- unitid
-
{"value"=>"186306", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc Photo Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Collection", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23289156", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1940s-2012", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1940/2012"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee photographs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"12 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"4.62 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Ossie Davis (1917-2005) and Ruby Dee (1922-2014) were American actors, writers, and activists whose careers spanned the mediums of theater, film, television, radio, and print. The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee photographs, dating from the 1940s to 2012, chronicle the couple's performing roles, as well as their public life as activists and relationships with colleagues in the arts."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Davis, Ossie", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>This biographical note was written in 2019 by Amelia Carlin and Heather Lember for the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee papers (edited by Nathan Evans in 2024).</p> <p>Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were African-American performing artists, writers, and activists. They worked collaboratively and independently throughout their careers as actors, authors, directors, playwrights, producers, and voice-over narrators. Their work spanned the mediums of film, television, radio, and theater. Together they also published collections of poetry and essays, a joint memoir, articles, books for children, plays, and speeches.</p> <p>Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis) was born in 1917 in Cogdell, Georgia. He left Georgia in 1935 to attend Howard University, where he studied English and drama, then moved to the Harlem neighborhood in New York City with the intent of establishing a stage career as a playwright. In Harlem, Davis joined the Rose McClendon Players and studied acting with Lloyd Richards. He made his stage debut in a 1939 production of <span class=\"title\">Joy Exceeding Glory</span>.</p> <p>Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1922. Her family moved to Harlem soon after she was born. Dee earned a Bachelor's degree from Hunter College in New York City, where she studied French and Spanish. Between 1940 and 1945, she apprenticed with the American Negro Theatre which occupied the basement stage of the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library. She studied radio techniques at the American Theatre Wing, and appeared on a number of radio shows. Dee made her stage debut in a production of Abram Hill's <span class=\"title\">On Strivers Row</span> in 1940. The following year she married the blues singer, Frankie Dee Brown, retaining his name after they divorced in 1945.</p> <p>Dee and Davis were cast together in the Broadway production of <span class=\"title\">Jeb</span>, which was Davis' Broadway debut, launching his professional theater career. In 1946, Davis and Dee were cast together again in the American Negro Theatre's production of Philip Yordan's <span class=\"title\">Anna Lucasta</span>. Dee replaced Hilda Simms in the lead, and remained in the starring role when the play moved to Broadway. On December 9, 1948, the couple married during a single-day break in their work on a production of <span class=\"title\">Smile of the World</span>.</p> <p>Dee was cast in the role of the Defending Angel in the 1953 off-Broadway production of <span class=\"title\">The World of Sholom Aleichem</span>. The play, stage managed by Davis, marked one of the first times that a Black actor appeared on Broadway or off-Broadway in a role not specifically written for a Black character. Five years later, in 1958, Davis and Dee were called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee as a result of their perceived communist sympathies. Although they were not officially blacklisted, Davis and Dee were surveilled by the FBI. During this period, as a means of generating work, they performed readings, dramatizations, short works, and gave talks at schools, churches, colleges, and other community spaces.</p> <p>In 1959, Dee was cast opposite Sidney Poitier in the lead role of Ruth Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's <span class=\"title\">A Raisin in the Sun</span>, which was the first play by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. Davis assumed the part of Walter Lee after Poitier left the production, and Dee reprised her role opposite Poitier for the film version in 1961. Four years later, Dee became the first Black woman to play a lead role at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut, where she was cast in the role of Kate in <span class=\"title\">The Taming of the Shrew</span>.</p> <p>During the 1950s and 1960s, Davis continued to act in theater productions as well as write for the stage. Among Davis' many playwriting credits, his most widely known work is <span class=\"title\">Purlie Victorious</span> (1961), which satirized racial stereotypes in the American South. Davis and Dee played the lead roles in the theatrical production, which Davis then adapted for the screen in 1963's <span class=\"title\">Gone are the Days</span>. Davis also directed a number of films throughout the 1970s including <span class=\"title\">Cotton Comes to Harlem</span> (1970) <span class=\"title\">Kongi's Harvest</span> (1970) <span class=\"title\">Black Girl</span> (1972), <span class=\"title\">Gordon's War</span> (1973), and <span class=\"title\">Countdown at Kusini</span> (1976).