Released in 1965, Sammy Davis Jr.’s autobiography became an instant classic, one of the most dynamic celebrity memoirs ever published and a testament to Davis’s barrier-breaking success as a black man in America. But the story behind the book, which was conceived and developed by two white ghostwriters — and the racial and sexual dynamics of Davis’s life during the years leading up to its release, which included two marriages and one relationship with a white movie star which almost got him killed — are even more fascinating.

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