PERSONAL
Original name, Ruby Ann Wallace, October 27, 1924, in Cleveland, OH; daughter of Marshall Edward (a cook; some sources say a road porter) and Emma (a teacher; maiden name, Benson) Wallace; married Frank Dee (a distillery promoter; divorced); married Ossie Davis (an actor, writer, producer, and director), December 9, 1948 (died, February 4, 2005); children: (second marriage) Nora, LaVerne (also known as Hasna), Guy. Education: Hunter College, B.A., 1945; studied and apprenticed at American Negro Theatre, 1941-44; also studied with Morris Carnovsky, 1958-60, and Actors Workshop with Paul Mann and Lloyd Richards. Avocational Interests: Painting, music, sewing.
Addresses:
Agent—Marc Bass Agency, Inc., 9171 Wilshire Blvd., 3rd Floor, Suite 380, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.
Career:
Actress, director, and writer. Appeared at Arena Stage, Washington, DC, 1987-88; Emmalyn II Productions, founder with husband, Ossie Davis.
Member:
Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Negro American Labor Council, Hunter Alumnae Association of Artists for Freedom, Ladies Auxiliary to Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (honorary member), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, CORE, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Awards, Honors:
National Board of Review Award, best supporting actress, 1961, for A Raisin in the Sun; Emmy Award nomination, best actress, 1964, for East Side/West Side; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding single performance by an actress in a leading role, 1964, for The Nurses; Frederick Douglass Award of the Urban League (with Ossie Davis), 1970; Obie Award, Village Voice, and Drama Desk Award, 1971, both for Boseman and Lena; Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Rainbow Coalition, 1972; Drama Desk Award, 1973, for The Wedding Band; Paul Robeson Citation (with Davis), for outstanding creative contributions in the performing arts and in society at large, Actors' Equity Association, 1975; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or special, 1979, for Roots: The Next Generation; CableACE Award, actress in a dramatic presentation, 1983, for Long Day's Journey into Night; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or special, 1988, for Lincoln; inductee, Theatre Hall of Fame, 1988; Image Award, best performance by an actress, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1989, for Do the Right Thing; Literary Guild Award, 1989, for Two Ways to Count to Ten; Image Award (with Davis), hall of fame inductee, NAACP, 1989; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding guest actress in a drama series, 1990, for China Beach; Monarch Award, 1990; State University of New York, L.H.D., 1990; Crystal Award, Women in Film, 1991; Emmy Award, outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or a special, 1991, for Decoration Day; Sony Master Innovator for Film Award, 1991; Spelman College, D.F.A., 1991; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding guest actress in a comedy series, 1993, for Evening Shade; Silver Circle Award, National Academy of Television Arts and Science, 1994; Daytime Emmy Award nomination, outstanding performer in an animated program, 1995, for Whitewash; Presidential Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Art (with Davis), 1995; Image Award nomination, outstanding lead actress in a television movie, miniseries, or drama special, NAACP, 1997, for Captive Heart: The James Mink Story; Lifetime Achievement Award (with Davis), St. Louis International Film Festival, 1998; Image Award, outstanding supporting actress in a drama series, NAACP, 1999, for Promised Land; Image Award nomination, outstanding actress in a television movie, miniseries, or dramatic special, NAACP, 2000, for Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years; Image Award nomination, outstanding performance in a youth or children's series or special, NAACP, 2001, Daytime Emmy Award nominations, outstanding performer in an animated program, 2001, 2003, all for Little Bill; Life Achievement Award, Screen Actors Guild Awards, 2001; Audelco Award, best actress, 2001, Lucille Lortel Award nomination, outstanding actress, 2002, both for Saint Lucy's Eyes; Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence, Lucille Lortel Awards, 2002; Audie Award nomination (with Davis), multi-voiced performance, Audio Publishers Association, 2003, for Their Eyes Were Watching God; Kennedy Center Honors, 2004; Lifetime Achievement Award, Method Fest, 2006; Jury Award, best actress, Atlanta Film Festival, 2006, for No. 2; Grammy Award, best spoken word album, 2007, for With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together; Satellite Award nomination, best actress in a supporting role, drama, Satellite Awards, 2007, Screen Actors Guild Award, outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role, Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, Academy Award nomination, best performance by an actress in a supporting role, and Image Award nomination, outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture, all 2008, for American Gangster; honorary doctorates from Fairfield University, Iona College, and Virginia State University.
CREDITS
Stage Appearances:
Natural Man, American Negro Theatre, New York City, 1941.