</p> <p>Dee's writing debut came in 1979 with <span class=\"title\">Take it from the Top</span>, which was directed by Davis, and featured music by the couple's son, Guy Davis. Dee's other writing credits include <span class=\"title\">John Boscoe and the Devil</span> (1981), <span class=\"title\">Zora is my Name</span> (1983), <span class=\"title\">Aunt Zurletha</span> (1985), <span class=\"title\">The Disappearance</span> (1993), and <span class=\"title\">My One Good Nerve</span> (1996).</p> <p>Davis and Dee began hosting a weekly radio show, <span class=\"title\">The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Story Hour</span>, in 1975. Five years later, along with their three children, they formed Emmalyn Productions, also referred to as Emmalyn II Productions or Emmalyn Enterprises. Among their various projects for the company was the Davis- and Dee-hosted television show, <span class=\"title\">With Ossie and Ruby</span> (1981-1982, 1985). In 1997, the couple published the joint autobiography, <span class=\"title\">With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together</span>, to commemorate their fiftieth marriage anniversary.</p> <p>Davis and Dee were activists throughout their lives, and prominent in the civil rights movement. The couple was close to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and were instrumental in fundraising and publicizing his work and that of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Davis and Dee were also founding members of the Association of Artists for Freedom. They were organizers and fundraisers for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Davis was responsible for the entertainment programming and served as emcee of the morning's proceedings. From the mid-1950s onwards, they were closely involved with the labor union Local 1199, and beginning in the late 1970s, with its cultural program \"Bread and Roses.\" Additionally, Davis and Dee raised money for the Freedom Riders, were decades-long supporters of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of New York, and were friends with Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. Davis eulogized Malcolm X at his funeral in 1965, and famously re-created the eulogy as a voice-over in Spike Lee's 1992 film, <span class=\"title\">Malcolm X</span>.</p> <p>Davis and Dee garnered a number of prestigious awards acknowledging their contributions to the American stage, film, television, and for their activism. This includes the NAACP Image Awards, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Silver City Award, and the lifetime achievement award of the Screen Actors' Guild. Additionally, Dee was awarded two Emmys, an Obie, a Drama Desk Award, and an Oscar nomination for her performance in <span class=\"title\">American Gangster</span> (2007). Davis earned Emmy nominations for his work in <span class=\"title\">Teacher, Teacher</span> (1969), <span class=\"title\">King</span> (1978), and <span class=\"title\">Miss Evers' Boys</span> (1997), and was awarded a Daytime Emmy for his role in the children's special <span class=\"title\">Finding Buck McHenry</span> (2001).</p> <p>Davis died on February 4, 2005 while filming <span class=\"title\">Retirement</span> in Florida; Dee was in New Zealand filming <span class=\"title\">Naming Number Two</span> at the time. She died on June 11, 2014 at her home in New Rochelle, New York.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee photographs date from the 1940s to 2012, and extensively document the couple's acting work in theater, film, and television. The collection also addresses their public life as activists, relationships with colleagues in the arts, awards and honors, and personal life. The majority of photographs are 8\" x 10\" prints, with other common sizes being 4\" x 6\" and 5\" x 7\". Identifying information such as dates, names, and titles are often written on paper separating the photographs in sleeves (photographs are not affixed to the paper). The collection holds some color slides as well. Significant photographers represented in the collection include Carl Van Vechten, Fred Fehl, Bert Anderson, Myron Ehrenberg, Chester Higgins, Jr., and the Friedman-Abeles Studio.</p> <p>Davis and Dee's photographs are arranged chronologically into the following groups: Productions; Headshots and Publicity; Events; Personal; and Friends and Other People.</p> <p>Photographs of productions make up the bulk of the collection. There are hundreds of photographs from theater productions, films, and television programs that Davis and Dee appeared in, either separately or together. Each work is represented by some combination of production stills, promotional portraits, and behind-the-scenes photographs of Davis and Dee with cast and crew members. When different versions of a work are present, such as an original theater production and revival, these distinctions are noted in the container list.