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Ossie Davis was born on December 18, 1917, in Cogdell, Georgia, and Ruby Dee was born on October 27, 1924 in Cleveland. They are one of the most revered couples of the American stage and two of the most prolific and fearless artists in American culture. As individuals and as a team, they have created profound and lasting work that has touched us all. With courage and tenacity, they have thrown open many doors previously shut tight to African American artists and planted the seed for the flowering of America's multicultural humanity. When Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were honored by the Screen Actors' Guild with its highest honor, the Life Achievement Award, SAG president William Daniels said: "For more than half a century, they have enriched and transformed American life as brilliant actors, writers, directors, producers and passionate advocates for social justice, human dignity and creative excellence."
Ruby Dee has appeared in more than 20 films, and her notable stage appearances include roles in "A Raisin in the Sun" (she later reprised her performance as Ruth in the 1961 film) and Genet's "The Balcony." Her acting has been honored with an Obie Award in 1971 for her performance in Athol Fugard's "Boesman and Lena," a Drama Desk Award in 1972 for her role in "Wedding Band," an Emmy Award for NBC's "Decoration Day" and an Ace Award for her ground-breaking performance as Mary Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night." As Kate in "The Taming of the Shrew" and Cordelia in "King Lear," she became, in 1965, the first African-American woman to play major parts in the American Shakespeare Festival. She has written plays, musicals and several books of poetry, and she turned her own stories and folktales into the 1998 one-woman show, "One Good Nerve."
As a playwright, screenwriter, director, producer and actor, Ossie Davis' career spans more than half a century. He has written and directed films (1970's "Cotton Comes to Harlem"), plays (including 1961's controversial exploration of segregation, "Purlie Victorious," and the book for its musical adaptation, "Purlie!"), and television films ("For Us the Living: The Story of Medgar Evers"). One of his books for young people, "Escape to Freedom," won the Jane Addam's Children's Book Award. On television he appeared in "The Emperor Jones" (his TV debut in 1965), "Evening Shade," "The Client," "Alex Haley's Queen," "The Defenders" and "Bonanza," and he has received Emmy Award nominations for "Teacher, Teacher," "King" and "Miss Evers' Boys." His films include "The Cardinal," "The Hill," "The Scalphunters," "Grumpy Old Men," "Dr. Dolittle" and "The Client." On stage he has given memorable performances in "No Time for Sergeants," "The Wisteria Trees," "Green Pastures," "Jamaica, Ballad for Bimshire," "The Zulu and the Zayda" and "I'm Not Rappaport."
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