Altovise Davis, Mrs. Sammy Davis Jr., Dies at 65

Altovise Davis was One of Many Talents to Come from Brooklyn

Dancer, actress Altovise Joanne Gore Davis has died at the age of 65. Associated Press reports that Altovise Davis had suffered a stroke and passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Altovise Davis was also the wife of Sammy Davis Jr.

Altovise Davis Dies at 65: Courtship and Marriage

Altovise was married to Sammy Davis Jr. from 1970 until his death in 1990. Before their marriage, he had a brief one-year marriage to Loray White in 1950. Sammy then married Swedish actress Mai Britt in 1960. This interracial marriage had caused national controversy. While starring on Broadway's Golden Boy, Sammy Davis Jr. had getting hate mail. Until 1967, interracial marriages had been illegal in 31 states.

Sammy Davis' marriage to Mai Britt dissolved because his career did not allow him to spend enough time with her. He also had an affair with singer Lola Falana in 1968. After divorce, Mai Britt continued an off-again on-again acting career until 1988. Now she focuses more on painting.

After divorce with Mai Britt in 1968, Sammy Davis Jr. began dating Altovise Gore. They fell in love while working together on Golden Boy. They were married in 1970 by Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Altovise Davis Dies at 65: A Brooklyn Native

Altovise Joanne Gore was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1943, but was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She began her career in the 1960s as a chorus-line dancer for Broadway shows. Altovise Davis also appeared on television shows such as Charlie's Angels and CHiPs. She also appeared in movies such as Kingdom of the Spiders, Boardwalk, and Can't Stop the Music.

Many famous personalities have come from Brooklyn, including Joy Behar, Andrew Dice Clay, Tony Danza, Dorothy Day, and George Gershwin. Brooklyn is an integral part of American pop culture and literature. Walt Whitman wrote about Brooklyn in his poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. Betty Smith's coming of age novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a literary classic. And Henry Miller wrote about his childhood in Brooklyn in Tropic of Capricorn. It is not surprising that Altovise Davis was one of many talented personalities to come out of Brooklyn.

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