Will Mastin Trio
Encyclopedia
Will Mastin
-Career on the Dance Floor:Mastin was the leader of the Will Mastin Trio which included Sammy Davis, Sr. and his son Sammy Davis, Jr.. Will Mastin was also the "uncle" of Sammy Davis, Jr.. Sammy's father Sammy Davis, Sr. and Will were good friends....
, Sammy Davis, Sr.
Sammy Davis, Sr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Sr. was an American dancer and the father of Sammy Davis, Jr..-Birth and Personal Life:...
and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
. They performed from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Will Mastin led the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
dance troupe Sammy Davis, Sr. worked for. As a child Sammy Davis, Jr. often accompanied his father on tour and treated Mastin as his uncle. Soon the child joined the act and they became the Will Mastin Trio.
This occurred in mid 1920s. To overcome child labour bans, Sammy Davis, Jr. was often presented as "Silent Sam the Dancing Midget" and used to walk around the backstage with a cigar and a girl under his arm.
The trio stopped performing when Sammy Davis, Jr. was called to serve in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1943, but resumed their activity after the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Even when Sammy Davis, Jr.'s solo career was greatly successful, he still performed from time to time with his father and uncle as the Will Mastin Trio during 1950s and 1960s, frequently giving them billing on his shows and singles.
Among their credited appearances are the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Sweet and Low of 1947 and the musical Mr. Wonderful
Mr. Wonderful (musical)
Mr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
, staged on Broadway from 1956 to 1957.
Bonds of deep affection tied the three men together. They have been buried in the same cemetery, one next to the other, in the Davis family tomb.