In November 1954, Davis suffered a horrific injury that would require immense strength to overcome, revealing the resilience that helped to take the entertainer to the greatest heights of stardom. As recollected in the first volume of his autobiography, everything was going well for Davis Jr. and the Will Mastin Trio. The troupe had been booked for a $7,500-per-week residency at a reputable L.A. casino, and Davis's co-performers had just treated him to a brand-new Cadillac. He was totally content. But on the way to a recording session, he and his assistant, Charley, crashed the car into another driver attempting a badly-timed U-turn. Davis's face hit the steering wheel, which held a protruding button for the car horn. It hit Davis in his left eye, permanently destroying it. In the following weeks, while Davis recovered, he was pictured wearing an eye-patch, but was later fitted with a glass eye.
One of Davis's partners in the Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra (above, center), was nearby to support the singer in his recovery, according to Vanity Fair. The two remained close friends until Davis's early death in 1990, following a battle with throat cancer, at the age of 64. People reported tributes to Davis from a number of public figures, including these words from Sinatra himself: "It was a generous God who gave him to us, and a heaven with his magic gives me warmth."