Starlight, American Negro Theatre, 1942.
Three's a Family, American Negro Theatre, 1943.
(Broadway debut) A native, South Pacific (drama), Cort Theatre, New York City, 1943.
Ruth, Walk Hard, American Negro Theatre, 1944.
Libby George, Jeb, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1946.
Title role, Anna Lucasta, Mansfield Theatre, New York City, 1946.
Arsenic & Old Lace, 1946.
John Loves Mary, 1946.
Marcy, A Long Way from Home, Maxine Elliot's Theatre, New York City, 1948.
Mrs. Ellen McClellan, The Washington Years, American Negro Theatre, 1948.
Evelyn, The Smile of the World, Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 1949.
Defending Angel, The World of Sholom Aleichem, Barbizon Plaza Theatre, New York City, 1953-54.
Ruth Younger, A Raisin in the Sun, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1959.
Luttiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie Victorious, Cort Theatre, 1961.
Cordelia, King Lear, American Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, CT, 1965.
Kate, The Taming of the Shrew, American Shakespeare Festival, 1965.
The Talking Skull, White Barn Theatre, Westport, CT, 1965.
Julia Augustine, The Wedding Band, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Ann Arbor, MI, 1966.
Cassandra, Agamemnon, Ypsilanti Greek Theatre, Ypsilanti, MI, 1966.
Iris, The Birds, Ypsilanti Greek Theatre, 1966.
Oresteia, Ypsilanti Greek Theatre, 1966.
Lena, Boseman and Lena, Circle in the Square, New York City, 1970-71.
The Imaginary Invalid, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, 1971.
Julia Augustine, The Wedding Band, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, New York City, 1972.
Gertrude, Hamlet, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre, 1975.
Lead role, Twin-Bit Gardens (musical play; also known as Take It From the Top), New Federal Theatre, New York City, 1979.
Mattie Cooper, Checkmates, 46th Street Theatre, New York City, 1988.
Amanda Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie, Kreeger Theatre, Washington, DC, 1989.
Flying West, 1994.
Two Hahs-Hahs and a Homeboy, 1995.
My One Good Nerve: A Visit with Ruby Dee, Danny and Sylvia Kaye Playhouse, New York City, 1998, then Schomburg Center at the Langston Hughes Theatre, New York City, 2000.
Saint Lucy's Eyes, Women's Project Theatre, then Cherry Lane Theatre, both New York City, 2001.
A Last Dance for Sybil, New Federal Theatre, 2002.
Major Tours:
Title role, Anna Lucasta, U.S. cities, 1944.
(With Davis) A Treasury of Negro World Writing (poetry readings), U.S. cities, 1964.
Stage Director:
Twin-Bit Gardens (also known as Take It From the Top), New Federal Theatre, New York City, 1979.
Zora Is My Name!, Howard University, Washington, DC, 1983.
Film Appearances:
What a Guy, 1939.
That Man of Mine, 1947.
Janie, The Fight Never Ends, 1949.
Rachel Robinson, The Jackie Robinson Story, Eagle Lion, 1950.
Connie Brooks, No Way Out, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1950.
Rachel, slave maid, The Tall Target (also known as The Man on the Train), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951.
Irma Jackson, Go, Man, Go!, United Artists, 1954.
(Uncredited) Mrs. Ashlow, The Great American Pastime, 1956.
Lucy Tyler, Edge of the City (also known as A Man Is Ten Feet Tall), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1957.
Elizabeth, St. Louis Blues, Paramount, 1958.
Christine the Maid, Taking a Giant Step, Shelia/United Artists, 1959.
Ruth, Virgin Island (also known as Our Virgin Island), Countryman/Films-. Around the World, 1960.
Ruth Younger, A Raisin in the Sun, Paman-Doris/Columbia, 1961.
Thief, The Balcony, City Film Corporation/Continental, 1963.
Luttiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Gone Are the Days (also known as The Man from C.O.T.T.O.N. and Purlie Victorious), Hammer, 1963.
Laurie, Uptight (also known as Up Tight!), Marluikin/Paramount, 1965.
Joan Robinson, The Incident, Moned/Fox, 1968.
Narrator, King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis, 1970.
Netta's mother, Black Girl, Cinerama, 1972.
Ruth, Buck and the Preacher, Columbia, 1972.
(Uncredited) Herself, Wattstax, 1973.
Lorraine Hansberry: The Black Experience in the Creation of Drama, 1975.
Leah Matanzina, Countdown at Kusini, Tan International Ltd. of Nigeria-Gipp Productions/Columbia, 1976.
