After military service , Davis Jr. returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro 's ( in West Hollywood ) after the 1951 Academy Awards . With the trio , he became a recording artist . In 1954 , at the age of 29 , he lost his left eye in a car accident . Several years later , he converted to Judaism , finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities
1951 Academy Awards
24th Academy Awards
Sammy Davis Jr.