Ruby Dee | |
|---|---|
 Dee in 1972 | |
| Born | Ruby Ann Wallace (1922-10-27)October 27, 1922 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 11, 2014(2014-06-11) (aged 91) New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Ferncliff Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Hunter College (1945) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1940–2013 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingGuy Davis |
Ruby Dee (bornRuby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married toOssie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005.[1] She received numerous accolades, including anEmmy Award, aGrammy Award, anObie Award, and aDrama Desk Award, as well as a nomination for anAcademy Award. She was honored with theNational Medal of Arts in 1995, theScreen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2000, and theKennedy Center Honors in 2004.
Dee started her career with theAmerican Negro Theatre. She made herBroadway debut inSouth Pacific (1943). She met her future husband working together on the playJeb (1946). She originated the Broadway roles of Ruth Younger inLorraine Hansberry'sA Raisin in the Sun (1959) and reprised the role in the1961 film and Lutiebell Gussie Mae Jenkins in the Ossie Davis playPurlie Victorious (1961) and reprised the role in the1963 film.
She made her film debut inThat Man of Mine (1946) before landing a leading roles in films such asThe Jackie Robinson Story (1950),Edge of the City (1957),Take a Giant Step (1959), andBuck and the Preacher (1972). She also acted in the Ossie Davis filmBlack Girl (1972), and theSpike Lee filmsDo the Right Thing (1989) andJungle Fever (1991). For her performance inAmerican Gangster (2007), Dee was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won theScreen Actors Guild Award for Female Actor in a Supporting Role.
Dee received twoPrimetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles inThe Doctors and the Nurses (1964) andDecoration Day (1990). She was nominated for her other roles inRoots: The Next Generations (1979),Lincoln (1988),China Beach (1990), andEvening Shade (1993). She also acted inI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979),Long Day's Journey into Night (1982),Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985),The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), andThe Stand (1994). She voiced Alice the Great in theNick Jr. seriesLittle Bill from 1999 to 2004.
Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace on October 27, 1922, inCleveland,Ohio,[2] the daughter of Gladys (née Hightower) and Marshall Edward Nathaniel Wallace, a cook, waiter and porter.[3] After her mother left the family, Dee's father remarried, to Emma Amelia Benson, a schoolteacher.[4][5][6]
Dee was raised inHarlem, New York.[7] Prior to attendingHunter College High School, she studied at Public Schools 119 and 136.[8] Then, she went on to graduate fromHunter College with a degree inRomance languages in 1945.[9] She was a member ofDelta Sigma Theta.[10]
Dee joined theAmerican Negro Theatre as an apprentice, working withSidney Poitier,Harry Belafonte, andHilda Simms.[9] She made herBroadway debut portraying a Native in the play South Pacific[11] (1943). She played the title role in theEugene O'Neill playAnna Lucasta.[12] She met her future husbandOssie Davis in the post-World War II playJeb (1946). That same year she was in her first onscreen role in the musicalThat Man of Mine (1946). The following year she acted in the crime filmThe Fight Never Ends (1947).
She received national recognition for her portrayal ofRachel Robinson in the sports drama filmThe Jackie Robinson Story (1950).[7]Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times praised Dee's performance describing her as "the well restrained sweetheart".[13] Also in 1950 she had an uncredited role in film noirNo Way Out directed byJoseph L. Mankiewicz. She continued acting in films such as the historical crime filmThe Tall Target (1951), the sports filmGo Man Go (1954), the music filmSt. Louis Blues (1958), and the British dramaVirgin Island (1958). During this time she took a role in the film noirEdge of the City (1957) starring alongsideJohn Cassavetes andSidney Poitier.
