Meron and Zadan to Produce Sammy Davis Jr. Biopic

The New York Times reports that a film biopic of actor, singer and Rat Pack legend Sammy Davis Jr. is in the works.  It will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the team behind the Oscar-winning film version of Chicago and the upcoming Hairspray movie musical.

The article reports that the star's widow Altovise Davis "is championing a biopic of her own based on (Davis' memoir) Yes, I Can. Published in 1965, the book was a huge best seller. After several false starts over the years the producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and New Line Cinema are finalizing negotiations with the Davis estate. (The producers will also use Davis's 1989 follow-up, Why Me? to flesh out his life.)"

Davis, throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s, was known for both stepping over racial barriers and for personifying hipster cool alongside such Rat Pack pals as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.  His eventful life, which included losing his left eye in a 1954 car crash (it was replaced by a glass one), a conversion to Judaism, and a then-controversial marriage to Swedish actress May Britt, is also the inspiration for a number of other upcoming projects: a feature documentary based on Yes, I Can, a second biopic, and another film based on Davis' affair with beautiful blonde actress Kim Novak, directed by André 3000. (The article also points out that these projects are part of a "horse race" that may lead to movie studios' apprehension to back more than one Davis movie).

Davis, who was born into a vaudeville family, made his Broadway debut in the Bock and Harnick musical Mr. Wonderful and received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Strouse and Adams musical Golden Boy, based on the play by Clifford Odets.  He also appeared on Broadway in Sammy and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off (retitled Sammy Stops the World and preserved for film).  He made dozens of film and TV appearances, including "Alice in Wonderland," The Cannonball Run, Diamonds are Forever, "The Mod Squad," Sweet Charity (in which he played Big Daddy), "The Sammy Davis Jr. Show," Johnny Cool, Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), in which he played The Ballad Singer, and Porgy and Bess, in which he appeared as Sportin' Life.  With fellow Rat Pack members Sinatra, Martin and Joey Bishop, he was seen on screen in Ocean's Eleven as well as Robin and the Seven Hoods (with Sinatra, Martin and Bing Crosby).  The Rat Pack, of course, also thrilled Las Vegas audiences for years.  The star died in 1990.

Meron and Zadan's current project is the upcoming film version of the Broadway smash Hairspray, which stars John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Queen Latifah, among others, and has been picking up considerable positive buzz.  They are also the producers behind the Oscar-winning Chicago.  Other musicals that they have brought to TV audiences include "Cinderella," "Annie," "Gypsy" and "The Music Man," as well as the award-winning "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows."  Upcoming projects include a TV movie version of A Raisin in the Sun, starring members of the Broadway revival cast.

Visit www.hairspraymovie.com for more on the upcoming film version of Hairspray.

Second photo - Craig Zadan and Neil Meron