at 15:31 on March 15, 2009, EDT.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES - Altovise Joanne Gore Davis, a dancer and actress and the widow of Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 65.

Amy Malone, a publicist for her family, said Davis died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after suffering a stroke.

Davis worked her way to the Broadway stage where she met the legendary entertainer when they performed together in the musical "Golden Boy" in 1967.

She became his third wife when they wed in 1970. They adopted a son and remained together until Davis died of throat cancer in 1990 at the age of 64.

After his death she was left to sort through his multi-million IRS tax debt and oversee his troubled estate. Last year, she sued two former business partners in federal court, claiming they tricked her into signing away the rights to the estate. The suit is pending.

A private memorial service was being planned.


©The Canadian Press, 2009