Tracey Davis, daughter of Sammy Davis Jr., has died, her ex-husband Guy Garner confirmed to the Associated Press.
Garner said Tracey died in Franklin, Tennessee, on November 2, following a short illness. An official cause of death was not revealed.
Tracey was born on July 5, 1961 to Davis and his second wife, Swedish actress May Britt Ringquist (who divorced him in 1968 after his affair with actress Lola Falana).
In her 2014 book, titled Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal Journey With My Father, Tracey revealed that her parents’ interracial marriage led to President John F. Kennedy refusing to allow Davis to perform at his Inauguration.
Davis was a registered Democrat who supported Kennedy’s 1960 campaign for president. Davis died from complications of throat cancer in 1990 at age 64.
Tracey used her life experiences to pen her 1996 book Sammy Davis Jr.: My Father, in which she shared personal recollections about getting to know her dad as an adult. She said his busy career kept him on the road for much of her childhood.
Last month, MGM announced they were using the book to develop a Sammy Davis Jr. biopic, to which Tracey said in a statement: “I am thrilled to know my father’s life, both private and public, will be brought to the big screen with this team of storytellers.
“He and my mother May Britt took on the world, choosing love and compassion over hatred and bigotry, and I am a product of that decision.”
Tracey is survived by her mother, her four children, her half-brother Manny and her two adopted brothers, Mark and Jeff.