In 1959 she gained prominence for originating the role of Ruth Younger in theLorraine Hansberry's playA Raisin in the Sun which premiered onBroadway. She acted alongsideSidney Poitier andLouis Gossett Jr.. The play was the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. She reprised the role in the1961 film of the same name. She returned to Broadway in theOssie Davis satirical farcePurlie Victorious (1961) portraying Lutiebell Gussie Mae Jenkins. Howard Taubman ofThe New York Times wrote of Dee's performance, "[she] has been treated generously. As Lutiebell she has enough humor and charm to make one envy Purlie Victorious that she is eager disciple".[14] She acted opposite her husband Ossie Davis andAlan Alda in his acting debut. They reprised their roles of the 1963 film entitled,Gone Are the Days! which was produced byBrock Peters and directed byNicholas Webster.
Her career in acting crossed all major forms of media over a span of eight decades, including the filmsA Raisin in the Sun, in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects, andEdge of the City. She played both roles opposite Poitier.[9] She received thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her role onThe Doctors and the Nurses (1964). In 1965, Dee performed in lead roles at theAmerican Shakespeare Festival as Kate inThe Taming of the Shrew and Cordelia inKing Lear, becoming the first black actress to portray a lead role in the festival. In 1963 she acted in the filmThe Balcony withShelley Winters,Peter Falk,Lee Grant, andLeonard Nimoy. She then acted in the film noirThe Incident (1967), the drama filmUptight (1968), and the documentaryKing: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970).
.jpg)
In 1969, Dee appeared in 20 episodes ofPeyton Place.[7] She acted in Ossie Davis' filmsBlack Girl (1972) andCountdown at Kusini (1976) and the Western filmBuck and the Preacher withSidney Poitier andHarry Belafonte. She appeared as Cora Sanders, a Marxist college professor, in season 1, episode 14 ofPolice Woman, entitled "Target Black" which aired on Friday night, January 3, 1975. The character of Cora Sanders was obviously, but loosely, influenced by the real-lifeAngela Davis. She appeared in one episode ofThe Golden Girls' sixth season. She played Queen Haley in the miniseriesRoots: The Next Generations (1979) for which she received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.[7] She acted in the CBS television filmI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979) based on theMaya Angelouautobiography of the same name.
Dee was nominated for eightEmmy Awards, winning once for her role in the 1990TV filmDecoration Day. She was nominated for her television guest appearance in theChina Beach episode, "Skylark". Her husbandOssie Davis (1917–2005) also appeared in the episode. She appeared inSpike Lee's 1989 filmDo the Right Thing, and his 1991 filmJungle Fever.[7] She starred in the television films portraying Mary Tyrone inLong Day's Journey into Night (1982) and Mrs. Grimes inGo Tell It on the Mountain (1985). Dee returned to Broadway in the playCheckmates written byRon Milner. She acted alongsideDenzel Washington,Paul Winfield and Marsha Jackson. In 1990 she portrayedZora Neale Hurston inZora Is My Name! and playedJackie Robinson's mother inThe Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson. That same year she earned aPrimetime Emmy Award for her role inDecoration Day (1990). She played Mother Abagail Freemantle in theStephen King miniseriesThe Stand (1994). She collaborated with comedianBill Cosby acting in bothCosby in 1998 and voicing Alice the Great in theNick Jr. animated seriesLittle Bill from 1999 to 2004. The next year she and Davis were awarded theNational Medal of Arts from PresidentBill Clinton.[15]
In 2003, she narrated a series ofWPA &slave narratives in the HBO filmUnchained Memories. They were also recipients of the 2004Kennedy Center Honors. In 2007 theGrammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album was shared by Dee and Ossie Davis forWith Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together, and former PresidentJimmy Carter.[9][16] Dee portrayed Mama Lucas in theRidley Scott directed crime filmAmerican Gangster (2007). Dee acted alongsideDenzel Washington andRussell Crowe. For her performance she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress losing toTilda Swinton for her role in the legal thrillerMichael Clayton (2007). She won theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role for the same performance. At 85 years of age, Dee is currently thethird oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress, behindGloria Stuart andJudi Dench (both 87).[17]
On February 12, 2009, Dee joined the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College orchestra and chorus, along with the Riverside Inspirational Choir and NYC Labor Choir, in honoring Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday at the Riverside Church inNew York City. Under the direction ofMaurice Peress, they performedEarl Robinson'sThe Lonesome Train: A Music Legend for Actors, Folk Singers, Choirs, and Orchestra, in which Dee was the narrator.[18] Dee's last role in atheatrically released film was in theEddie Murphy comedyA Thousand Words, in which she portrayed the mother of Murphy's protagonist. In 2013 she narrated the Lifetime filmBetty & Coretta starringAngela Bassett andMary J. Blige. Her final film role is in1982, which premiered at the2013 Toronto International Film Festival[19] and was released onhome video on March 1, 2016.[20] It is unknown whether her final role will ever be seen, asKing Dog was in production at the time of her death,[21] and no release date has ever been announced.
