Elijah Kelley will take on his meatiest role to date as the late, great Sammy Davis Jr.
The actor, who previously starred in music-focused prime-time projects such as “The Wiz Live!,” “The New Edition Story” and the “Empire” spinoff “Star,” has been tapped to portray the trailblazing entertainer in a forthcoming biographical series.
Hulu announced Thursday that the eight-part series, executive produced by “Precious” director Lee Daniels, will explore Davis’ life “through the lens of his racial identity and his complex relationship with the Black Community.”
A song and dance man of considerable talent, Davis is largely recognized as America’s first Black superstar with a career spanning 50 years in theater, film, television, music and concert performance.
As a member of the Rat Pack, the Harlem native – who died in 1990 at age 64 – helped break racial barriers in the segregated entertainment business of the 1950s and 1960s. Davis was a controversial figure for dating white film stars and keeping close ties to the Kennedy clan and Richard Nixon.
The chart-topping “Candy Man” singer famously converted to Judaism and died in insurmountable debt after battling addiction and illness.
The series is based on Wil Haygood’s award-winning 2006 biography “In Black and White: the Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.”
Kelley, 35, will reunite with Daniels, who is set to direct the first two episodes of the series.
“This is a deep dive into the origin story of blackness in Hollywood and how things still remain the same,” the “Empire” creator wrote on Instagram Thursday. “All people talk about is how much Hollywood has evolved. Maybe it has. But for the most part, it’s a facade. S— ain’t changed. Thank you @hulu for letting me tell my story, Sammy’s story and the story of so many other black artists.”
The “Hairspray” star first worked with the “Precious” director in the star-studded 2013 historical drama, “The Butler,” which was also inspired by Haygood’s Washington Post article about real-life White House butler Eugene Allen.
Kelley also has a recurring role as in the Daniels-produced Fox series “Star.”
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” filmmaker currently produces the network prime-time series “The Wonder Years,” “Our Kind of People” and the BET series “The Ms. Pat Show.”
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