Sammy Davis Jr’s former wife May Britt has died at the age of 91. The news was confirmed by the former couple’s son Mark Davis.
Swedish actress May died of natural causes at the age of 91 on December 11 at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana medical center in Los Angeles, Mark confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter.
May starred in movies including The Blue Angel and Murder Inc but rose to prominence when she became the second wife of legendary singer and actor Sammy Davis Jr. May met The Candy Man singer after he performed at the Mocambo nightclub on the Sunset Strip and he invited her to a party.
(
Getty Images)
Davis was at the time engaged to Canadian dancer Joan Stuart, but ended things with Joan soon after meeting May. The couple announced their engagement while in London in June 1960 and were married in November of the same year. During their marriage they welcomed a daughter Tracey Davis and adopted two sons; Mark and Jeff.
Sadly, throughout their relationship the couple were targeted with death threats and were forced to hire 24 hour security at times to protect them. Interracial marriage was illegal in 31 states in the US at the time of their marriage. Following her nuptials, May’s movie contract with Fox was not renewed.
In December 1968 the couple divorced, after Davis was linked to Lola Falana. However, May and Sammy Jr’s daughter told the Los Angeles Times in 2014 that the couple continued to be very much in love post-split. Tracey revealed that when she asked her dad why they broke up, Davis replied, “I just couldn’t be what she wanted to me to be. A family man. My performance schedule was rigorous.”
May was born as Majbritt Wilkens in Lidingö, Sweden, on March 22, 1934. Her parents were Hugo, a postal clerk, and Hillevi, a housewife. She began her career at 18.
**This is a breaking showbiz news story. Join The Mirror’s ****WhatsApp Community ****or follow us on **Google News**, **Flipboard**, Apple News, **TikTok**, **Snapchat**, **Instagram**, **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Threads** – or visit The Mirror homepage**.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply