In 1951, on the evening of the Academy Awards, Sammy Davis Jr. ignited the stage at an after Oscar party that propelled him into international fame. From that night on, the amazing talents of the Rat Pack star would dazzle audiences, from the swankiest casinos of Las Vegas to the dangerous front lines of Vietnam.

When Sammy died in 1990, after losing his fight with throat cancer, another battle soon erupted, one which threatened to dismantle his legacy and the future of his estate. The $5 million debt that he’d left his widow, Altovise, represented just one chapter in a tumultuous story that was filled with unfathomable glamour, multiple scandals and the treachery that accompanied the greed of their associates.

In 2007, on the evening of the Academy Awards, Sammy’s embattled estate would teeter between the control of his wife – whose life was wracked by alcoholism – and the two men who were determined to seize it.

In this eye-witness account, Pamela Sherrod presents stunning revelations and testimonies about the famous couple’s life – including friends such as Bill Cosby and Elizabeth Taylor – as she documents, not only the final outcome of the Davis estate, but the tragic and triumphant events that preceded it.