John Gustave Davis (April 11, 1910 – October 28, 1983) was an American actor, singer and trumpeter.

Biography

Born in

Brazil, Indiana Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,176 at the 2022 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. There is a fountain from the country o ...

, into a family of musicians, Davis developed an interest in music during his childhood. He learned to play the trumpet and by the age of 13 was performing with his grandfather's band. After graduating from high school he worked as a musician for several orchestras, including theater orchestras in nearby

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716. Located along the Wabash River about e ...

, Indiana, such as Paul Johnson's orchestra and the Leo Baxter Orchestra. Art Davis, his younger brother, also worked for Leo Baxter. Davis's work with bands led him to discover and develop his ability as a scat singer. By 1933 was living in New York City. He formed his own trio and recorded several songs with them. From the mid 1930s, he worked with

Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, choral director, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to ...

as a musician and vocalist, and his success during this time led him to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. He appeared in his first feature-length film, ''

Varsity Show The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University. Founded in 1893 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Columbia undergraduate community for a series of ...

'', in 1937 and appeared the same year in the film ''

Hollywood Hotel The Hollywood Hotel was a famous hotel, society venue of early Hollywood landmark, formerly located at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard, on the north side, extending from Highland Avenue to Orchid Avenue, in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...

'', where he introduced the

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

song "

Hooray for Hollywood "Hooray for Hollywood" is a popular song first featured in the 1937 movie ''Hollywood Hotel'', and which has since become (together with " That's Entertainment" and "There's No Business like Show Business") the staple soundtrack element of any Ac ...

". His lively rendition became popular and became closely associated with the film industry. He appeared in fifteen films, including '' Campus Cinderella'' (1938), ''

Cowboy from Brooklyn ''Cowboy from Brooklyn'' is a 1938 American Western musical romantic comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Earl Baldwin. It stars Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien and Priscilla Lane. The film was based on the 1937 Broadway play ''Howd ...

'' (1938), ''

Brother Rat ''Brother Rat'' is a 1938 American comedy drama film about cadets at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, directed by William Keighley, and starring Ronald Reagan, Priscilla Lane, Eddie Albert (in his film debut), Jane Wyman, and W ...

'' (1938), '' Mr. Chump'' (1938), '' A Child Is Born'' (1939) and ''

Sarong Girl ''Sarong Girl'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Arthur Dreifuss and written by Charles R. Marion, Arthur Hoerl and Tim Ryan. The film stars Ann Corio, Tim Ryan, Irene Ryan, Mantan Moreland, William Henry, Damian O'Flynn and Joh ...

'' (1943). Finally, in the documentary film " Jazz Ball" (1956), which collects 20 appearances by jazz stars of the '30s and '40s, Davis is featured singing

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...

's hit song " Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" (1942). Davis's work on radio included being a vocalist on ''Nitwit Court''. Davis continued to work in the music industry throughout the 1940s and 1950s and spent several years in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, where he was a popular television performer. Davis married Martha Lee Garver on April 2, 1934. He eventually settled in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and died in Pecos from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

during a hunting trip.

References

External links

*
"Solid" - Johnny "Scat" Davis, biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Johnnie 1910 births 1983 deaths American male film actors 20th-century American male actors People from Brazil, Indiana 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American trumpeters American male trumpeters Singers from Los Angeles Musicians from Indiana Male actors from Indiana Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Texas Singers from Texas