Ruby Wallace married blues singer Frankie Dee Brown in 1941, and began using his middle name as her stage name. The couple divorced in 1945.[9] Three years later she married actorOssie Davis, whom she met while costarring inRobert Ardrey's 1946 Broadway playJeb.[22] Together, Dee and Davis wrote an autobiography in which they discussed their political activism and their decision to have anopen marriage (later changing their views).[23][24] Together they had three children: son, blues musicianGuy Davis, and two daughters, Nora Day and Hasna Muhammad. Dee was abreast cancer survivor of more than three decades.[25] In 1979, theSupersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Dee's name and picture.[26]
Dee and Davis were well-knowncivil rights activists in theCivil Rights Movement.[27] Dee was a member of theCongress of Racial Equality (CORE), theNAACP, theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,Delta Sigma Theta sorority, and theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference. She was also as an active member of the Harlem Writers Guild for over 40 years. In 1963, Deeemceed theMarch on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[28] Dee and Davis were both personal friends of bothMartin Luther King Jr. andMalcolm X, with Davis giving theeulogy at Malcolm X's funeral in 1965.[29] In 1970, she won theFrederick Douglass Award from the New YorkUrban League.[7] In 1999, Dee and Davis were arrested at1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of theNew York Police Department, protesting the police shooting ofAmadou Diallo.[30]
In early 2003,The Nation published "Not in Our Name", an open proclamation vowing opposition to the impending USinvasion of Iraq. Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis were among the signatories, along withRobert Altman,Noam Chomsky,Susan Sarandon, andHoward Zinn, among others.[citation needed] In November 2005, Dee was awarded – along with her late husband – the Lifetime Achievement Freedom Award, presented by the National Civil Rights Museum located inMemphis. Dee, a long-time resident ofNew Rochelle, New York, was inducted into theNew Rochelle Walk of Fame which honors the most notable residents from throughout the community's 325-year history. She was also inducted into theWestchester County Women's Hall of Fame on March 30, 2007, joining such other honorees asHillary Clinton andNita Lowey.[31] In 2009, she received an honoraryDoctor of Fine Arts degree fromPrinceton University.[16][32]
Dee died on June 11, 2014, at her home inNew Rochelle, New York, fromnatural causes at the age of 91.[33] In a statement,Gil Robertson IV of theAfrican-American Film Critics Association said, "the members of the African American Film Critics Association are deeply saddened at the loss of actress and humanitarian Ruby Dee. Throughout her seven-decade career, Dee embraced different creative platforms with her various interpretations of black womanhood and also used her gifts to champion for Human Rights."[7]
"She very peacefully surrendered", said her daughter Nora Day. "We hugged her, we kissed her, we gave her our permission to go. She opened her eyes. She looked at us. She closed her eyes, and she set sail." Following her death, the marquee on theApollo Theater read: "A TRUE APOLLO LEGEND RUBY DEE 1922–2014".[34]
Dee was cremated, and her ashes are held in the same urn as that of Davis, with the inscription "In this thing together".[9] A public memorial celebration honoring Dee was held on September 20, 2014, at theRiverside Church inUpper Manhattan.[35] Their shared urn was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.[36]
