearing the patch. Davis wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident.
His friend, actor Jeff Chandler, said he would give one of his own eyes if it would keep Davis from total blindness. Davis lost his left eye to the bullet-shaped horn button (a standard feature in 19 Cadillacs) as a result. The only time he forgot it was the night of the accident. Instead of putting it by his door as a traditional blessing, Davis wore it around his neck for good luck. During the previous year, he had started a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor, who had given him a mezuzah. Military service WWII ĭavis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954, in San Bernardino, California, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. He lived for several years in Boston's South End, and reminisced years later about 'hoofing and singing' at Izzy Ort's Bar & Grille.
It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for 18 years, a door which they had always secretly held open.' At age seven, Davis played the title role in the film Rufus Jones for President, in which he sang and danced with Ethel Waters. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. He later said: 'Overnight the world looked different. However, when Davis served in the United States Army during World War II, he was confronted by strong prejudice. Mastin and his father shielded him from racism, such as by explaining race-based snubs as jealousy. Throughout his career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing. Davis joined the act as a child and they became the Will Mastin Trio. Davis learned to dance from his father and his 'uncle' Will Mastin.
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