The Torture of Mothers, 1980.
Female, Cat People, RKO, 1982.
Fantastic freak, Wild Style, 1982.
Mother Sister, Do the Right Thing, Universal, 1989.
Corrine Dart, Love at Large, 1990.
Lucinda Purify, Jungle Fever, Universal, 1991.
Narrator, Color Adjustment (also known as Color Adjustment: Blacks in Prime Time), 1991.
Old Lucinda, Jazztime Tale, 1992.
Rachel, Cop & ½ (also known as Cop and a Half), 1993.
Evangeline Ferguson, Just Cause, 1995.
Jennie, Tuesday Morning Ride, 1995.
Hortense, A Simple Wish (also known as The Fairy Godmother), 1997.
Voice of narrator, A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner, 1998.
Margo, Baby Geniuses, Columbia TriStar/Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1999.
Voice of narrator, The Unfinished Journey (documentary), 1999.
Baby of the Family, 2002.
Reader, Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (documentary), 2003.
Herself, Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (documentary), Women Make Movies, 2003.
Herself, The History Makers (documentary), Image Entertainment, 2005.
Ms. Nay Nay, Dream Street, 2005.
Nanna Maria, No. 2 (also known as Naming Number Two), Miramax, 2006.
Maude, The Way Back Home, 2006.
Ms. Ella, All about Us, 2007.
Doris, Steam, 2007.
Mama Lucas, American Gangster, 2007.
Inez Hightower, Flying over Purgatory, 2007.
Film Work:
Uptight, Paramount, 1968.
Television Appearances; Series:
Martha Frazier, The Guiding Light (also known as Guiding Light), CBS, 1967.
Alma Miles, Peyton Place, ABC, 1968-69.
Watch Your Mouth, PBS, 1978.
With Ossie and Ruby (also known as Ossie and Ruby!), National Black Network, 1980-81.
Estelle Williams, Middle Ages, 1992.
Voice of Alice the Great, Little Bill (animated), Nickelodeon, 1999—.
Television Appearances; Miniseries:
Queen Haley, Roots: The Next Generation, ABC, 1979.
Faye Williams, The Atlanta Child Murders, CBS, 1985.
Keckley, Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" (also known as Lincoln), NBC, 1988.
Dorothy Stone, Sidney Sheldon's "Windmills of the Gods" (also known as Windmills of the Gods), CBS, 1988.
Mother Abigail, The Stand (also known as Stephen King's "The Stand"), ABC, 1994.
Elsie Claviere, Feast of All Saints (also known as Anne Rice's "Feast of All Saints"), Showtime, 2001.
Television Appearances; Movies:
Lucinda, Deadlock, NBC, 1969.
Sue Anne Lucas, The Sheriff, ABC, 1971.
Ruth Campanella, It's Good to Be Alive, CBS, 1974.
Grandmother Baxter, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, CBS, 1979.
Irene Whitfield, All God's Children, ABC, 1980.
Mary Tyrone, Long Day's Journey into Night, ABC Cable, 1983.
Mrs. Grimes, Go Tell It on the Mountain, 1984.
Rowena, Finch's housekeeper, Decoration Day, NBC, 1990.
Mallie Robinson, Jackie's mother, The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson, 1990.
Mrs. Lydia Wilson, The Ernest Green Story, Disney Channel, 1993.
Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday, PBS, 1993.
Indigo, Captive Heart: The James Mink Story, CBS, 1996.
Sophia, Mr. & Mrs. Loving, Showtime, 1996.
Mrs. Mitchell, "The Badge," The Wall, Showtime, 1998.
Mommit Porter, Passing Glory, TNT, 1999.
Annie Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (also known as Having Our Say), CBS, 1999.
Grandmother, A Storm in Summer, Showtime, 2000.
Mrs. Henry, Finding Buck McHenry, Showtime, 2000.
Emelda West, Taking Back Our Town, Lifetime, 2001.
Nanny, Their Eyes Were Watching God (also known as Oprah Winfrey Presents "Their Eyes Were Watching God"), ABC, 2005.
Television Appearances; Specials:
The First Year, 1946.
Dr. Bianca Pearson, staff member, Chelsea D.H.O., 1973.
Host, Windows on Women, 1985.
(With Davis) Host, Martin Luther King: The Dream and the Drum, PBS, 1986.
Narrator, Treemonisha, 1986.
Host ("Ossie & Ruby") and Mary Terrell, A Letter to Booker T., 1987.