_still_1.jpg)
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | That Man of Mine[7] | Joan | First film |
| 1947 | Easy to Get[37] | Drugstore girl | U.S. Army venereal disease training film |
| The Fight Never Ends[38] | Jane | ||
| 1948 | What a Guy | [38] | |
| 1950 | The Jackie Robinson Story | Rae Robinson | |
| No Way Out | Connie Brooks | Uncredited | |
| 1951 | The Tall Target | Rachel | |
| 1954 | Go, Man, Go! | Irma Jackson | |
| 1957 | Edge of the City | Lucy Tyler | |
| 1958 | St. Louis Blues | Elizabeth | |
| Virgin Island | Ruth | ||
| 1959 | Take a Giant Step | Christine | |
| 1961 | A Raisin in the Sun | Ruth Younger | |
| 1963 | The Balcony | Thief | |
| Gone Are the Days! | Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins | ||
| 1967 | The Incident | Joan Robinson | |
| 1968 | Up Tight! | Laurie | |
| 1970 | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis | Herself | Documentary |
| 1972 | Buck and the Preacher | Ruth | |
| Black Girl | Netta's Mother | ||
| 1973 | Wattstax | Herself | |
| 1975 | Lorraine Hansberry: The Black Experience in the Creation of Drama[39] | Herself | Short |
| 1976 | Countdown at Kusini[40] | Leah Matanzima | |
| 1980 | The Torture of Mothers[38] | Short | |
| 1982 | Cat People | Female | |
| 1989 | Do the Right Thing | Mother Sister | |
| 1990 | Love at Large | Corrine Dart | |
| 1991 | Jungle Fever | Lucinda Purify | |
| 1993 | Color Adjustment | Narrator | Documentary |
| Cop and a Half | Rachel | ||
| 1995 | Just Cause | Evangeline | |
| Tuesday Morning Ride[41] | Jennie | Short | |
| 1997 | A Simple Wish | Hortense | |
| 1998 | A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner | Narrator | Documentary[40] |
| 1999 | Baby Geniuses[40] | Margo | |
| The Unfinished Journey[42] | Narrator | Short | |
| 2003 | Beah: A Black Woman Speaks | Herself | Documentary |
| 2006 | No. 2 | Nanna Maria | |
| The Way Back Home | Maude | ||
| 2007 | All About Us[40] | Ms. Ella | |
| American Gangster | Mama Lucas | ||
| Steam | Doris | ||
| 2009 | The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll[40] | Miss Candy | |
| The New Neighbors[43] | Narrator | Short | |
| 2010 | Dream Street | Laura | [44] |
| 2011 | Video Girl | Valerie | [45] |
| Politics of Love[40] | Grandma 'Estelle' Roseanne Gupta | ||
| Red & Blue Marbles[40] | Professor June Wright | ||
| 2012 | Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey With Mumia Abu-Jamal | Herself | [46] |
| A Thousand Words | Annie McCall | [40] | |
| 2013 | 1982 | Rose Brown | Final role |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960–1961 | Play of the Week | Lila / Jane | 2 episodes |
| 1961 | Frontiers of Faith[47] | Grace Gilmore | Episode: "The Bitter Cup" |
| 1962 | Seven Times Monday[47] | Lila | TV movie |
| 1963 | Alcoa Premiere | Irene Clayton | Episode: "Impact of an Execution" |
| 1963 | The Doctors and the Nurses | Jenny Bishop | Episode: "Express Stop from Lenox Avenue" |
| 1963 | The Fugitive[47] | Laura Smith | Episode: "Decision in the Ring" |
| 1963 | The Great Adventure[47] | Harriet Tubman | Episode: "Go Down, Moses" |
| 1963 | East Side West Side | Marilyn Marsden | Episode: "No Hiding Place" |
| 1964 | Of Courtship and Marriage[47] | TV movie | |
| 1965 | The Defenders | Catherine Collins | Episode: "The Sworn Twelve" |
| 1966 | Armchair Theatre | Vicky Kingsbury | Episode: "Neighbours" |
| 1967 | Guiding Light | Martha Frazier | Cast member[47] |
| 1968–1969 | Peyton Place | Alma Miles | 25 episodes |
| 1969 | The Bold Ones: The Protectors | Lucinda | Episode: "Deadlock"[47] |
| 1970 | Sesame Street | Herself | |
