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Sammy Davis, Jr. - I've Gotta Be Me

About the Show

The first major documentary to examine Davis' vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th century America. Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that can justifiably be described as legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, attaching his identity to another persecuted minority. Featuring interviews with Billy Crystal, Jerry Lewis and Whoopi Goldberg and never-before-seen photographs and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert.