Ossie Davis

Actor

1917 - 2005
Photograph of Ossie Davis

Profession

ActorDirector

Hometown

Cogdell, GA

Overview

Actor Ossie Davis started on the New York stage, performing in productions of Jeb (1946), The Green Pastures (1951), and A Raisin in the Sun (1959). (He would meet future wife Ruby Dee on Jeb’s stage.) He started his movie career in the early 1950s but would find even greater success in later decades. In the 1970s, he directed films like Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), and new audiences rediscovered his acting in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly through appearances in several Spike Lee joints. A prominent civil rights activist, he delivered a eulogy at Malcolm X’s funeral and spoke at a memorial for Martin Luther King, Jr.

Select Filmography

Year
Name
Credits
Genre
1953
The Joe Louis Story
Actor
Drama
NameThe Joe Louis Story
Year1953CreditsActorGenreDrama
1963
Gone Are the Days
Actor, Screenplay
Drama
NameGone Are the Days
Year1963CreditsActor, ScreenplayGenreDrama
1970
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Director, Screenplay
Drama
NameCotton Comes to Harlem
Year1970CreditsDirector, ScreenplayGenreDrama

About the Filmography

The selected filmography for the years 1897–1971 includes works featured in the exhibition and others that are considered historically, socially, or politically relevant. Hollywood productions are generally excluded; the focus is instead on independent films, particularly the work of Black filmmakers. Black Academy Award nominees and winners are noted. This filmography was compiled using the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and various filmographies, including those by Klotman, Richards, and Hyatt. Primary production materials and contemporaneous film reviews were also consulted. Complete credits for many of the films are unavailable. All films are US productions unless otherwise noted, and distribution credits refer to the original distributors.

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