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

You must check out the new biographical film about The Rat Pack's Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me.

PBS is airing a documentary film I've Gotta Be Me, the first major film documentary to examine Sammy Davis, Jr.'s vast career and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America.

I've Gotta Be Me, a sensational American Masters biography reveals the musical achievements and private paradox of a remarkable and pioneering Renaissance man, Davis, who redefined show-business cool.

The film, teeming with performance and interview clips, acknowledges Sammy's range with subheadings of Prodigy, Impressionist, Singer, Survivor, Rebel, Leading Man, Activist, Patriot, and Anachronistic Hipster.

May Britt and husband Sammy Davis Jr.

As an undereducated Jewish African-American who married a white woman in the 1960s, he never felt entirely accepted by any community and faced great disappointment in his life like that time he was disinvited to JFK's inaugural gala.  Davis later surprised his fans by accepting the embrace of the Nixon administration.

Sammy Davis, Jr., also loved All in the Family so much that he and asked series creator Norman Lear if he could be a guest star.

His appearance in an episode in 1972 was one of the most infamous kisses in television history.

Featuring exclusive interviews with Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and rare footage from his performances in television, film and concert, American Masters explores the life and art of a uniquely-gifted entertainer whose trajectory paralleled the major flashpoints of American society, from the Depression through the 1980s.

The PBS broadcast also features 20 minutes of exclusive bonus performance footage spanning Davis’ 50-year-career after the documentary.

Sammy Davis, Jr.:  I've Gotta Be Me airs Tuesday, Feb 19 on PBS. You are gonna ❤️the candy man after watching it.  Sammy was super cool.