Sammy Davis Jr. Driving Car - P 2011
Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesByron Allen’s Entertainment Studios has acquired the global rights to Matt Birkbeck’s Sammy Davis Jr. biography Deconstructing Sammy.
The studio has the ambitious plans to adapt the book into a narrative feature film and documentary as well as a scripted TV series that will follow the legendary entertainer throughout the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.
“I personally knew and worked with Sammy Davis Jr.,” said Allen, founder and CEO of Entertainment Studios. “Sammy hired me to open for him at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas when I was a 19-year-old standup comedian, and that’s where my fascination with his incredible story began.”
Entertainment Studios recently acquired motion picture finance and distribution company Freestyle Releasing, which will handle the global distribution of Deconstructing Sammy.
Davis is a legendary entertainer and a part of the infamous Rat Pack, which included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. His work was nominated for a Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe, and his filmography includes the original Ocean’s 11 movie and Gone With the West. Davis was also a large financial backer of the Civil Rights movement.
Though he has appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, there has not yet been a narrative that has focused solely on Davis’ life.
