Celebrities believe in all sorts of crazy things, like The Secret or Xenu or yoga. But there's an invisible line they won't cross, because if they do, they know that public opinion would turn against them so thoroughly that it would utterly ruin their career. That line is the occult. You might spot Tom Cruise raving about energy spirits outside of Spago, but you'll never catch some beloved performer straight up worshiping the devil. Wait, what's that you say, paragraph immediately below this one?

5 Sammy Davis Jr. Worshiped the Devil

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The 1960s were a simpler time. Soda pop cost a nickel, young ladies wore poodle skirts, and the whole country was in love with a crooning, one-eyed, black Satanist.

Alan Light

Better than a flying purple people eater.

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That's right: For many years, Sammy Davis Jr. was a member of the Church of Satan. As you might expect, Davis had to keep this whole matter fairly private or else the truth could ruin him. Alternatively, he could opt to straight up not give a shit and star in the world's first sitcom set in hell. Davis chose the latter path and took the lead role in a pilot called Poor Devil, also starring Adam "Batman" West and Christopher motherfuckin' Saruman Lee as Lucifer! That the show isn't still on today is undeniable proof that the Nielsen ratings system is rigged. Alas, Poor Devil was simply too perfect to live. But Sammy's ballsy choice in roles did pique the interest of Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, who made the entertainer into a full-fledged card-carrying warlock.

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To further taunt the fickle God of public opinion, Sammy Davis Jr. also released an album called Satan Swings, Baby! It featured ditties like "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Devil in Disguise," as well as a duet with LaVey himself, who hopefully sang in a beautiful, unwavering falsetto, because how awesome would that be?



Anyone who can hit the high note in "Lovin' You" can't be all bad.

Eventually the Candy Man lost interest in Satanism, like so many teenage goths. In his memoir Why Me? Davis vaguely alludes to some kind of break off from the church. There are no specifics, but we blame the devil's girlfriend for the breakup. She showed up to practice one day with a xylophone and totally Yoko'd the band.