The long-requested Lee Daniels Biographical Series for Sammy Davis Jr. In Hulu, where Elijah Kelley is set to play the lead role.
The untitled series received an eight-episode order in the broadcast. Based on the book Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., the series is described as an exploration of Davis’ life through the lens of his racial identity and complex relationship with the black community.
Davis rose from childhood stardom on the vaudeville scene to become one of the most popular African American performers of the 1950s and 1960s and the only black member of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack. At the same time, he has spent most of his career surrounded by controversy and ridicule – due to his affairs with white movie stars, his 1960 marriage to Swedish actress May Britt, his conversion to Judaism, his closeness to the Kennedy family and later Richard Nixon, and his problems with alcohol and drugs.
Daniels has been developing the project for years, going back to reports in 2013 that he was developing it as a movie for HBO. New reports emerged in 2019 that he was developing it as a miniseries.
Daniels serves as co-writer and executive producer on the series, and will also direct the first two episodes. Thomas Westfull is the other co-writer and co-executive producer. Kelly will produce and collaborate on some of the original music on the show in addition to starring. Mark Toperov will carry out production with Haygood Productions. 20th Television, where Daniels is under a blanket deal, is the studio.
Working with Daniels is no stranger to Kelly, having previously appeared in “The Butler” as well as the Fox musical “Star.” Kelly is also an accomplished dancer and singer in addition to acting, and has starred in music projects such as New Line’s “Hairspray” in 2007 as well as NBC’s “The Wiz Live” in 2015 and “The New Edition Story,” the mini-series that He broke BET records in 2017.
It is represented by Generational Entertainment and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.
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