From the S&S archives:
Sammy irked — He can't star in London musical

LONDON — Sammy Davis Jr., didn't attempt to hide his anger and disappointment over the backstage maneuvering that killed his chances to star in his own London musical.

The show, "Golden Boy," adapted from the Clifford Odets drama, will now open on Broadway in September.

But Sammy had wanted, he emphasized, to give London — for a change — the first look at a big American musical.

He felt that this might help compensate for the second-hand shows that now come over with second-string casts.

The ebullient entertainer commented, during a London stopover, that the British capital — "there is no theater to compare with it" — deserved nothing but the best, especially since it always sends the original stars to America with its hit shows.

"You need a personality to make a success," stressed Sammy, fresh from Hollywood where he had just completed "Robin and the 7 Hoods" for Warner Bros., with such fellow personalities as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin.

"It's what we've always wanted to do," enthused Sammy who plays a Windy Cry Will Scarlet, adding, "It's an old-style musical with the guys doing what they do best — singing and dancing."

Operating in the Chicago of 1920, the hero "robs the bookmakers to give to the poor."

One of the movie's highlights, the scene in a phony mission set-up, with Crosby leading the congregation in a riotous and rousing rendition of "Mister Booze," came up for filming just two days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Sammy called it one of the most trying experiences of his career.

It was also during the making of "Robin" that Sinatra's son was kidnaped.

"It was all quite an ordeal," summed up Sammy.

His next cinematic effort will be "The Major and the Private," with Peter Lawford, brother-in-law of the late President Kennedy.