Ossie Davis: Actor, writer and eloquent champion of racial justice, dies at 87

Ossie Davis, the imposing, deep-voiced actor who with his wife and acting partner, Ruby Dee, helped widen horizons for African American on stage and screen while fighting zealously for civil rights from Washington to Hollywood, died at 87. One of his best-known works was 'Purlie Victorious'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Black scholar 2005-03, Vol.35 (1), p.40-42
Main Authors: Severo, Richard, Martin, Douglas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African American actors
African American actresses
Biography
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Ossie Davis, the imposing, deep-voiced actor who with his wife and acting partner, Ruby Dee, helped widen horizons for African American on stage and screen while fighting zealously for civil rights from Washington to Hollywood, died at 87. One of his best-known works was 'Purlie Victorious', which used comical stereotypes to make singing points about racism, which he wrote and played the title character of a preacher trying to pen an integrated church in an old barn.
ISSN:0006-4246