</p> <p>The collection highlights Davis and Dee's theater work in the 1940s and 1950s with plays and musicals such as <span class=\"title\">Black Women in White</span> (1941), <span class=\"title\">A Long Way from Home</span> (1948), <span class=\"title\">The Wisteria Trees</span> (1950, 1955), <span class=\"title\">The Green Pastures</span> (1951), <span class=\"title\">The World of Sholom Aleichem</span> (1953, 1955), <span class=\"title\">Jamaica</span> (1958), and the first play they acted in together, <span class=\"title\">Jeb</span> (1946). There are photographs from their early films, notably <span class=\"title\">That Man of Mine</span> (1947), <span class=\"title\">No Way Out</span> (1950), and <span class=\"title\">The Tall Target</span> (1951). Many photographs are present for <span class=\"title\">The Jackie Robinson Story</span> (1950), primarily production stills, promotional portraits of Dee with Robinson, and on set shots of the cast and crew. Notable television programs documented in the collection include <span class=\"title\">The Doctors and the Nurses</span> (1963), <span class=\"title\">Of Courtship and Marriage</span> (1964), <span class=\"title\">King</span> (1978), <span class=\"title\">Roots: The Next Generation</span> (1978), and <span class=\"title\">Decoration Day</span> (1990).</p> <p>Other prominent productions include <span class=\"title\">Purlie Victorious</span> (1961), <span class=\"title\">A Man Called Adam</span> (1966), <span class=\"title\">The Wedding Band</span> (1966, 1972), <span class=\"title\">The Scalphunters</span> (1968), <span class=\"title\">I'm Not Rappaport</span> (1986, 1996), <span class=\"title\">Checkmates</span> (1988, 1996), <span class=\"title\">The Glass Menagerie</span> (1989), and <span class=\"title\">Saint Lucy's Eyes</span> (2001). Additionally, there are photographs from four films Davis directed in the 1970s: <span class=\"title\">Cotton Comes to Harlem</span>, <span class=\"title\">Black Girl</span>, <span class=\"title\">Kongi's Harvest</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Countdown at Kusini</span>. Also of note are production stills for Spike Lee's 1989 film, <span class=\"title\">Do the Right Thing</span>, along with photographs of Davis and Dee with the film's cast at that year's Cannes Film Festival.</p> <p>Headshots and publicity photographs feature portraits of Davis and Dee separately and together from throughout their careers. Of special interest are photographs taken by Carl Van Vechten of Davis and Dee both separately and together in 1961, all located in box 7.</p> <p>Photographs of events chronicle Davis and Dee's activism and civic activities, awards and honors they received, formal social functions they attended, and other public appearances. These photographs are largely not professionally staged, and often show Davis and Dee with other well-known individuals in the arts or politics.</p> <p>The activism and civic activities photographs depict Davis and Dee at rallies, protests, political conferences, and labor and charity events. Their involvement in the civil rights movement is documented by photographs of Davis speaking at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, and a 1957 photograph of Dee with Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Juanita Poitier at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. These photographs are located in box 8.</p> <p>Awards and honors photographs showcase Davis and/or Dee receiving honorary degrees, certificates, city proclamations, acting awards, and honors for their civil rights work. Among these awards and honors are: Howard University Founders Day Award (Davis, 1965); Spelman College honorary doctorate (Dee, 1990); Emmy Award for <span class=\"title\">Decoration Day</span> (Dee, 1990); National Medal of Arts (Davis and Dee, 1995); and National Civil Rights Museum Lifetime Achievement Freedom Award (Dee, 2005).</p> <p>Photographs of social functions depict Davis and Dee at formal events, mostly with other people. Film premieres, tribute dinners, receptions, galas, talks, formal birthday parties, and festivals are the most common events portrayed here. Many well-known individuals in the arts and politics are featured with Dee and Davis in these photographs, including Henry Fonda, Dick Gregory, Duke Ellington, Alex Haley, Rosalynn Carter, Abbey Lincoln, John Lewis, Maya Angelou, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Sidney Poitier, and Harry Belafonte. The Other Appearances files holds similar photographs of Davis and Dee at formal events from throughout their careers.</p> <p>Davis and Dee's personal photographs are largely candid shots inside and around their New Rochelle, New York home. Casual shots of Dee and Davis traveling and attending informal events are present as well.</p> <p>Photographs of other people mostly date from the 1940s and 1950s, and consist of portraits and publicity shots of actors, musicians, and writers usually inscribed to Davis and/or Dee. There are photographs of Etta Moten Barnett, Nat \"King\" Cole, Countee Cullen, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Hilda Haynes. Also included are later photographs of Charles Mingus, Denzel Washington, Jesse Jackson, and one of Martin Luther King, Jr. with Malcolm X.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is arranged chronologically in the following groups: Productions, Headshots and Publicity, Events, Personal, and Friends and Other People.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Purchased from Nora Davis Day and Dr. Hasna Muhammad in 2018.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photographs transferred from the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee papers in Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books, Schomburg Center.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Nathan Evans</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1940
- keydate
-
1940
- date_end
-
2012
- date_inclusive_start
-
1940
- date_inclusive_end
-
2012
- extent_statement
-
4.62 linear feet (12 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee photographs, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library"}