Ruby Dee

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Ruby Dee

photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1962
Born Ruby Ann Wallace
October 27, 1924 (1924-10-27) (age 83)
Cleveland, Ohio
Spouse(s) Ossie Davis (1948-2005)

Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Gladys Hightower and Marshall Edward Nathaniel Wallace, a cook, waiter, and porter. After her mother left the family, Dee's father married Emma Amelia Benson, a schoolteacher.[1][2][3][4] Dee grew up in Harlem, New York. She graduated in 1945 from Hunter College with degrees in French and Spanish, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Inc. She made several appearances on Broadway before receiving national recognition for her role in the 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story.

[edit] Career

Dee's career in acting has crossed all major forms of media over a span of eight decades, including the films A Raisin in the Sun, in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects, and Edge of the City. She played both roles opposite Sidney Poitier. During the 1960s, Dee appeared in such politically charged films as Gone Are the Days and The Incident, which is recognized as helping pave the way for young African-American actors and filmmakers.

She has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards, winning once[5] for her role in the 1990 TV film Decoration Day. She was also nominated for her television guest appearance in the China Beach episode, "Skylark." Her late husband Ossie Davis (1917-2005) also appeared in that episode.

In 2007 the winner of the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album was tied between (i) Dee and Ossie Davis for "With Ossie And Ruby: In This Life Together", and (ii) former President Jimmy Carter.

She has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2007 for her portrayal of Mama Lucas in American Gangster. She won the SAG award for the same performance. At 83 years old, Dee is currently the second oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress, behind Gloria Stuart who was 87 for her role in Titanic. This was Dee's first nomination. It was also significant in that hers is the second shortest performance (at approximately five minutes) ever to be nominated for an acting Oscar, following that of the cameo appearance of Sylvia Miles in Midnight Cowboy.

[edit] Personal life & activism

Ruby Wallace married blues singer Frankie Dee in the mid-40's but later divorced him and married actor Ossie Davis.

Together, Dee and Davis wrote an autobiography in which they discuss their political activism as well as insights on their open marriage.[6] Together they had three children; son, blues musician Guy Davis, and two daughters, Nora Day, and Hasna Muhammad. Dee has survived breast cancer for more than 30 years.

Dee and Davis were well-known civil rights activists. Among others, Dee is a member of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the NAACP, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dee and Davis were personal friends of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, with Davis giving the eulogy at the latter's funeral in 1965.

Dee, who is a long time resident of New Rochelle, New York, was inducted into the Westchester County Women’s Hall of Fame on March 30, 2007.[7] Past honorees of the award included Hillary Clinton, Sally Ziegler and Nita Lowey.[7]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Awards

  • African-American Film Critics

[edit] Bibliography

  • Davis, Ossie; Ruby Dee (1984). Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears (Audio Cassette), Caedmon. ISBN 978-0694511877. 
  • Dee, Ruby (1986). My One Good Nerve: Rhythms, Rhymes, Reasons. Third World Press. ISBN 088378114X. 
  • Davis, Ossie; Ruby Dee (1998). With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0688153960. 

[edit] References

  1. ^ Davis, Ossie and Ruby Dee. In this Life Together. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 2000. ISBN 0688175821.
  2. ^ Gates, Henry Louis. Arts and Letters: An A-To-Z Reference of Writers, Musicians, and Artists of the African American Experience. Running Press, 2005. ISBN 0762420421.
  3. ^ Lyman, Darryl. Great African-American Women. Jonathan David Company, Inc. 2005. ISBN 0824604598.
  4. ^ Ruby Dee Biography. Film Reference.com.
  5. ^ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002039/awards Awards for Ruby Dee] (html). imdb.com (2008). Retrieved on 2008.
  6. ^ Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee on Open Marriage. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
  7. ^ a b "Ruby Dee To Be Named To Women's Hall Of Fame", Westchester.com, 2007-03-06. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Jennifer Hudson
for Dreamgirls		 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
2007
for American Gangster		 Succeeded by
TBD
v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie

Esther Rolle (1979) · Mare Winningham (1980) · Jane Alexander (1981) · Penny Fuller (1982) · Jean Simmons (1983) · Roxana Zal (1984) · Kim Stanley (1985) · Colleen Dewhurst (1986) · Piper Laurie (1987) · Jane Seymour (1988) · Colleen Dewhurst (1989) · Eva Marie Saint (1990) · Ruby Dee (1991) · Amanda Plummer (1992) · Mary Tyler Moore (1993) · Cicely Tyson (1994) · Judy Davis / Shirley Knight (1995) · Greta Scacchi (1996) · Diana Rigg (1997) · Mare Winningham (1998) · Anne Bancroft (1999) · Vanessa Redgrave (2000)