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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesSammy Davis Jr. was associated with Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, accepted honorary membership according to a reported account, and was remembered by a Church of Satan interviewee as LaVey’s friend. That record supports a connection and reported participation—not the stronger claim that Davis literally worshipped the Devil.
How Davis became connected to the Church of Satan
According to Alex Bhattacharji’s Rolling Stone Australia feature, the connection grew out of Poor Devil, an NBC comedy pilot starring Davis. The feature places its production in fall 1972 and its broadcast in February 1973. Diane Hegarty, then associated with the Church of Satan, reportedly watched the pilot and noticed its reference to the Church. The feature says Church associates saw publicity potential and proposed honorary membership to Davis.
Bhattacharji’s account reproduces a letter attributed to Davis accepting the offer: “I would be most happy to accept your honorary membership, and I am pleased to learn that no one was offended by our recent film ‘Poor Devil.’” The letter is reproduced in the feature; it was not separately examined for this account.
What the reported 1973 ceremony involved
The Rolling Stone Australia feature dates a ceremony for Davis to Friday, April 13, 1973, at the Circle Star Theater. It reports that he received a Baphomet medallion and the title “warlock, second class.” It also gives an audience figure of 3,700. These are details reported by the feature, not independently verified here against a membership register or event records.
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The same feature says Davis’s 1989 autobiography, Why Me?, recounts his attendance at a Church of Satan ceremony in 1968. That is Davis’s retrospective account, rather than independent confirmation of the event. The feature also discusses a passage about Satanism that appeared in a 1980 memoir excerpt but was omitted from the published book. Taken together, these details show why the subject is often described as a “secret” past, but they do not settle what Davis privately believed.
Was Davis a Satanist, or did he worship the Devil?
The most defensible answer is that Davis accepted honorary Church of Satan membership according to the reported 1973 account, took part in a ceremony as that feature describes it, and had a lasting association with LaVey. Those facts do not establish that Davis literally believed in or worshipped the Devil. The sources reviewed do not provide enough direct evidence to determine his private theology.
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It also matters that an affiliation with the Church of Satan should not automatically be translated into literal Devil worship. Kenneth Anger, quoted by Bhattacharji, characterized LaVey’s approach this way: “Anton was a showman, and his concept of Satanism was show business.” That is Anger’s interpretation, not a conclusive account of Davis’s beliefs. The Satanic Bible can offer context about LaVey’s movement, but it is not evidence of what Davis personally believed.
What is known about Davis and LaVey’s friendship
Bhattacharji describes a relationship lasting about two decades and recounts correspondence, visits, and shared interests. The Church of Satan’s interview page also remembers Davis as a friend. Its interviewee says: “Sammy Davis, Jr. was a dear friend who often put himself on the line when it was professionally hazardous to do so.” This is an institutional recollection from a Church interviewee, not an independent historian’s assessment.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Other recollections are less warm. In a PBS American Masters Digital Archive interview transcript, comedian David Steinberg remembers Davis attending meetings and expresses a critical view of LaVey. These accounts reflect different witnesses’ perspectives; they should not be collapsed into a single consensus about either the friendship or LaVey.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the archival record can—and cannot—confirm
The Library of Congress Music Division finding aid for the Burt Boyar Collection of Sammy Davis, Jr. Biographical Materials catalogs a 1986 Davis interview under topics that include “Satanism and Anton Lavey (the High Priest of the Church of Satan).” This confirms that a relevant recording is cataloged. The finding aid does not disclose what Davis said on the recording, so it cannot be treated as a transcript or proof of a particular belief.
The evidence therefore has distinct layers: a reported acceptance of honorary membership and ceremony; Davis’s own retrospective account of an earlier ceremony; memories from people associated with the Church and from Steinberg; and an archival catalog entry pointing to a recorded interview. Each can illuminate the story, but none should be made to prove more than it actually records.
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Sources and further context
- Alex Bhattacharji, Rolling Stone Australia, “Inside Sammy Davis Jr.’s Secret Satanic Past,” a reported feature published approximately 2024.
- Church of Satan, “The Doctor is in…,” an institutional interview page whose publication date is not established here.
- PBS American Masters Digital Archive, David Steinberg interview transcript.
- Library of Congress Music Division, Burt Boyar Collection of Sammy Davis, Jr. Biographical Materials, finding aid.
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