How a Wild Night Out Made ‘Little House’s Melissa Gilbert a Friend to Sammy Davis Jr.
What To Know
- Melissa Gilbert recounted an unforgettable 1980s Hollywood night involving stars like Rob Lowe, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson, and a visit to Sammy Davis Jr.’s house.
- At Davis’s home, Gilbert found herself separated from her group and struck up a conversation with Davis.
- The connection led to a warm, humorous exchange and a budding friendship.
During an episode of The Patrick Labyorteaux Sheaux, the former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert was asked by her one-time Walnut Grove dweller: “What was the most Hollywood moment of your life?” Her answer was an astounding tale about a single night out with Rob Lowe that quickly spiraled into a veritable cavalcade of 1980s celebrities and showbiz heavyweights.
Billed by host Patrick Labyorteaux as “the most amazing Hollywood story you will ever hear,” it was a wild, star-studded snapshot of an era when fame, excess, and coincidence all collided in one unforgettable night.
The story begins with Gilbert attending a Patrick Swayze dance performance at Beverly Hills Playhouse, then heading to Spago to meet Lowe and Andrew McCarthy. The tale then ramps up into a who’s who of celebrity faces and names of the ’80s, as Liza Minnelli joins their table, followed by Michael Jackson, who made the offer, “You can come to my house, I’ve got a llama.”
The star-studded group headed to Sammy Davis Jr.‘s house, where the Rat Packer was screening A Soldier’s Story to a room filled with “every African-American actor in Hollywood,” according to Gilbert. Lost in a sea of famous faces, Gilbert headed to the billiards room where she ran into Davis himself.
“I’m now separated from my group,” said Gilbert. “I go upstairs to the billiard room, and Sammy is in there making drinks. And I got the courage up, and I walked over and I said, ‘Um, Mr. Davis, I think you know my grandfather.’ And he said, ‘Oh really? Who is your grandfather?’ ‘Cause I’m sure he hears stuff like that all the time. And I said, ‘Harry Crane.’
Crane was a comedy writer and television pioneer who worked with major Golden Age talents, including prominent comics such as Milton Berle, Abbott & Costello, and Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. He transitioned to television in the 1950s, where he helped craft The Jackie Gleason Show sketches that eventually evolved into The Honeymooners.
Bringing up Crane’s name unlocked a new side of Davis to Gilbert: “He goes, ‘Hesh! What are you drinking?’ So he makes me a drink, and he goes, ‘Hey, want to play pool?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m really bad at it. I don’t think so.”
And with the perfect, hilarious response, Davis said, “‘I have one eye. You’ll win,” recalled Gilbert, sending both the actress and Labyorteaux into giggles.
“I’m going to retire this question. There’s no better story,” said Labyorteaux.
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