The Copa (9 page)

Another flyer, at this time, Sammy Davis, Jr. was still a member of the Will Mastin Trio. Sammy, a few years later, would leave the group and venture out as a solo act. Sammy signed the back of this flyer to me.

Sammy Davis Jr. would become good friends with my father as the years went by. I remember one specific night when Sammy came over to our apartment and my nurse summoned me to my father's den. With trepidation, I made my way to the den and I hid behind my nurse. Sammy had on a long coat, and while he and my father were talking, all of a sudden a whimpering sound and movement came from within Sammy's coat. All I could see peeking out of the coat was this little black nose looking at me as Sammy smiled and opened up his coat to reveal a miniature poodle that was a gift for me. I thought this was the greatest thing in the world, since my father had never allowed an animal in the house. He didn't want the dog, but my mother said it was a gift, so we got to keep him; I named the dog Tinker.

We never had a pet because my father had a phobia against animals being in the house. Both my mother and I loved animals; I favored cats. Also, living in a high-rise was not conducive to proper exercise and walks. I have seen pictures of me, when I was two or three years old, on vacation in Florida playing with a kitten. I think my parents gave it to someone when we left—like a rent-a-cat. Just as I was getting attached to the cat, it was gone with no explanation. The same thing happened when we vacationed on Great Neck, Long Island. There are pictures of me playing with chicks and kittens, but at the end of the summer, they were gone right before we were.

Tinker was put in the kitchen and not allowed in my room or the rest of the house until my father left for work. Jackson or one of the staff would take him out of the building for walks. On rare occasions, my mother and I might also take Tinker for a walk. I really don't remember him ever liking me; he essentially became my mother's dog. Tinker must have sensed that my father did not want him
and gravitated toward my mother, who doted on him. Mom had the most contact with the dog, so years later when Tinker died in her arms, at a ripe old age, she was hysterical and grief-stricken.

Sammy Davis came over a lot and was not required to use the service entrance as my father made many other African-Americans do when visiting him at the house. I think this was because Sammy brought in so much money and was loved so much by all audiences. I'm not entirely sure if my father was prejudiced or if he was just a product of the times. I saw Sammy perform many times at the Copa; it was always thrilling. Sammy Davis Jr. was always very nice to me; he was a real sweetheart and so very talented.

The Will Mastin Trio and me: Will Mastin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Sammy Davis Sr. all signed this photo to me.

In terms of sheer star power, the Copacabana generated enough to illuminate the city brightly, year after year. The collective talent that graced its stage over the decades was a who's who of the world of burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway, radio, television, movies, and music. No other nightclub in New York had such an amazing roster of headline performers. Jules Podell's Copacabana could boast that it was “New York's heart-quarters for great stars, great stars on the stage and at the tables, for the Copa is the showcase of show business.”

Me with The Four Lads during one of their engagements at the Copa. The group was from Canada and had a string of hits in the 1950s and 1960s including “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” “Moments To Remember.”

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Danny Thomas, Perry Como, Jimmy Durante, Lena Horne, Joe E. Lewis, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Paul Anka, Billy Eckstine, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Connie Francis, Frankie Laine, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Sammy Davis Jr., Desi Arnaz, Xavier Cugat, Eddie Fisher, Mel Torme, Phil Silvers, Vic Damone, Red Buttons, Carmen Miranda, Rosemary Clooney, Ted Lewis, Johnnie Ray, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Norm Crosby, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Tony Martin, Jackie Wilson, the Nicholas Brothers, Martha Raye, Chubby Checker, Johnny Mathis, Mort Sahl, Sam Cooke, the Mills Brothers, Jimmy Roselli, Petula Clark, Joan Rivers, Pat Cooper, Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Jack Jones, the Temptations, Wayne Newton, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Don Rickles, Bobby Vinton, Jerry Vale, Gladys
Knight and the Pips, and Tony Orlando and Dawn all performed at the Copa.

It would be impossible to give proper credit to all of the great entertainers who appeared at the Copacabana in one book. With that in mind, we have decided to highlight a few performers who are forever associated with the famed nightclub.

Me and a friend pose with ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson and his dummy Danny O' Day. Nelson gaine famed on television as a spokesperson for the Texaco Star Theatre starring Milton Berle.

Ernie Kovacs poses with my father, me, and a member of the NYPD during a holiday toy drive at the club. Kovacs was a pioneer in the early days of television whose life was cut short when he was killed in an automobile accident in 1962.

1950s singing sensation, Johnnie Ray, sits second from the right with a group of friends enjoying an evening at the club.

My father with Nat King Cole. When Nat passed away from lung cancer in 1965 my father was devastated as they were good friends.

My father and Nat Cole with two friends in the kitchen during one of Nat's many appearances at the club.

Nat King Cole and me. Nat was a kind and caring man; my mother said he was one of the nicest gentlemen she had ever met.

Copa advertisements in playbills.

My father looks on as Joe E. Lewis arrives on a horse to promote one of his openings at the Copacabana. Lewis was one of the most famous nightclub comics of all time.

Singer Vic Damone, my father, and comedian Joe E. Lewis sharing a drink and a laugh one evening. Frank Sinatra would portray Lewis in the hit film
The Joker Is Wild.

Dad, Sophie Tucker, Joe E. Lewis, and Earl Wilson. Wilson was a popular newspaper entertainment gossip columnist at the time.