Profile of Ruby Dee on Famous Like Me

This wiki is about the African-American actress. For the Puerto Rican rapper, see Ruby Dee (rapper).

Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an African-American actress and activist.

Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, though she grew up in Harlem, New York. A 1945 graduate of Hunter College, Dee made several appearances on Broadway before getting national recognition for her role in the 1950 film, The Jackie Robinson Story. Her acting career has crossed all major forms of media over a span of 8 decades, including films such as A Raisin in the Sun (in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects) and Edge of the City both opposite Sidney Poitier. During the 1960's, Dee appeared in such politically charged films such as Gone Are the Days and The Incident, which paved the way for young African American filmmakers and actors. She has been nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning once for her role in 1990's Decoration Day.

Ruby Dee and her late husband, actor Ossie Davis, were well-known civil rights activists. Dee is a member of such organizations as CORE, the NAACP, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dee and Davis were personal friends of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, with Davis giving Malclom X's eulogy at his 1965 funeral.

Filmography

• What a Guy (1939)
• That Man of Mine (1947)
• The Fight Never Ends (1949)
• The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
• No Way Out (1950)
• The Tall Target (1951)
• Go, Man, Go! (1954)
• The Great American Pastime (1956)
• Edge of the City (1957)
• Virgin Island (1958)
• St. Louis Blues (1958)
• Take a Giant Step (1959)
• A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
• The Balcony (1963)
• Gone Are the Days! (1963)
• The Incident (1967)
• Up Tight! (1968) (also writer and co-producer)
• King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)
• Buck and the Preacher (1972)
• Black Girl (1972)
• Wattstax (1973) (documentary)
• Lorraine Hansberry: The Black Experience in the Creation of Drama (1975) (documentary)
• Countdown at Kusini (1976)
• The Torture of Mothers (1980)
• Cat People (1982)
• Do the Right Thing (1989)
• Love at Large (1990)
• Color Adjustment: Blacks in Primetime (1991) (documentary)
• Jungle Fever (1991)
• Jazztime Tale (1992) (short subject)
• Cop & 1/2 (1993)
• Tuesday Morning Ride (1995) (short subject)
• Just Cause (1995)
• A Simple Wish (1997)
• A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner (1998) (documentary) (narrator)
• Baby Geniuses (1999)
• The Unfinished Journey (1999) (short subject) (narrator)
• Baby of the Family (2002)
• Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003) (documentary) (narrator)
• Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (2003) (documentary)
• The Way Back Home (2005)
• Dream Street (2005) (currently in pre-production)
• No. 2 (2006) (currently filming)
• Flying Over Purgatory (2006) (currently filming)

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Ruby Dee