Ossie Davis (bornRaiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor,director, writer, and activist.^[1][2][3] He was married toRuby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death.^[4] He received numerous accolades including anEmmy, aGrammy and aWriters Guild of America Award as well as nominations for four additionalEmmy Awards, aGolden Globe Award, andTony Award. Davis was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame in 1994 and received theNational Medal of Arts in 1995,Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.^[5]

Ossie Davis
Davis at the 1963March on Washington
Born	Raiford Chatman Davis (1917-12-18)December 18, 1917 Cogdell, Georgia, U.S.
Died	February 4, 2005(2005-02-04) (aged 87) Miami Beach,Florida, U.S.
Education	Columbia University
Occupations	Actor director poet playwright author activist
Years active	1939–2005
Spouse	Ruby Dee ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	3, includingGuy Davis

Davis started his career in theatre acting with theRoss McClendon Players in the 1940s. He made hisBroadway debut acting in the post-World War II playJeb (1946). He earned aTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical nomination for his role inJamaica (1958). He wrote and starred as the title character in the satirical farcePurlie Victorious (1961) which was adapted into a1963 film and1970 musical.

Davis's credits as a film director includeCotton Comes to Harlem (1970),Black Girl (1972), andGordon's War (1973). He was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor forThe Scalphunters (1968). Davis also acted inThe 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), andDr. Dolittle (1998).

For his portrayal ofMartin Luther King Sr. in theNBC miniseriesKing (1978) he was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was also Emmy-nominated for his roles inTeacher, Teacher (1969),Miss Evers' Boys (1997), andThe L Word (2005). He won theGrammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album with his wifeRuby Dee forOssie and Ruby (2005).

Raiford Chatman Davis was born inCogdell, Georgia, the son of Kince Charles Davis, a railway construction engineer, and his wife Laura (née Cooper; July 9, 1898 – June 6, 2004).^[6][7] He inadvertently became known as "Ossie" when his birth certificate was being filed and his mother's pronunciation of his name as "R. C. Davis" was misheard by theClinch County courthouse clerk.^[8] Davis experiencedracism from an early age when theKKK threatened to shoot his father, whose job they felt was too advanced for a black man to have. His siblings included scientistWilliam Conan Davis, social workerEssie Davis Morgan, pharmacist Kenneth Curtis Davis, and biology teacher James Davis.^[9]

Following the wishes of his parents, he attendedHoward University but dropped out in 1939 to fulfill his desire for an acting career in New York after a recommendation byAlain Locke; he later attendedColumbia University School of General Studies. His acting career began in 1939 with the Rose McClendon Players inHarlem. DuringWorld War II, Davis served in theUnited States Army in the Medical Corps. He made his film debut in 1950 in theSidney Poitier filmNo Way Out.

When Davis wanted to pursue a career in acting, he ran into the usual roadblocks that black people suffered at that time as they generally could only portray stereotypical characters such asStepin Fetchit. Instead, he tried to follow the example ofSidney Poitier and play more distinguished characters. When he found it necessary to play aPullman porter or a butler, he played those characters realistically, not as acaricature.

In 1961, he wrote and starred in theBroadway playPurlie Victorious, a farce satirizing the confederate south. Davis portrayed the title character Purlie Victorious Judson, acting oppositeRuby Dee andAlan Alda. The play was adapted into a film titledGone Are the Days!, released in 1963. The Broadway cast reprised their roles for the film.Howard Taubman forThe New York Times wrote of the play: "It is marvelously exhilarating to hear the Negro speak for himself, especially when he does so in the fullness of his native gusto and the enveloping heartiness of his overflowing laughter."^[10]

In addition to acting, Davis, along withMelvin Van Peebles andGordon Parks, was one of the notable black directors of his generation: he directed movies such asCotton Comes to Harlem (1970),Black Girl (1972) andGordon's War (1973). Along withBill Cosby and Poitier, Davis was one of a handful of black actors able to find commercial success while avoiding stereotypical roles prior to 1970, which also included a significant role in theOtto Preminger directed dramaThe Cardinal (1963) and theSidney Lumet prison dramaThe Hill (1965). He acted in the musical dramaA Man Called Adam (1966), performing alongsideSammy Davis Jr.,Louis Armstrong, andCicely Tyson. He played Joseph Lee in theSydney Pollack-directed western dramaThe Scalphunters, acting alongsideBurt Lancaster andShelley Winters. For his performance, Davis received a nomination for theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. CriticRoger Ebert ofThe Chicago Sun-Times praised Davis's performance in the film writing: "Davis, as an educated slave, is gradually initiated into the brutal realities of frontier life. [He] emerges as a genuine comic talent in a very demanding role (actually the lead, although Lancaster gets top billing). His character changes from an Uncle Tom to a rough-and-ready cowboy before your very eyes."^[11]

