B lack H istory M
February 9, 2005
special
•overaae.
onth ä
Page A3
M ovie G iant O ssie D avis R em em b ered
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
was somehow enriched by his
strong, but gentle presence.
Davis and his wife, Ruby Dee
celebrated their 50th wedding anni
versary in 1998 with the publication
the Lunts, or Hume Cronyn and
Jessica Tandy. Davis and Dee first
appeared together in the play s “Jeb,”
in 1946, and "Anna Lucasta," in
1946-47. Davis’ first film, "No Way
O ut” in 1950, was Dee’s fifth.
(AP)— Ossie Davis,
Both had key roles in
whose rich baritone
the te le v is io n series
and elegant, unshak
“Roots: The Next Genera
able bearing made him
tio n ” (1 9 7 8 ), “ M artin
a giant of the stage, is
Luther King: The Dream
being remembered for
and the Drum” (1986) and
his work on screen and
“The Stand"(1994). Davis
the civil rights move
appeared in three Spike Lee
ment.
films, including “School
Davis, 87, was found
D aze,” “ Do the Right
dead Friday in his ho
Thing” and "Jungle Fe
tel room in M iam i
ver." Dee also appeared in
Beach, Fla. He was
the latter two; among her
making a film, “Retire
best-known films was "A
ment,” said Arminda
Raisin in the Sun,” in 1961.
Thomas, who works in
In 2004, Davis and Dee
his New Rochelle, N. Y.
were among the artists
office.
selected to receive the
Miami Beach police
Kennedy Center Honors.
sp o k e sm a n B obby
When not on stage or
Hernandez said Davis’
on camera, Davis and Dee
g ra n d so n
c a lle d
were deeply involved in
shortly before 7 a.m.
civil rights issues and ef
when Davis would not
forts to promote the cause
open the door to his
o f blacks in the entertain
room at the Shore Club Oss/e Davis and wife, Ruby Dee, pose in front o f
ment industry. They nearly
H o tel. D av is w as their movie poster at the opening night gala of
ran afoul of the anti-Com-
found dead, apparently their film “Gone Are the Days!” on Sept. 23,
munist witch-hunts of the
o f n a tu ra l c a u se s, 1963.
early 1950s, but were never
Hernandez said.
of a dual autobiography, “With openly accused of any wrongdo
Davis wrote, acted, directed and Ossie & Ruby: In This Life To ing.
produced for the theater and Holly gether.”
Actor Roy Scheider, who had
wood. Even light fare such as the
Their partnership called to mind performed with Davis and attended
comedy “Grumpy Old Men" with other performing couples, such as anti-war rallies with him, called
Fought racial
injustice on
stage, in real life
Davis and Dee "the first political
couple of America.”
Ossie seemed to always show
up at the right time, on the right
side, which was always the human
side,” Scheider said. "He was al
ways progressive and had a very
heartfelt sympathy for all people
everywhere.”
The oldest of five children, Davis
was born in tiny Cogdell, G a„ in
1917 and grew up in nearby
Waycross and Valdosta. He left
home in 1935, hitchhiking to W ash
ington toenter Howard University,
where he studied drama, intending
to be a playwright.
His career as an actor began in
1939 with the Rose McClendon
Players in Harlem, then the center
of black culture in America. There,
the young Davis met or mingled
with some of the most influential
figures of the time, including the
preacher Father Divine, W.E.B.
D uB ois, A. P h ilip R andolph,
Langston H ughes and Richard
Wright.
knowledge, guilty o f anything —
other than being black — that might
upset anybody,” he wrote.
They were friends with baseball
star Jackie Robinson — Dee played
his wife, opposite Robinson him
self, in the 1950 movie “The Jackie
R obinson S tory” — and with
Malcolm X.
In the book, Davis told how a
prior commitment caused them to
miss the Harlem rally where Malcolm
was assassinated in 1965. Davis
delivered the eulogy at M alcolm ’s
funeral, calling him “our own black
shining prince — who didn’t hesi
tate to die, because he loved us so.”
Ossie Davis
He reprised it in a voice-over for the
1992 Spike Lee film, "M alcolm X.”
He lined up with socialist re
Along with film, stage and tele
former DuBois and singer Paul vision, the couple’s careers ex
Robeson, remaining fiercely loyal tended to a radio show, “The Ossie
to the singer even after Robeson Davis and Ruby Dee Story H our,”
was denounced by other black that ran on 65 stations for four
political, sports and show business years in the m id-1970s, featuring a
figures for his openly communist mix of black themes.
and pro-Soviet sympathies.
Both made numerous guest ap
“ W e’ve never been, to our pearances on television shows.
D irect F lights
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School Board Member Considers Future
E m b a ttle d s c h o o l b o a r d
m em b er D erry Jack so n c a lle d a
n e w s c o n f e r e n c e F rid a y to
pled g e his in n o cen ce in a d is
pute o v er v io la tin g a ju d g e ’s
re stra in in g order.
Jackson, 42, said he would fin
ish the five m onths rem aining on
his term on the Portland School
D istrict Board o f Education.
He said that he w ould consider
the needs o f his fam ily and talk to
m em bers o f the com m unity be-
Derry Jackson. (KGW photo)
fore decided w hether to run for
re-election.
Jackson was jailed Feb. 1 in
W ashington County in Hillsboro,
on four m isdem eanor counts of
violating a fam ily abuse restrain
ing order.
D uring the news conference,
backed by some o f his support
ers in the African Am erican com
munity, he denied using or threat
ening violence against his e s
tranged wife, Bernel Jackson.
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