Alice Weatherscott, Alice in Wonder, 1987.
Hattie Perkins, Crazy Hattie Enters the Ice Age, 1987.
Johnson's mother, Crown Dick, 1987.
Herself, Making "Do the Right Thing," 1989.
Narrator and Zora Neale Hurston, "Zora Is My Name!," American Playhouse, PBS, 1990.
Narrator, Nigerian Art: Kindred Spirits, 1990.
The 22nd Annual NAACP Image Awards, 1990.
Diamonds on the Silver Screen, 1992.
Guiding Light: The Primetime Special, 1992.
The 24th Annual NAACP Image Awards, 1992.
Presenter, The 48th Annual Tony Awards, 1994.
Narrator, After Goodbye: An AIDS Story, PBS, 1994.
Voice of Mrs. Calloway, grandmother, Whitewash, HBO, 1994.
Homeward Bound, 1994.
Narrator, Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul, PBS, 1995.
Narrator, Mississippi, America, PBS, 1996.
"Tuesday Morning Ride," Stories from the Edge, 1996.
Sidney Poitier: The Defiant One, Arts and Entertainment, 1997.
(Uncredited) Sports on the Silver Screen, 1997.
An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence Benefitting the United Negro College of Fund, Black Entertainment Television and syndicated, 1998.
Narrator, God's Gonna Trouble the Water, PBS, 1998.
NYTV: By the People Who Made It, PBS, 1998.
Narrator, The Rise of Christianity: The First Thousand Years, Arts and Entertainment, 1998.
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood, AMC, 1998.
America's Millennium, CBS, 1999.
Amsterdam News: Stories of Black New York, NBC, 2000.
Voice of Grandma, The Steadfast Tin Soldier: An Animated Special from the "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child" Series (animated), HBO, 2000.
Narrator, Freedom Never Dies: The Legacy of Harry T. Moore, PBS, 2001.
Intimate Portrait: Rosa Parks, Lifetime, 2001.
The 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, TNT, 2001.
Narrator, Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.
Civil Rights Heroes, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.
Inside TV Land: African Americans in Television, TV Land, 2002.
Hughes' Dream Harlem, Black Starz, 2002.
The 2003 Trumpet Awards, TBS, 2003.
Honoree, The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, CBS, 2004.
The Black Movie Awards, TNT, 2005.
An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Stevie Wonder, 2006.
The 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards, Fox, 2006.
Legends Ball (also known as Oprah Winfrey's "Legends Ball"), ABC, 2006.
The 2006 Black Movie Awards (also known as The 2006 Black Movie Awards—A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present & Future), 2006.
Also appeared in "Today Is Ours," The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People, CBS.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
"Actor's Choice," Camera Three, CBS, 1960.
Lila, "Seven Times Monday," Play of the Week, WNTA, 1960.
"Black Monday," Play of the Week, WNTA, 1961.
Herself, "The Beauty of a Woman," The DuPont Show of the Week, 1962.
Laura, "Decision in the Ring," The Fugitive, ABC, 1963.
Harriet Tubman, "Go Down Moses," The Great Adventure, CBS, 1963.
Irene Claytong, "Impact of an Execution," Alcoa Premiere, 1963.
Jenny Bishop, "Express Stop from Lenox Avenue," The Nurses (also known as The Doctors and the Nurses), 1963.
Marilyn Marsden, "No Hiding Place," East Side/West Side, CBS, 1964.
The Eternal Light, NBC, 1964.
Catherine Collins, "The Sworn Twelve," The Defenders, CBS, 1965.
"Slavery," The History of the Negro People, NET, 1965.
Vicky Kingsbury, "Neighbors," Armchair Theatre, ABC (Manchester, England), 1966.
The Merv Griffin Show, 1968.
The Sheriff, ABC, 1971.
"To Be Young, Gifted and Black," NET Playhouse, PBS, 1972.
Jan Lennox, "The Window That Wasn't," Tenafly, 1973.
Cora Sanders, "Target Black," Police Woman, NBC, 1975.
"Great Performances' 10th Anniversary Celebration," Great Performances, PBS, 1982.
Voice of herself, "Simon's Book," Reading Rainbow, PBS, 1984.
Eleanor Simpson, "Personal Demons," Spenser: For Hire, CBS, 1987.
Narrator, "Jazztime Tale," Long Ago and Far Away, 1989.
Ruby, "Skylark," China Beach, 1990.
Viola Watkins, "Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mammy," The Golden Girls, CBS, 1990.
