Elvera Sanchez

Who was Elvera Sanchez?

Elvera Sanchez was an American dancer and the mother of Sammy Davis, Jr.

During his lifetime, Davis, Jr. 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, Jr.'s mother was born in New York City, of Cuban, Afro-Cuban, and African-American descent, and that Davis, Jr. claimed she was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales.

Elvera Sanchez began her career as a chorus-line dancer at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem. She married Sammy Davis, Sr., also a dancer, in 1923. In 1925 their son and only child Sammy Davis, Jr., was born. When the child was three, the couple split up and the father obtained sole custody of his son taking him on the road. Elvera Sanchez was a chorus-line dancer at Apollo Theater for six years. She continued to dance until the 1940s.

From 1989, until her death, she was an adviser to the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day. Her father was Marco Sanchez. Her mother, Luisa Valentina, died in 1996, at the age of 112. Elvera was survived by her daughter, Ramona.