The Monkees: A Surprise Cameo by Rat Pack Superstar Sammy Davis Jr. Was Left on the Cutting Room Floor
The Monkees television series may have only run for two seasons on the NBC network. Still, when it came to superstar power, it featured some of the most iconic entertainers of the 1960s. It was rumored that whomever the cast was friends with could guest-star on the wildly popular television series, which ran from 1966 to 1968. The result was a wacky run of celebrity guest stars, from major movie stars to famous rockers and musicians. However, one surprise cameo by a legendary singer and Rat Pack superstar Sammy Davis Jr. was surprisingly left on the cutting room floor.
Famous entertainers who appeared on ‘The Monkees’
Many famous and soon-to-be-famous entertainers appeared on The Monkees.
These included Mike Farrell, who played M*A*S*H doctor B.J. Hunnicutt, Burgess Meredith, who would go on to play The Penguin on Batman, comedienne Rose Marie, and musician Liberace.
Also appearing on the series were Bernard Fox, who played Dr. Bombay on Bewitched; Julie Newman, Catwoman on Batman, Vic Tayback (Mel on Alice); and musician Frank Zappa.
This Rat Pack superstar made an appearance that never aired on ‘The Monkees’
In 1967, Sammy Davis, Jr. visited the set of The Monkees, filmed at Screen Gems Studio Nine by Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
Davis was in the studio to play himself on a 1967 episode of I Dream of Jeannie. The plot detailed Tony’s difficulties in getting the singer to perform at General Peterson’s party. Jeannie decided to help Tony by using her magic to duplicate Davis to be in two places at once.
A color photograph of Davis’ visit to The Monkees set is featured in a Facebook post shared on Davy Jones’ official page in 2017. Davis is seated alongside Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Mike Nesmith.
The caption stated that while Davis reportedly performed in a Monkees episode titled “Monkees A La Mode” the footage didn’t make it to the episode’s final edit reported Monkees Live Almanac.
Subsequently, the cut clip went missing and has never been found.
Davy Jones spoke about the moment Sammy Davis Jr. met The Monkees
The Monkees Live Almanac wrote a story where Jones spoke about his experience with Davis on the set of the television series.
“One day when we were on the set, Sammy Davis Jr. (who was in the studio above us filming I Dream of Jeannie) came into our studio to apologize for all the noise they were making. While he was with us, stayed to do a skit for The Monkees,” it read.
“Normally, Sammy Davis would have charged a fortune to appear. Because of his good relations with the boys, he did the skit for nothing,” the site claimed.
Cool Cheery Cream also reported on the event. The Monkees producer, Bert Schneider, introduced Davis to the cast and told the cameras to keep rolling during their meeting.
