All in the family is my favorite sitcom ever. I watch it whenever I get an opportunity. Most people my age don’t understand my fascination with the show. I try to tell them how pivotal it was to not only race relations on television but the creation of contemporary characters (I.E Cartman, Peter Griffin, and various others) that they take for granted. It was cutting edge and in my mind it hasn’t lost that edge. (This happens to me a lot. I feel like I was born several decades too late… I’m a walking anachronism).
The episode that I feel best exemplifies the candor within All in the family’s social commentary also serves as one of the series most beloved moments. I am of course talking about the famous Sammy Davis Jr. kiss.
Two days ago I, severely hung over, got a chance to watch this episode again. Instead of focusing on Archie’s madcap bigotry, as I always do, I watched Mr. Sammy Davis Jr. steal every scene he was in.
I’m a retro TV junkie (Again walking anachronism) and not too long ago I saw an episode of I Dream of Jeannie that also featured the always talented Sammy Davis. I had always been a fan of the rat pack, and was familiar with what Sammy Davis Jr. looked like…but for the life of me I couldn’t remember any songs. I can sing Sinatra until the proverbial cows come home between sesame seed buns; but I began to wonder why I couldn’t remember any Sammy Davis. After a short youtube/Wikipedia cross reference I became familiar with the “World’s greatest entertainer”. Flash forward to today…and then flash back to two days ago…when I saw Sammy Davis this time around I watched with greater reverence for his legacy.
Incidentally not more than an hour after the episode a biography of Mr. Davis also came on. In the biography they explained how the man once hailed as the “World’s greatest entertainer” faded into obscurity thanks to several controversies around his lifestyle. These controversies included ties to crime, beliefs in Satanism, and interracial relationships. It breaks my heart to think about how a man so loved by so many for so long can be forgotten so swiftly. Part of the beauty of music is the immortality it creates, but it seems Sammy has been deprived of that. Sammy’s magnetic personality radiated from that one episode and I caught a few waves of it. So, I dedicate this blog to Sammy Davis Jr. Keep on dancing Mr. Bojangles.
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