Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received numerous accolades including a Grammy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award as well as nominations for five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and Tony Award. Davis was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the National Medal of Arts in 1995, Kennedy Center Honors in 2004
Davis at the 1963 March on Washington
Photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1951
Davis in 2000
Davis and Dee
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. Dee was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades including two Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, a Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1995, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2000, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.
Dee in 1972
Dee by Carl Van Vechten, September 25, 1962
Louis Gossett Jr., Dee and Sidney Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
Left to right: Ely Landau, Ruby Dee, Paul Newman, and Sidney Lumet at the King: A Filmed Record (1970)