Sammy Davis Jr's Wedding Night Suicide Attempt

Beloved crooner [Sammy Davis Jr](https://www.contactmusic.com/sammy-davis-jr) attempted suicide on his wedding night because racial jibes drove him mad, according to a new biography.

The MR BOJANGLES singer's former personal assistant ARTHUR SILBER JR has revealed the cabaret star's personal pain in a new memoir, SAMMY DAVIS JR: [Me](https://www.contactmusic.com/me) + MY SHADOW.

Silber claims the song-and-dance man was distraught at having to end his secret romance with actress [Kim Novak](https://www.contactmusic.com/kim-novak) after mobsters, who disapproved of the interracial match, threatened to kill him.

Sammy then wed dancer LORAY WHITE in a marriage of convenience, but drank too much at the ceremony and wailed, "Why can't I be with the woman I love?"

Silber recalls, "Sammy was putting a gun to his head. I jumped on top of him and pinned his arms as I wrestled the gun out of his hand. It was loaded.

"I twisted his arm and the gun fell to the floor."

10/06/2003 09:24