SHORT TAKES : Chicago to Honor Sammy Davis

Sammy Davis Jr. will be honored with a street named after him in this city where he performed on the club and theater circuit for more than 40 years.

City officials plan to rename 31st Street after Davis in ceremonies on Thursday. For years, the South Side street was home to large numbers of jazz and blues artists.

“Legendary artists of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s were showcased in clubs and theaters and even private homes that lined 31st Street, which was once the hub of jazz and blues,” Mayor Richard M. Daley said. “Thus it’s only fitting that this street is chosen to honor one of the greatest performers in show business, the late Sammy Davis Jr.”

Davis, who recently died of cancer, first performed in Chicago in the early 1940s as part of the Will Mastin Trio that included his uncle and father.