Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob

by Matt Birkbeck

Book Overview

Equal parts cultural history, celebrity biography, and brilliant investigative journalism, Deconstructing Sammy by Matt Birkbeck is a behind-the-scenes look at the disastrous fall of one of the brightest stars of Hollywood and Las Vegas Sammy Davis, Jr. A member of the infamous Rat Pack, a compatriot of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and one of the most popular performers of his day, Sammy Davis, Jr. was an entertainment icon and a national treasure...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061450669
• ISBN13: 9780061450662
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Amistad Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating, shocking, couldn't stop reading

This is one of the most fascinating books about the entertainment industry and one of the most enigmatic men in it, Sammy Davis Jr. The story is incredibly told, as the author, allows us to go into the consciousness of Albert "Sonny" Murray,a former federal prosecutor, who is trying to uncover what happened to the late Davis's estate and why his debts were so overwhelming. It is written in such a way that it feels like we are peeling an onion that keeps having more and more and more layers to it. The profile of Davis's wife Altovise and the associates Davis picked is astounding. What adds so much to this story, which if it was fiction, no one would believe it, is that we cannot hear from Davis himself, who has passed away. So Sonny Murray keeps trying to figure out the motivations and behaviors of Davis as we are dying to ask Davis "Why". As more and more was learned about Davis, as "the onion" keeps un-peeling and reveals an incredibly complex man who has more sides and pressures to him and can't really be understood and certainly can't be labeled with any simple descriptions to who he was. What also is interesting is that for someone like myself, who is aware of much of the depravity of the rock stars from the late sixties and seventies, this enters a word that kills any stereotype of those entertainers and their world that appeared to be "socially acceptable", clean, yet cool, where the only vice seemed to be to have a few drinks too many. Fantastic page turner that proves that truth is more interesting than fiction.

A final epilogue about Sammy Davis Jr?

A well written cautionary tale about yet another entertainer's demise after being trapped in a life that most never knew existed. Matt Birkbeck investigative and analytical approach to deconstruction the events in Sammy Davis Jr.'s life gives us readers insight to a performer we never knew existed in the backdrop of many historical events and figures. Plus, it also shows us the courage, compassion and determination of "Sonny" and his efforts to reconstruct Sammy. Is this book a final epilogue regarding Sammy Davis Jr.? If so, hopefully, the work of Matt and Sonny via this book will reconstruct enough of Sammy's contribution to the arts that others can learn from his mistakes. For the history and history of famous entertainer buffs out there this book is a must read. I enjoyed every moment of it and look forward to a book about Sonny or Matt's next journalistic achievement.

Extraordinary and Shocking!

I wish there were endless books like this. Revealing and stunning information about how Sammy Davis lived his life. A thorough look into the man he really was (not who I thought he was) The racist world he came from which orchestrated his eventual plunge into excess and waste. His friends who weren't so friendly, his wives and lovers who contributed to the darkest side of his life. This man who was a giant in the entertainment world and his tragic demise. Completely riveting. One of those books you don't want to finish but can't stop reading.

RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "IT WAS AS IF SAMMY NEVER EXISTED."

Sammy Davis Jr. was probably the most gifted multi-talented entertainer of the twentieth century. He was a great singer... dancer... actor... and his impressions of famous personalities were "spot-on" beyond belief. Yet when Sammy died from throat cancer at the age of sixty-four on May 16, 1990 he was almost penniless... in debt... and his wife... close friends... and employees were stealing him blind. As Sammy lay dying in his bedroom on a morphine drip... they were stealing Rolls Royce's, paintings, films, recordings, furniture... and more importantly... as the crux of this book is built around... the future use of his good name... likeness... and any intellectual properties... royalties... and residuals. After his death, by August 1994, Sammy's taxpayer debt to the IRS "WAS THE LARGEST SINGLE OPEN CASE OF AN INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYER DEBT IN THE NATION." The central character in the pursuit of settling the case with the government was Albert "Sonny" Murray. Sonny had gained national fame as the lead prosecutor that brought down E.F. Hutton. Because of Sammy's unpaid tax debt to the IRS... "SAMMY'S NAME AND LIKENESS WAS OWNED BY THE IRS. BECAUSE OF THE DEBT, SPECIFICALLY THE MONEY OWED TO THE GOVERNMENT, NO ONE WANTED TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE SAMMY DAVIS JR. ESTATE, KNOWING THE IRS WAS WATCHING. HENCE, SINCE SAMMY'S DEATH, THERE WERE NO MOVIES, RECORDS, OR VIDEO, AND VERY FEW BUSINESS DEALS INVOLVING THE NAME, LIKENESS, OR VOICE OF SAMMY DAVIS JR." **IT WAS AS IF SAMMY NEVER EXISTED** As Sonny invests year after year trying to find out why Sammy's estate has no money, the book uncovers deceit and debauchery, not only by Sammy, but by other famous household names ranging from Frank Sinatra - to - John F. Kennedy - to - the mafia - and believe it or not... inside information regarding the JFK assassination. How you may say? Well... Sammy literally hob-knobbed with Kings, Queens, Prince's, Presidents, and the Mafia. One day he was having lunch with a Mafia chieftain in Mexico... and the next day he was in the White House with the President. Sammy had a drinking problem and a serious drug problem with cocaine and amyl nitrate, and experimented briefly with Satanism and pornography. Sammy's heavy cocaine use caused his split with Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was all for booze and broads... but he wanted nothing to do with a cocaine user. Davis was also a heavy gambler and the "bosses" in Vegas were quite willing to keep fronting Sammy credit that he would be forced to work off with future gigs. So in addition to all the aforementioned vices and problems... Sammy had to take a six figure loan from the mob... and thus was at their beckoned call. A concurrent subject throughout this odyssey is Altovise Davis, who was Mrs. Sammy Davis Jr. at the time of Sammy's passing. Their marriage was, in Sammy's eyes, a way to satisfy the public that he married a black woman after his earlier marriage to May Britt, and his constant public pursuit of white women. By the end o

Decontructing Sammy: A "must read" book

Matt Birkbeck writes powerfully in Decontructing Sammy of the tragic life and legacy of Sammy Davis, Jr. It is a heartbreaking "must read" book for every Sammy Davis fan, and anyone who thinks that achieving stardom is all it's cracked up to be. Birkbeck brings us a great story, tightly wound and beautiful spun. Leaving broken hearts around every corner of his life and death, Sammy Davis was the most talented entertainer in the world --- a man who was so deeply encumbered by parasitic characters that he literally had to dance for his supper. Critical to the story of victims and victimizers is Davis's third wife, Altovise, who moves effortlessly between roles. But, as in any well-woven tale, Birkbeck tells us about the real hereos. Rising above them all is Albert "Sonny" Murray, a former U.S. attorney who worked valiantly to restore dignity to Sammy's legacy. And, Sammy's children, for whom he had little time in life, and shut-out by his death. It's a heart breaker, a wonderful read, chock full of insider information, and the last place I would expect to find Donald Rumsfeld --- but he's there. A story of good and evil ... and, above all, honor.