WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — You may recognize him from "The Goonies," "License to Kill" and "Die Hard," but you may not know Robert Davi is a jazz vocalist and will be coming to the Boca Black Box Center this Sunday for his show, "My Kind of Town: The Great American Songbook."
This show is a tribute to the songbook, which he believes is the Shakespeare and golden age of American music, and Frank Sinatra, with whom he did his first film.
Each show is unique and shaped for the audience as he gets to know them.
"I've got over 300 songs that I choose from that are all incredible gems, and I kind of tailor it to the audience that night," Davi said. "I have a basic sketch, but I feel the audience out, the intimacy of the audience, feeling what the age of the audience might be. I may throw a Beatles song in. I may throw a country song in, Johnny Cash. Who knows where I am going to go with it? I do a wide variety of different music or songs."
This is Davi's first show in Florida and he will be performing a few songs from his first album, "Davi Sings Sinatra: On The Road To Romance," which made its way to Billboard magazine's top 10 (No. 6) Traditional Jazz chart. Davi will also be performing songs from his new album, "I'm Not Anyone," which will be released in 2024.
Davi, 72, wants to form a connection with his audience as he performs.
"I love the communication with the audience. I love connecting with the audience," he said. "There is a huge exchange, and I try to make each song like a little play, as opposed to just singing something. I'm trying to leave an experience, whether it's one of relation or heartbreak or some kind of social commentary."
Davi is no stranger to performing. He has been in countless films and has traveled the world with his singing and acting career. He is also a screenwriter, director and producer, which allows his creativity to shine through.
In "The Goonies," Davi had a vision and was able to mold his character, Jake Fratelli, into someone who became an unforgettable part of the film. Director Richard Donner and executive producer Steven Spielberg granted Davi artistic freedom which led to the character we see on screen.
During the scene in which Davi's Jake is going to feed Sloth while he is chained in the basement, Davi proposed the idea of Jake singing.
"I said to Spielberg and Donner, 'What if Jake wants to sing opera, and what if the only one that will listen to him is Sloth, chained? I've got my captive audience. He'll listen to me sing as Jake Fratelli,'" Davi said.
They let Davi improvise, so he began to sing, and they loved it so much that it became a part of his character and was written into the script.
Later in the movie, when Chunk has escaped and approaches a car asking for help, only to discover that it's Jake driving, it was Davi's idea to sing an opera lyric.
"Spielberg said start singing something, and that was on the spur of the moment," Davi said. "It defined that character for generations."
Guests of the show can expect to hear some stories from the various films in which Davi has acted. To purchase tickets to Sunday's show, click here.