Ossie Davis, Actor, Author and Elder Statesman, Remembered

Ossie Davis, Actor, Author and Elder Statesman, Remembered

Family and Peers Give Stirring Tributes to Film and Theater Trailblazer

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Ossie Davis, 87, noted writer, actor and activist, was memorialized Saturday in Harlem -- where his stellar career began some 66 years ago -- with the public who adored him and the stars who performed with and admired him. The leading light of Broadway and film shared an admirable career in the arts with his wife, actress Ruby Dee, for more than half a century.

The service at Riverside Church included moving reflections and tributes by the beloved actor's children and grandchildren, Alan Alda, Burt Reynolds and Attallah Shabazz, eldest daughter of Malcolm X. Maya Angelou and Sonia Sanchez delivered stirring poetic tributes, Wynton Marsalis performed and Avery Brooks read from Purlie Victorious, a play written by and starring Davis in 1961. Harry Belafonte delivered the eulogy at the ecumenical ceremony, which was presided over by the Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, pastor of Riverside Church, and the Reverend Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, where Davis was a member.

Hollywood luminaries and political figures alike came to mourn the beloved actor. Those on hand included Cicely Tyson, Angela Bassett, Courtney Vance, Kim Fields, Mary Alice, Alice Walker, Delroy Lindo, S. Epatha Merkerson, Charles Dutton, Michael Eric Dyson, Max Roach, Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Charles Rangel, former Mayor David Dinkins, Percy Sutton, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Vernon Jordan, Rachel Robinson, Earl G. Graves, Sr., Susan L. Taylor and Ed Lewis.

Davis began his career as a writer and actor with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem after attending Howard University. He went on to join the casts of several Broadway productions and in 1994 was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. During his career the star appeared in more than 80 films, including The Cardinal, Let's Do It Again, Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Grumpy Old Men, Get on the Bus, Doctor Dolittle and Baadassss. In 1970, Davis directed Cotton Comes to Harlem, the first of four feature films he directed. He appeared on the small screen in numerous shows, earning Emmy Award nominations for his work in Teacher, Teacher, King, and Miss Evers' Boys and winning a Daytime Emmy in 2001 for his title role in Finding Buck McHenry. Davis and Dee had been honored at the Kennedy Center in December 2004.

Mr. Davis's funeral followed a processional of family members and friends from Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where throngs of the actor's fans paid their respects to him Friday evening at a public visitation.

The actor died of natural causes on February 4 in Miami, where he was filming a movie. He was born in Cogdell, Georgia in 1917.

He is survived by his wife Ruby; his daughters Nora Davis Day and Hasna Muhammad; his son Guy; a brother William; and seven grandchildren.

Final arrangements for Mr. Davis are private.


Source: Black Enterprise

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