During this time, he acted in the western comedySam Whiskey withBurt Reynolds andAngie Dickinson, the dramaSlaves, starringDionne Warwick, and the action comedyHot Stuck withDom DeLuise andSuzanne Pleshette. Davis starred with Cosby and Poitier in the 1975 filmLet's Do It Again. Davis, however, never had the tremendous commercial or critical success that either of them enjoyed. As aplaywright, Davis wrotePaul Robeson: All-American, which is frequently performed in theatre programs for young audiences.

In 1976, Davis appeared onMuhammad Ali's novelty album for children,The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay.^[12] Davis found recognition late in his life by working in several of directorSpike Lee's films, includingSchool Daze (1988),Do the Right Thing (1989),Jungle Fever (1991),Malcolm X (1991),Get on the Bus (1996), andShe Hate Me (2004) For the final moments ofMalcolm X, Davis, in voiceover, recited the actual eulogy that he wrote and delivered at Malcolm's funeral 27 years earlier. He also found work as a commercialvoice-over artist and served as the narrator of the early-1990sCBSsitcomEvening Shade, starringBurt Reynolds, where he also played one of the residents of a small southern town. Davis and Reynolds had also worked together on Reynolds' previous TV series,B.L. Stryker (1989–1990), aired as part of theABC Mystery Movie series.

Davis also appeared in several popular 1990s films, including the studio comediesGrumpy Old Men (1993) starringJack Lemmon andWalter Matthau, andCop and a Half (1993) withBurt Reynolds, as well as theJohn Grisham drama filmThe Client (1994) starringSusan Sarandon andTommy Lee Jones. He reunited withSpike Lee acting in the filmGet on the Bus (1996) and appeared hisHBO documentary4 Little Girls (1997) which was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 1998 he acted in theEddie Murphy led comedy filmDr. Dolittle. In 1999, he appeared as a theater caretaker in theTrans-Siberian Orchestra filmThe Ghosts of Christmas Eve, which was released on DVD two years later. For many years, he hosted the annual National Memorial Day Concert from Washington, D.C.

In 1994, Davis played Judge Richard Farris in theStephen King miniseriesThe Stand. From 1995 to 1996, he played Judge Harry Roosevelt in theCBS legal dramaThe Client (reprising his role from the1994 film). Davis played Erasmus Jones inPromised Land from 1996 to 1998. The series was a spinoff fromTouched by an Angel where he played multiple characters from 1996 to 2000. He played Mr. Evers in theHBO filmMiss Evers' Boys (1997) starringLaurence Fishburne andAlfre Woodard. The film won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. That same year he acted in theShowtime television film12 Angry Men (1997) playing Juror #2. He acted in an ensemble cast acting alongsideCourtney B. Vance,George C. Scott,James Gandolfini,Jack Nicholson, andHume Cronyn. He voicedAnansi the spider on thePBS children's television seriesSesame Street in its animation segments. He also narrated theHBO Storybook Musicals adaptation ofThe Red Shoes aired on February 7, 1990. In 2000, he voiced the role of Yar inDisney'slive-action animated filmDinosaur.

From 1999 to 2000, he played Mr. Parker in theNBC crime dramaThird Watch. He also took roles inDeacons for Defense andJAG, both in 2003. Davis's last role was a several episode guest role on theShowtime drama seriesThe L Word, as a father struggling with the acceptance of his daughterBette (Jennifer Beals) parenting a child with her lesbian partner. In his final episodes, his character took ill and died. His wife Ruby Dee was present during the filming of his own death scene. That episode, which aired shortly after Davis's own death, aired with a dedication to the actor.^[13] After Davis's death, actorDennis Haysbert portrayed him in the 2015 filmExperimenter.