Aurelia Danforth, Evening Shade, 1992.
Narrator, "Tar Beach," Reading Rainbow, PBS, 1992.
Aurelia Danforth, "They Can't Take That Away From," Evening Shade, CBS, 1993.
Narrator, "Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul," American Masters, PBS, 1995.
Narrator, "Porgy and Bess: An American Voice," Great Performances, PBS, 1998.
Alicia, "Baptism of Fire," Promised Land (also known as Home of the Brave), CBS, 1998.
Mattie, "Ol' Betsy," Cosby, CBS, 1999.
LaBelle, "The Christmas Gift," Touched by an Angel, CBS, 1999.
Voice of Louise, Fatherhood, Nickelodeon, 2003.
Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry (also known as Def Poetry and Def Poetry Jam), HBO, 2004.
Herself, "Amanda," Character Studies, PBS, 2005.
Herself, "Ruth," Character Studies, PBS, 2005.
Mary Wilson, "Empty Eyes," CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (also known as C.S.I., CSI: Las Vegas, and Les Experts), CBS, 2007.
Also appeared as herself, "The Films of Spike Lee," The Directors, Encore; Grace Gilmore, "The Bitter Cup," Frontiers of Faith.
Television Work; Specials:
Executive producer, Martin Luther King: The Dream and the Drum, PBS, 1986.
Producer and director, A Letter to Booker T., 1987.
Producer, Alice in Wonder, 1987.
Producer, Crazy Hattie Enters the Ice Age, 1987.
Executive producer, Crown Dick, 1987.
Producer, Mama, 1987.
Producer and director, My Man Bovanne, 1987.
Producer, Refrigerator, 1987.
Producer and director, The 85-Year-Old Swinger, 1987.
Also worked as coproducer, "Today Is Ours," The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People, CBS; (with Ossie Davis and Bill Moyers) A Walk Through the 20th Century, CBS.
Radio Appearances:
This Is Norah Drake, CBS, 1955.
The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Story Hour, National Black Network, 1974-78.
RECORDINGS
Taped Readings:
(With Ossie Davis) The Poetry of Langston Hughes, Caedmon, 1969.
(With Davis) Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folktales from the Gulf States, Harper-Audio, 2001.
(With Davis) Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper, 2001.
Badger's Parting Gifts, GPN, 2001.
(With Davis) With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together, 2006.
Also recorded poems and stories.
Videos:
(With Davis) Hands Upon the Heart, 1991.
Hands Upon the Heart II, 1993.
Narrator, M and M Smith: For Posterity's Sake, Reed Publishing, 1997.
Ann Grifalconi's Tiny's Hat, Spoken Arts, 2000.
The Ernest Green Story, Disney Educational Productions, 2001.
Hughes' Dream Harlem, California Newsreel, 2002.
(With Davis) Narrator, Counting on Democracy, Bullfrog Films, 2004.
WRITINGS
Books:
(Editor) Glowchild, and Other Poems, Third Press, 1972.
My One Good Nerve (short stories, poetry, and humor), Third World Press, 1987.
(Reteller) Two Ways to Count to Ten (juvenile), Holt, 1988.
(Reteller) The Tower to Heaven (juvenile), Holt, 1991.
(With Davis) With Ossie & Ruby: In This Life Together (autobiography), Morrow, 1998.
My One Good Nerve, J. Wiley & Sons, 1998.
In Life Lit by Some Large Vision, Atria Books, 2006.
Plays:
Twin-Bit Gardens (also known as Take It from the Top), produced off-Broadway at New Federal Theatre, 1979.
Books with Legs, 1993.
Screenplays:
(With Jules Dassin and Julian Mayfield) Uptight (adapted from Liam O'Flaherty's novel The Informer), Paramount, 1968.
Television Specials:
Crazy Hattie Enters the Ice Age (television special), 1987.
"Zora Is My Name!," American Playhouse (television special), PBS, 1990.
Also contributor to Voices of the Black Theatre; author of columns for newspapers and magazines, including New York Amsterdam News; and associate editor, Freedomways magazine.
SIDELIGHTS
Favorite roles: Luttiebelle in Purlie Victorious, Lena in Boseman and Lena, and Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 50, Thomson Gale, 2005.
Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., Gale Research, 1998.
Periodicals:
American Theatre, September, 1998, p. 67.
Black Enterprise, May, 2005, p. 144.
Ebony, March, 1997, p. 71; February, 1999, p. 48.
Essence, October, 2005, p. 144.
Jet, January 11, 1999, p. 30.
