May Britt was an internationally acclaimed Swedish actress known for her mysterious and alluring portrayals. She is perhaps better known for her marriage to entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Erka died unexpectedly on December 11, 2021, at the age of 91. She died of natural causes at the Cedars Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles. Her memory endures, commemorating not only her revolutionary presence in cinema but her shining individual grace and grit.
Born Maj-Britt Wilkens in Sweden in 1934, May Britt’s start in acting was one of chance. While working as a photographer’s assistant in Stockholm, she caught the attention of Italian filmmakers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati. Thanks to this serendipitous meeting, she got her big break. She won the leading role in the 1953 Italian adventure movie Jolanda, Daughter of the Black Corsair, providing the official starting gun for her career in motion pictures.
In the same year, she graced the cover of Life magazine with the headline “May Britt: Star With a New Style.” This exposure accelerated her career trajectory, eventually leading her to emigrate to the United States in the late 1950s. Once in Hollywood, she became the lead of the Martin Ritt-directed war film The Young Lions, opposite the legendary Marlon Brando. She starred alongside Robert Mitchum in The Hunters.
For May Britt’s burgeoning career, 1959 would be her career’s high point. She got her big break with the role of Lola-Lola, a sultry young cabaret showgirl in The Blue Angel. This role really showed us what a brilliant actress she was. More importantly, it further cemented her as a top dog in the Hollywood hierarchy.
On the home front, May Britt was married to Edward Gregson in 1958. Sadly, their marriage was not to last. They were separated by late 1959. Soon after, she fell in love with and married Sammy Davis Jr. in Las Vegas in November 1960. By conversion, May Britt showed that she was ready to make any sacrifice for her love of Sammy Davis, Jr. Together, they raised a daughter, Tracey Davis, born in 1961, and two adopted sons, Mark and Jeff.
May Britt idolized Davis and frequently stated her love for Davis, despite their struggles as an interracial couple. They withstood death threats and national attention all while navigating themselves in one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. She wrote, “I was able to love Sammy and I was able to marry the man that I loved.”
May Britt took a break from acting to raise her family after seven years of marriage. Following her separation from Davis, she made a return to the screen with smaller roles in television series such as The Danny Thomas Hour, Mission: Impossible, The Most Deadly Game, and The Partners.
As May Britt continued to make a life for herself in the years following Davis’ execution, she encountered difficulties on a personal level. In the wake of such hardships, her daughter Tracey looks back on these trying times, remembering the fiery burdens they faced as a household. Tracey remembered a difficult, trying period marked by fear and uncertainty. She received death threats, found fliers with racially charged vitriol on her car, suffered bomb threats, and depended on armed guards for her safety.
May Britt’s contributions to cinema and her ability to overcome adversity left an indelible mark on those who knew her and admired her work. Her legacy lives on with her children and with the movies that preserved her amazing talent.