Biography
This page uses content from the Ruby Dee biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
- This wiki is about the African American actress. For the Puerto Rican rapper, see Ruby Dee (rapper).
Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an African American actress and activist.
Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, though she grew up in Harlem, New York. A 1945 graduate of Hunter College, with degrees in French and Spanish, Dee made several appearances on Broadway before getting national recognition for her role in the 1950 film, The Jackie Robinson Story. Her acting career has crossed all major forms of media over a span of 8 decades, including films such as A Raisin in the Sun (in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects) and Edge of the City both opposite Sidney Poitier. During the 1960s, Dee appeared in such politically charged films such as Gone Are the Days and The Incident, which paved the way for young African American filmmakers and actors. She has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards, winning twice for her role in 1990's Decoration Day and for her guest appearance in the China Beach episode, "Skylark", in which her late husband Ossie Davis also appeared.
Ruby Dee and her late husband, actor Ossie Davis, were well-known civil rights activists. Dee is a member of such organizations as CORE, the NAACP, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Their son is blues musician Guy Davis. Dee and Davis were personal friends of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, with Davis giving Malcom X's eulogy at his 1965 funeral.
Dee and Davis wrote a joint autobiography titled "With Ossie and Ruby", in which they discussed their political activism and their decision to have an open marriage.[1]
Ruby has survived breast cancer for more than 30 years.
Filmography
- What a Guy (1939)
- That Man of Mine (1947)
- The Fight Never Ends (1949)
- The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
- No Way Out (1950)
- The Tall Target (1951)
- Go, Man, Go! (1954)
- The Great American Pastime (1956)
- Edge of the City (1957)
- Virgin Island (1958)
- St. Louis Blues (1958)
- Take a Giant Step (1959)
- A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
- The Balcony (1963)
- Gone Are the Days! (1963)
- The Incident (1967)
- Up Tight! (1968) (also writer and co-producer)
- King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)
- Buck and the Preacher (1972)
- Black Girl (1972)
- Wattstax (1973) (documentary)
- Lorraine Hansberry: The Black Experience in the Creation of Drama (1975) (documentary)
- Countdown at Kusini (1976)
- The Torture of Mothers (1980)
- Cat People (1982)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Love at Large (1990)
- Color Adjustment: Blacks in Primetime (1991) (documentary)
- Jungle Fever (1991)
- Jazztime Tale (1992) (short subject)
- Cop & 1/2 (1993)
- The Stand (1994 TV mini-series)
- Tuesday Morning Ride (1995) (short subject)
- Just Cause (1995)
- A Simple Wish (1997)
- A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner (1998) (documentary) (narrator)
- Baby Geniuses (1999)
- Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999)
- The Unfinished Journey (1999) (short subject) (narrator)
- Baby of the Family (2002)
- Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003) (documentary) (narrator)
- Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (2003) (documentary)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)
- The Way Back Home (2005)
- Dream Street (2005) (currently in pre-production)
- No. 2 (2006) (finished)
- Flying Over Purgatory (2006) (currently filming)
- Steam Room (2006) (currently filming)
External links
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
IGN RSS Feeds