On some lighter news I wanted to mention I saw a little while ago. A movie will be made soon on the life of the multi-talented entertainer Mr. Sammy Davis Jr. The film will be a portrayal of his news making relationship with Ms. Kim Novak. The key starring role will be going to one member of the music group Outkast, Andre 3000.
Andre 3000 has been getting a lot of attention and work in film and television lately. He has a children’s television show on the Cartoon Network, was in the re-make of Charlotte’s Web, had a supporting role in 4 Brothers, and starred in the movie Idlewild. The question of course is he capable of pulling off the role.
While there is no question that Andre 3000 can sing, his acting is questionable. He isn’t a stellar actor, though I place him head and shoulders above virtually all those rapper-think-I’m-an-actor actors out these days. So at worst he will be able to convincingly do the singing portion. In terms of look they are similar so that will help as well. The main problem I think is that Mr. Sammy Davis Jr. was not a tall man. Andre 3000 is taller and so that might throw things off a bit. Unless I am mistaken on their heights.
For those too young to remember Mr. Sammy George Davis Jr., you really missed a great performer. This World War II veteran, could sing, dance, play instruments, do stand up comedy and impressions. He came from a family (dad was like me, Black and Puerto Rican, his mother was either Cuban or Puerto Rican) that did vaudeville and thus like many of that time could do it all. Today’s entertainers may be good, but few of them can do more than one thing, Mr. Davis did it all.
Not only did Mr. Sammy Davis Jr. rise to be a renowned entertainer, he broke racial barriers while doing it. During most of his life segregation was not a word, but a fact of life. It’s been reported how he often performed in Las Vegas, filling the house, but was not allowed to stay in the hotels he worked at. [That changed when Mr. Frank Sinatra took his side.] Interracial dating may be a common practice for those under 30 these days, but in the 60’s it was a reason why he was removed from the inaugural party for President Kennedy. Yet he surmounted this, and a car accident that nearly killed him and cost him an eye.
That’s an entertainer. I only hit a few of his accomplishments, and struggles. So when I saw I wonder if Andre 3000 can pull it off, you have an idea why.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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