Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis
Davis at the 1963 March on Washington
Born
Raiford Chatman Davis

(1917-12-18)December 18, 1917
Cogdell, Georgia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 4, 2005(2005-02-04) (aged 87)
Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
EducationColumbia University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • poet
  • playwright
  • author
  • activist
Years active1939–2005
Spouse
​
(m. 1948)​
Children3, including Guy Davis

Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist.[1][2][3] He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death.[4] He received numerous accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy and a Writers Guild of America Award as well as nominations for four additional Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and Tony Award. Davis was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the National Medal of Arts in 1995, Kennedy Center Honors in 2004 [5]

Davis started his career in theatre acting with the Ross McClendon Players in the 1940s. He made his Broadway debut acting in the post-World War II play Jeb (1946). He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical nomination for his role in Jamaica (1958). He wrote and starred as the title character in the satirical farce Purlie Victorious (1961) which was adapted into a 1963 film and 1970 musical.

Davis's credits as a film director include Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), Black Girl (1972), and Gordon's War (1973). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Scalphunters (1968). Davis also acted in The Hill (1965), A Man Called Adam (1966), Lets Do It Again (1975), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Grumpy Old Men (1993), The Client (1994), and Dr. Dolittle (1998).

For his portrayal of Martin Luther King Sr. in the NBC miniseries King (1978) he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was also Emmy-nominated for his roles in Teacher, Teacher (1969), Miss Evers' Boys (1997), and The L Word (2005). He won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album with his wife Ruby Dee for Ossie and Ruby (2005).

  1. ^ Ossie Davis – Awards IMDb. 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012
  2. ^ Ossie Davis Television Credits Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Official Website of Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee. 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012
  3. ^ Books Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Official Website oOssie Davis & Ruby Dee. 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012
  4. ^ Dagan, Carmel Oscar-Nominated Actress Ruby Dee Dies at 91. Variety. June 12, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2016
  5. ^ Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts Archived 2013-08-26 at the Wayback Machine