Ossie Davis
Actor
Born December 18, 1917 in Cogdell, Georgia, USA
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He may be best known for his roles in Spike Lee-directed films such as School Daze (1988) and Do the Right Thing (1989). Other films Davis acted in include The Hill (1965), A Man Called Adam (1966), Let's Do It Again (1975), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Grumpy Old Men (1993), The Client (1994), Dr. Dolittle (1998), Dinosaur (2000), and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002). He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, from 1948 until his death.
Filmography
Haiti: Killing the Dream
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Self (archive footage)
Deacons for Defense
Reverend 'Rev' Gregory
The History Makers: Success
Self
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Self
She Hate Me
Judge Buchanan
Proud
Lorenzo DuFau
Baadasssss!
Granddad
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks
Self
The L Word
Melvin Porter
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Self
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Himself
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
Theater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun'
Self
Bubba Ho-tep
John F. "Jack" Kennedy
Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years
Narrator
Feast of All Saints
Jean-Jacques
Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco - The Fillmore
Narrator
The Legend of the Candy Cane
Julius (voice)
Here's to Life!
Duncan Cox
Dinosaur
Yar (voice)
Finding Buck McHenry
Buck McHenry
The Unfinished Journey
Narrator (voice)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve
Caretaker
The Soul Collector
Mordecai
Third Watch
Mr. Parker
The Secret Path
Too Tall
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Self
A Vow to Cherish
Alexander Billman
Doctor Dolittle
Archer Dolittle
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
Self
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
Self
12 Angry Men
Juror 2
4 Little Girls
Self - Actor and Playwright
Miss Evers' Boys
Mr. Evers
Thomas Jefferson
Narrator (voice)
Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough
Self
I'm Not Rappaport
Midge Carter
Get on the Bus
Jeremiah / 'Pop'
Promised Land
The West
Self
JAG
Terrence Minnerly
The Client
Judge Harry Roosevelt
The Android Affair
Dr. Winston
Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder
Uncle Phil
Touched by an Angel
Gabriel
Baseball
Various (voice)
The Client
Harry Roosevelt
Ray Alexander: A Taste For Justice
Uncle Phil
The Stand
Judge Richard Farris
Malcolm X: Make It Plain
Self
Grumpy Old Men
Chuck
Cop & ½
Detective in Squad Room
Goin' Back to T-Town
Narrator
Alex Haley's Queen
Parson Dick
The Ernest Green Story
Grandfather
Malcolm X
Eulogy Performer (voice)
The Real Malcolm X
Gladiator
Noah
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Self
Jungle Fever
Reverend Purify
Evening Shade
Ponder Blue
Joe Versus the Volcano
Marshall
The Red Shoes
Do the Right Thing
Da Mayor
B.L. Stryker
Oz Jackson
American Experience
Self - Harlem Resident
School Daze
Coach Odom
American Masters
Self
Sesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories
Anansi the Spider (Sleepytime Songs and Stories) (voice)
Avenging Angel
Capt. Harry Moradian
Tyler Texas Black Film Collection
Himself
Harry & Son
Raymond
The House of God
Dr. Sanders
Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
For Us, the Living: The Story of Medgar Evers
American Playhouse
Purlie
Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige
Chuffy Russell
Death of a Prophet
All God's Children
Blaine Whitfield
Freedom Road
Narrator
Hot Stuff
Captain John Geiberger
Roots: The Next Generations
'Dad' Jones
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
King
Rev. Martin Luther King Sr.
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
Dr. Fredericks
The Tenth Level
Reed
Countdown at Kusini
Ernest Motapo
Let's Do It Again
Elder Johnson
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Narrator
Gordon's War
Wattstax
Self (uncredited)
Black Girl
Malcolm X
Eulogy (voice)
The Sheriff
James Lucas
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Kongi's Harvest
Narrator
Night Gallery
Osmond Portifoy
Slaves
Luke
Sam Whiskey
Jed Hooker
Teacher, Teacher
Charles Carter
The Fall
Hawaii Five-O
Ramon Borelle
The Name of the Game
Kubani
The Scalphunters
Joseph Lee
Still A Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class
Narrator
The Outsider
Lt. Wagner
Black Liberation
Narrator
A Man Called Adam
Nelson Davis
Run for Your Life
Frankie Morton
The Hill
Jacko King
12 O'Clock High
Major Glenn Luke
Shock Treatment
Capshaw
The Cardinal
Father Gillis
The Great Adventure
John Ross
East Side/West Side
The Fugitive
Lt. Johnny Gaines
Gone Are the Days!
Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson
Hands of Inge
Narrator (voice)
The Defenders
Nixie
John Brown's Raid
Dangerfield Newby
Bonanza
Sam Davis
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Charles Carter
Fourteen Hours
Cab Driver (uncredited)
No Way Out
John Brooks (uncredited)
Kraft Television Theatre
The Emperor Jones