Sammy Davis Jr. his left eye in a car accident, and several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities. Davis's film career began as a child in 1933. In 1960, he appeared in the Rat Pack film "Ocean's 11". After a starring role on Broadway in "Mr Wonderful" (1956), he returned to the stage in 1964's "Golden Boy." In 1966 he had his own TV variety show, titled "The Sammy Davis Jr. Show". Davis's career slowed in the late 1960s, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man" in 1972 and
The Hollywood Palace known as Avalon Hollywood. A little-known starlet named Raquel Welch was cast during the first season as the "Billboard Girl", who placed the names of the acts on a placard (similar to that of a vaudeville house). Unlike similar programs such as "The Ed Sullivan Show", the series used a different host each week. Among the performers and hosts on the show were Bing Crosby (who made the first and the most appearances as guest host: 31 in all, including his family on several of the annual Christmas shows), Dean Martin, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis Jr., Sid