He is best known as the subject of three American documentary films that detail his desire to follow in the footsteps of his famous father, D. Ray White, while dealing with depression, drug addiction, alcoholism, and the poverty that affects some parts of rural Appalachia.

White's adoptive father was profiled in the Smithsonian Folkways documentary Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance: Buck, Flatfoot and Tap (1987) as one of the greatest mountain dancers in the United States.

Steve Allen Rowe used his 12-gauge shotgun to shoot D. Ray once in the chest, Jesco received one neck wound, and Dorsey a single gunshot to the eye.

The first of these documentaries was Dancing Outlaw (1991),[14] directed by Jacob Young, which featured him at home in West Virginia and gave audiences a glimpse into his troubled life.

[16] Dancing Outlaw II (1999)[18] (also directed by Jacob Young) chronicles White's trip to Los Angeles to appear in the episode "I Pray the Lord My Stove to Keep" of the sitcom Roseanne as the Elvis impersonating "Dan's Clog-Dancing Cousin".

It primarily consists of first person interviews detailing the poverty, crime, addiction and the ramifications of the coal-mining industry on Appalachian society.

The easter egg is found in the Alamo Sea region of San Andreas, dancing to an Ozark Mountain Daredevils song being played on a small boombox behind him.