Will Mastin

Will Mastin (June 20, 1878 – March 14, 1979), also credited as Will Maston, was a dancer and singer.

Career on the dance floor

Will Mastin Trio - (L-R) Sammy Davis Sr., Sammy Davis Jr., and Will Mastin

Mastin was the leader of the Will Mastin Trio, which included Sammy Davis Sr. and his son Sammy Davis Jr. Will Mastin was also the "uncle" of Sammy Davis Jr.. Sammy's father Sammy Davis Sr. and Will were good friends.

The Will Mastin Trio started out as just Will Mastin and Sammy Davis Sr., but then Sammy Davis Jr. joined at the age of three, and the group was named the Will Mastin Trio. Sammy performed "unbilled" in 1929 at the Veterans Memorial in Columbus, Ohio. The three appeared in the 1947 musical short film Sweet and Low and the 1956 Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful.[1]

Personal life

Mastin was born in Madison, Alabama on June 20, 1878 to a single mother named Sally Mastin, according to the 1880 Federal Census of Enumeration and the California Death Index.

Death

Will Mastin died on March 14, 1979, at age 100, according to the California Death Index. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, near Sammy Davis Sr. and Sammy Davis Jr.[2] The epitaph on his tomb says only: He Was A Vaudevillian, it does not provide birth and death dates.[2] He is survived by Will “Batt” Mastin of Fort Worth, a local living legend of stage and screen.

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. Wonderful". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Will Mastin (1878 - 1979) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
RESOURCES
  • 2003, In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-8395-4;
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