For a man who burst through "Pippin's" wall of light belting "Magic to Do," Ben Vereen is surprisingly soft-spoken and meditative over the telephone. So it's no surprise when he admits, "When I hit the stage, it's all transformed and I'm free."

Ben Vereen will close out the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops season with a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. Pittsburgh Symphony Pops What: Ben Vereen Sings Sammy Davis Jr. Where: Heinz Hall, Downtown. When: Tonight at 7:30; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $19.50-$72; call 412-392-4900, go online at www.pittsburghsymphony.org or visit the Box Office at Theater Square.

Next it's the Heinz Hall stage that he'll be hitting full force, with Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops, beginning tonight for a high-powered conclusion to the Pops season.

Vereen first came to attention in 1972 with a Tony Award nomination as Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar," and he won the award the next year as the Leading Player in "Pippin."

But Vereen had more parts to perform and hearts to warm in other mediums. The movies called on him for song-and-dance roles in "Funny Lady" and "All That Jazz."

Television looked beyond. Vereen scored as "Chicken" George Moore in "Roots," followed by a starring role in "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe" and guest appearances on "Zoobilee Zoo," "The Nanny," "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Oz," capped by the Emmy Award-winning network special "Ben Vereen: His Roots."

It was Broadway that would be his lifeline, though. Vereen's 16-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident in 1989, throwing this triple-threat artist into a tailspin. Then, in 1992, he was struck while walking on the Pacific Coast Highway in a near-fatal accident, in which he suffered head and internal trauma, plus a broken leg that required lengthy rehabilitation. Vereen credits the late Gregory Hines with pulling him back onto the stage in "Jelly's Last Jam" only a year after the accident.

Between numerous guest appearances all over the world, he would periodically pop back onto Broadway as a replacement in shows such as "Fosse" and, most recently, as the Wizard in "Wicked."

Ben Vereen will close out the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops season with a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. Pittsburgh Symphony Pops What: Ben Vereen Sings Sammy Davis Jr. Where: Heinz Hall, Downtown. When: Tonight at 7:30; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $19.50-$72; call 412-392-4900, go online at www.pittsburghsymphony.org or visit the Box Office at Theater Square.

When Vereen finished his last stint in "Wicked" last January, he turned to items of a more personal nature. "It's like 'Chicken' George finds his roots," Vereen explains. With the help of a genealogist, this adopted son learned that his real mother was Essie May Pearson, who had died.

Vereen had a whole new family to meet in Laurinburg, N.C., which he did in May. "The conclusion was so inspiring ... it fills me," he says. "Now I understand why I do some of the things I do. It made me comfortable with myself."

That's hard to believe with the comfort level he maintains on stage. At Heinz Hall, Vereen will bring a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr., with trademark songs like "Black Magic" and "Bojangles."

The latter is a poignant routine that Vereen has embraced for years, one that he performed in Pittsburgh at the Holiday House. Now it's a double tribute to a pair of masterful entertainers.

"Sammy was the crowning example of fortitude and determination," says Vereen of his mentor, whom he understudied in "Golden Boy" on Broadway in 1964, his first professional job. "And I got to watch him every night."

Davis' generosity wouldn't stop. Vereen subsequently found himself broke in Los Angeles and showed up as an extra on "Mod Squad," where Davis was appearing. Davis hired Vereen for his next film, flew him to the set and paid him out of his own pocket.

"He showed me that it's more blessed to give than to receive," Vereen says of the motto that he still uses. "And it's coming [to] Heinz Hall ... the joy, the romance, the singable songs."

And the glory of performing that they both share.