| 1971 | The Sheriff[47] | Sue Ann Lucas | TV movie |
| 1973 | Tenafly | Jan Lennox | Episode: "The Window That Wasn't" |
| 1974 | It's Good to Be Alive[47] | Ruth Campanella | TV movie |
| 1975 | Police Woman | Cora Sanders | Episode: "Target Black" |
| 1978 | Watch Your Mouth | Mrs. Fullo | Episode: "The Outcast" |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Queen Haley | Miniseries[47] |
| 1979 | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings[47] | Grandmother Baxter | TV movie |
| 1980 | All God's Children[47] | Irene Whitfield | TV movie |
| 1980–1982 | With Ossie and Ruby![47] | Herself | |
| 1982 | Long Day's Journey into Night | Mary Tyrone | TV movie |
| 1985 | Go Tell It on the Mountain | Mrs. Grimes | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Atlanta Child Murders | Faye Williams | Miniseries |
| 1987 | Spenser: For Hire | Eleanor Simpson | Episode: "Personal Demons" |
| 1987 | Crown Dick | Johnson's Mother | TV movie |
| 1988 | Windmills of the Gods[47] | Dorothy | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Gore Vidal's Lincoln[47] | Elizabeth Keckley | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Zora Is My Name! | Zora Neale Hurston | TV movie |
| 1990 | American Experience | Narrator | Episode: "Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad" |
| 1990 | China Beach | Ruby | Episode: "Skylark" |
| 1990 | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson[47] | Jackie's Mother | TV movie |
| 1990 | The Golden Girls[47] | Mammy Watkins | Episode: "Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mammy" |
| 1990 | Decoration Day[47] | Rowena | TV movie |
| 1991 | Jazztime Tale | Narrator[38] | TV movie |
| 1992 | Middle Ages | Estelle Williams | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | The Ernest Green Story | Mrs. Lydia Wilson | TV movie |
| 1993 | Evening Shade | Aurelia Danforth | Episode: "They Can't Take That Away from Me" |
| 1994 | The Stand | Mother Abagail Freemantle | Miniseries |
| 1994 | Whitewash[47] | Grandmother (voice) | TV movie |
| 1995 | American Masters | Narrator | Episode: "Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul" |
| 1996 | Mr. and Mrs. Loving[47] | Sophia | TV movie |
| 1996 | Captive Heart: The James Mink Story | Indigo | TV movie |
| 1998 | The Wall[47] | Mrs. Mitchell | TV movie |
| 1998 | Promised Land | Alicia | Episode: "Baptism of Fire" |
| 1998 | Cosby | Mattie | Episode: "Ol' Betsy" |
| 1999–2004 | Little Bill | Alice the Great (voice) | 47 episodes |
| 1999 | Passing Glory | Mommit Porter | TV movie |
| 1999 | Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years | Bessie Delany | TV movie |
| 1999 | Touched by an Angel | LaBelle Springbelt | Episode: "The Christmas Gift" |
| 2000 | A Storm in Summer[47] | Grandmother | TV movie |
| 2000 | Finding Buck McHenry[47] | Mrs. Henry | TV movie |
| 2000 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Grandma (voice) | Episode: "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" |
| 2001 | Between the Lions | Woodcutter's Wife | Episode: "Bug Beard" |
| 2001 | The Feast of All Saints | Elsie Claviere | Miniseries |
| 2001 | Taking Back Our Town[47] | Emelda West | TV movie |
| 2004 | Fatherhood | Louise (voice) | Episode: "It's a Dad, Dad World" |
| 2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Nanny | TV movie |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Mary Wilson | Episode: "Empty Eyes" |
| 2008 | Meet Mary Pleasant | Herself | TV movie |
| 2009 | America | Mrs. Harper | TV movie |
| 2013 | Betty & Coretta | Narrator | TV movie[48] |
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