In 1948, Davis married actressRuby Dee, whom he had met on the set ofRobert Ardrey's 1946 playJeb. In their joint autobiographyWith Ossie and Ruby, they described their decision to have anopen marriage, later changing their minds.^[14] In the mid-1960s they moved to the New York suburb ofNew Rochelle, where they remained ever after.^[15][16] Their sonGuy Davis is a blues musician and former actor, who appeared in the filmBeat Street (1984) and the daytime soap operaOne Life to Live. Their daughters are Nora Davis Day and Hasna Muhammad.

Davis and Dee were well known ascivil rights activists during theCivil Rights Movement and were close friends ofMalcolm X,Jesse Jackson,Martin Luther King Jr. and other icons of the era. They were involved in organizing the 1963 civil rightsMarch on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and served as itsemcees. Davis, alongside Ahmed Osman, delivered theeulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X.^[17] He re-read part of this eulogy at the end of Spike Lee's filmMalcolm X. He also delivered a stirring tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, at a memorial in New York's Central Park the day after King was assassinated inMemphis, Tennessee.

Davis was found dead in aMiami Beach hotel room on February 4, 2005. He was 87 years old. An official cause of death was not released, but he was known to have had heart problems.^[18] His ashes were interred atFerncliff Cemetery.

Davis's funeral was held in New York City on February 12, 2005. The line to enter The Riverside Church, located on the edge of Harlem, stretched for several blocks, with a thousand or more members of the public unable to attend as the church filled to its 2,100 capacity.^[19] Speakers included Davis's children and grandchildren, as well asAlan Alda,Burt Reynolds,Amiri Baraka,Avery Brooks,Angela Bassett,Spike Lee,Attallah Shabazz,Tavis Smiley,Maya Angelou,Sonia Sanchez,Harry Belafonte, and former presidentBill Clinton, among many others.^[20]Wynton Marsalis performed a musical tribute.Burt Reynolds, who early in his career had worked with Davis, said "Ossie Davis took the bad parts of the South out of me.... I know what a man is because of Ossie Davis." Ms. Shabazz, oldest daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, spoke lovingly of the man she and her five sisters called Uncle Ossie, saying he had provided exceptional support to her and her sisters after her father's assassination. Bill Clinton arrived midway through the service, and said from the pulpit "I asked to be seated in the back. I would proudly ride on the back of Ossie Davis's bus any day," adding that Davis "would have made a great president."^[21]

Delivering the eulogy, Harry Belafonte said: Ossie Davis "embraced the greatest forces of our times. Paul Robeson, Dr.W.E.B. DuBois, Eleanor Roosevelt, A. Philip Randolph, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and so many, many more. At the time of one of our most anxious and conflicted moments, when 'Our America' was torn apart by seething issues of race, Ossie paused, at the tomb of one of our noblest warriors, and in the eulogy he delivered, insured that history would clearly understand the voice of Black people, and what Malcolm X meant to us in the African-American struggle for freedom.... It is hard to fathom that we will no longer be able to call on his wisdom, his humor, his loyalty and his moral strength to guide us in the choices that are yet to be made and the battles that are yet to be fought. But how fortunate we were to have him as long as we did."^[22]

• Autobiography ofFrederick Douglass, Vol. 1: (Folkways Records, 1966)
• Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, Vol. 2: (Folkways, 1966)
• Frederick Douglass' The Meaning of July 4 for the Negro: (Folkways, 1975)
• Frederick Douglass' Speeches inc. TheDred Scott Decision: (Folkways, 1976)

In 1989, Ossie Davis and his wife, actress/activistRuby Dee, were named to theNAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. In 1995, they were awarded theNational Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the country and presented in aWhite House ceremony by thePresident of the United States.^[5] In 1994, Davis was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.^[26] In 2004, they were recipients of the prestigiousKennedy Center Honors.^[27] According to the Kennedy Center Honors:

"The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts— whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television — are selected by the Center's Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines."^[28]

• The official site of Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee
• Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
• Ossie Davis at theInternet Broadway Database 
• Ossie Davis at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Ossie Davis atIMDb
• Ossie Davis atFind a Grave
• Ossie Davis at theTCM Movie Database 
• Eulogy of Malcolm X
• Ossie Davis' oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• Ossie Davis atSmithsonian Folkways
• Ossie Davis atThe Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Appearances onC-SPAN