Denzel Washington is to direct the life story of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., based on Wil Haygood's book
In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr, according to Variety.
Washington is not planning to act in the film. The script based on his sprawling book that traces Davis' career back to age 4, when he began singing and dancing with his father on the vaudeville circuit.
While Davis helped shatter race barriers in Las Vegas, he aroused the ire of racists by dating white actresses including Kim Novak, hindering his film career. He was also a Rat Pack member who rubbed elbows with everyone from Frank Sinatra to President Kennedy to Martin Luther King Jr.
"I became very interested in the life of Sammy as it was introduced to me by Denzel," producer David Grazer said. "There are so many dimensions to him that make his story interesting."