Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is a retired American politician and attorney who served as the 37th Governor of California from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, only a few months into his second term, in 2003 Davis was recalled and removed from office, the second state governor successfully recalled in U.S. history. Prior to serving as governor, Davis was chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown (1975–81), a California State Assemblyman (1983–87), California State Controller (1987–95) and the 44th Lieutenant Governor of California (1995–99). Davis holds a B.A. in history from Stanford University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as a Captain in the Vietnam War.
Sammy Davis Jr.
Davis Jr. was born on December 8, 1925, in the Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City, the son of African-American entertainer and stage performer, Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988), and Afro-Cuban tap dancer Elvera Sanchez (1905–2000). During his lifetime, Davis stated that his mother was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan. However, in the 2003 biography "In Black and White", author Wil Haygood writes that Davis's mother was born in New York City to parents of Cuban, Afro-Cuban, and African-American descent, and that Davis claimed he was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales. Davis's parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was reared by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents separated. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour.