Reply #13: No - I'm in the SF Bay Area. [View All]

[Bullwinkle925]

He used to appear at a venue in Redwood City - "The Circle Star Theater". It was a theater in-the-round where the stage was circular with seating 360 degrees around the stage. The stage would revolve slowly so that every seat was a good one. In fact, he at one time owned a portion of that theater. His show-stopper was always his rendention of "Mr. Bojangles". What a voice. So powerful from such a little body. I would never, ever miss seeing him in person whenever he was in the Bay Area or appearing at Tahoe. Vegas was a bit too far for me to go. Honestly, my heart would be in my throat hearing him sing. Just a tremendous showman.
Have you read his book, "Yes I Can"? I read it (I think) in my sophomore year of High School. His story was one that opened my eyes to the racial inequality in this country. Of course, this was in the mid-60's - the height of the Civil Rights era. Sammy did a lot to help, sadly, he is often remembered as hugging Nixon - but that was a spur-of-the-moment thing on his part - something that Sammy was often want to do.