Will Mastin Trio

Sammy Davis Jr. was 16 years old at this time and became part of the main vaudeville act, replacing Colbert.

The trio stopped performing when Sammy Davis Jr. was called to serve in the Army in 1943, but resumed their activity after the end of the war in Portland, Oregon.

Even when Sammy Davis Jr.'s solo career was successful, during the 1950s and 1960s, he still performed occasionally with his father and uncle as the Will Mastin Trio, typically giving them billing on his shows and singles.

[1][2][3] The network spent $20,000 filming the pilot which presented African Americans as struggling musicians, not the usual slapstick comedy or stereotypical mammy roles of the time.

The cast included Frances Davis who was the first black ballerina to perform for the Paris Opera, actresses Ruth Attaway and Jane White, and Frederick O'Neal who founded the American Negro Theater.