Ossie Davis
Actor, activist, and voice of conscience.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Angela Davis · see source
Ossie Davis was an American actor, director, writer, and activist who was married to Ruby Dee from 1948 until his death.[1]
Key facts and history
He debuted on Broadway in 1946 in the play "Jeb."[2] He delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X, calling him "our own black shining prince."[2] His nickname "Ossie" originated when a courthouse clerk misheard his mother saying "R. C. Davis" while filing his birth certificate.[3] "Purlie Victorious," a farce that satirized the Confederate South, was written by and starred Davis on Broadway in 1961.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Final Call article notes that Davis hosted the annual Memorial Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol for 11 years, from 1993 until 2004.[5] The Today article reports that Davis spent nearly four years in service as a surgical technician in an Army hospital in Liberia.[2] Davis and Dee's radio show, "The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Story Hour," ran on 65 stations for four years in the mid-1970s.[2] The Fox News article notes that Attallah Shabazz recalled from the pulpit the eulogy Davis delivered at her father's funeral.[6]
In his eulogy, Belafonte said that Davis "embraced the greatest forces of our times," naming Paul Robeson, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, and Eleanor Roosevelt among them.[5][7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ossie Davis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ossie Davis – Awards IMDb. 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012; Ossie Davis Television Credits Official Website of Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee. 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012; Books Official Website oOssie Davis & Ruby Dee. 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012; Dagan, Carmel Oscar-Nominated Actress Ruby Dee Dies at 91. Variety. June 12, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Ossie Davis found dead in Miami hotel room", Today, February 9, 2005. facts only, no text reused. today.com
- Wikipedia, "Ossie Davis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ossie Davis Biography, Movies, Ruby Dee, & Facts Britannica", Encyclopedia Britannica; "Ossie Davis Biography", filmreference, 2008; "Davis, Laura Cooper", The Journal News, June 9, 2004; "Ossie Davis Biography", IMDb, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ossie Davis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Taubman, "Theatre: 'Purlie Victorious' Romps In; Ossie Davis Stars in His Play at Cort", The New York Times, September 29, 1961 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Ossie Davis: He belonged to all of us", The Final Call, February 17, 2005. facts only, no text reused. new.finalcall.com
- "Celebs Say Goodbye to Ossie Davis in Harlem", Fox News, January 13, 2015. facts only, no text reused. foxnews.com
- Wikipedia, "Ossie Davis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ossie Davis: He belonged to all of us", The Final Call, February 17, 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ossie Davis (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ossie Davis (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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