var s_account="timecom"; Time.com CNN.com Search Archive U.S. Main ... Pictures of the Week Jewish Negro Monday, Feb. 01, 1960 Article Tools Print Email Reprints Sphere addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; addthis_pub = 'timecom'; RSS Song-and-Dance-Man Sammy Davis Jr. was teeing off on the golf course one day when his opponent asked him what his handicap was. "Handicap?" wisecracked Davis. "Talk about handicap—I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew." Related Articles Sphere.Inline.search('sphereSideBar','http://time.com/') tiiQuigoWriteAd(755769, 1290761, 180, 200, -1); Raised as a Roman Catholic, Davis first became seriously interested in Judaism while he was convalescing from his accident, and was much impressed by the Jewish chaplain at San Bernardino's Community Hospital. Several years later, at a charity party for children in San Francisco, he found himself kidding with a young man whom he assumed to be a fellow entertainer. When he turned out to be a Reform rabbi, Davis was delighted. "Everything he said had meaning . . . Our casual conversation began to develop into a deep, soul-searching experience. Once more, my curiosity about Judaism was set aflame." The rabbi recommended several books. "At first, reading those books confused me. I would read a few pages, close the book, and try to figure out what the writer was saying. Little by little I began to understand." Another rabbi in Hollywood continued his education in Judaism, and eventually Sammy decided that he wanted to become a Jew. The rabbi told him to wait for a year, and some of his Jewish friends told him he was crazy to consider it. "You have two strikes against you now," said one. "We Jews have been oppressed for more than 5,000 years, and all of a sudden why do you want to get into the act? Quit while you're ahead." | |
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