At his peak, Sammy Davis Jr. was the world’s most famous Jewish entertainer. Davis was many other things – a child prodigy as a singer and dancer, a member of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, a civil rights activist, and the man who kissed Richard Nixon on stage. Davis also married a white woman when that was a crime in many American states, and paid a huge price. Doc veteran Sam Pollard takes us through Davis’s life and career. I’ve Gotta Be Me is a probing bio-pic. It’s also an essential chapter in the history of race in America, onstage and backstage.
Filmography: The Talk: Race in America (2017), Two Trains Runnin' (2016), Slavery by Another Name (2012).