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Daily Inspiration Quote by Sammy Davis, Jr.

"You can be in this business 50 years and still not know anything about it"

About this Quote

A showbiz lifer admitting he still "doesn't know anything" is less false modesty than a hard-earned warning: entertainment is a rigged casino where the house rules change mid-hand. Sammy Davis, Jr. had the resume that should have made the business legible - child star, Rat Pack royalty, TV and Vegas mainstay, a performer who could sing, dance, act, and sell a room. If even he claims ignorance after 50 years, the line reframes experience not as mastery but as exposure to chaos.

The intent is twofold. On the surface, it's a shrugging, streetwise joke - the kind of self-deprecating quip a polished entertainer uses to keep the audience on his side. Underneath, it's a critique of an industry that runs on taste, timing, power, and prejudice more than on skill. Davis spent his career navigating contracts, gatekeepers, and the quiet violence of respectability politics as a Black Jewish performer in mid-century America. The "business" isn't just booking gigs; it's learning which doors open, which ones slam, and how often talent is the least decisive variable.

What makes the line work is its compression. "This business" sounds intimate, like a clubhouse; "still not know anything" punctures that illusion. It suggests that longevity doesn't buy clarity, only new versions of uncertainty: shifting audiences, fickle executives, trends that turn yesterday's brilliance into tomorrow's punchline. It's a veteran's way of telling you the truth without killing the romance: if you want certainty, don't come here.

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APA Style (7th ed.)
Jr., Sammy Davis,. (2026, January 18). You can be in this business 50 years and still not know anything about it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-can-be-in-this-business-50-years-and-still-12497/

Chicago Style
Jr., Sammy Davis,. "You can be in this business 50 years and still not know anything about it." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-can-be-in-this-business-50-years-and-still-12497/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You can be in this business 50 years and still not know anything about it." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-can-be-in-this-business-50-years-and-still-12497/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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You Can Be in This Business 50 Years and Still Not Know Anything
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About the Author

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Sammy Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 - May 16, 1990) was a Entertainer from USA.

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