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

"I've Gotta Be Me" is an installment of "American Masters"...a consistently good PBS series about a wide variety of folks in the arts. However, I saw this one in a very usual place...at the Philadelphia Film Festival!

The show is about the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. and because it's on "American Experience" they try to generate a bit of controversy at the outset of the program. In this case, Davis supported Richard Nixon...which actually made sense when you later learn how abysmally JFK treated Davis...uninviting him to the inaugural party even though Davis was a huge supporter of the President. That aside, the rest of the show chronicles his life from about age 5...with a strong emphasis on his career achievements as opposed to his personal life. This is the style of "American Experience" episodes...and if you want a more personal look at the man you might have to look elsewhere. Overall, well worth seeing and a show that will give you an appreciation of the man's many talents.