Ossie Davis

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Ossie Davis was an American film, television and Broadway actor, director, poet, playwright, author, and civil rights activist.

Birth Name

Raiford Chatman Davis

Born

Tuesday, 18 December 1917

Died

Friday, 04 February 2005

Actor Filmography

Title	Character	Year

What's My Name: Muhammad Ali	Self (voice) (archive footage)	2019
American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs	Himself (archive footage)	2013
For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots	(voice)	2010
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness	Jack	2007
The Peace! DVD	Himself	2005
Character Studies	Himself	2005
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'	Himself	2005
She Hate Me	Judge Buchanan	2004
Proud	Lorenzo DuFau	2004
Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem	Himself	2004

(see additional filmography)

Actor Filmography

Title	Character	Year

What's My Name: Muhammad Ali	Self (voice) (archive footage)	2019
American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs	Himself (archive footage)	2013
For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots	(voice)	2010
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness	Jack	2007
The Peace! DVD	Himself	2005
Character Studies	Himself	2005
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'	Himself	2005
She Hate Me	Judge Buchanan	2004
Proud	Lorenzo DuFau	2004
Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem	Himself	2004
Baadasssss!	Granddad	2004
The L Word	Melvin Porter	2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years	(archive footage)	2004
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks	Himself	2003
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property	Himself	2003
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives	Reader	2003
XXI Century	Himself - Actor	2003
Deacons for Defense	Reverend 'Rev' Gregory	2003
Presidio Med	Otis Clayton	2002
Bubba Ho-tep	Jack	2002
Why Can't We Be a Family Again?	Narrator (voice)	2002
Counting on Democracy: The Untold Story of 175,000 Missing Votes in the 2000 Presidential Election	Himself - Narrator	2002
The Feast of All Saints	Jean-Jacques	2001
Philly	Gilbert Willoughby	2001
Legend of the Candy Cane	Julius (voice)	2001
Here's to Life!	Duncan Cox	2000
Dinosaur	Yar (voice)	2000
City of Angels	Henry, King of England / Henry Charles, Henry, King of England	2000
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist	Himself	2000
The Ghosts of Christmas Eve	The Caretaker	1999
The Soul Collector	Mordecai	1999
Third Watch	Mr. Parker	1999
Independent Lens	Narrator / Self	1999
The Century: America's Time	Himself	1999
The Secret Path	Too Tall	1999
The Directors	Himself	1999
A Vow To Cherish	Alexander Billman	1999
Doctor Dolittle	Archer Dolittle	1998
12 Angry Men	Juror #2	1997
4 Little Girls	Himself - Actor and Playwright	1997
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers	Narrator	1997
Miss Evers' Boys	Mr. Evers	1997
Thomas Jefferson	Narrator	1997
I'm Not Rappaport	Midge Carter	1996
Get On The Bus	Jeremiah	1996
Cosby	Fred	1996
Promised Land	Erasmus Jones	1996
The West	Himself (voice), John R. Gills	1996
JAG	Terrence Minnerly	1995
The Client	Judge Harry Roosevelt	1995
The Android Affair	Dr. Winston	1995
Touched by an Angel	Erasmus Jones, Gabe, Gabriel	1994
Baseball	Various, Himself, Voice	1994
The Client	Harry Roosevelt	1994
The Stand	Judge Richard Farris	1994
Grumpy Old Men	Chuck	1993
Queen	Parson Dick	1993
The Great Depression	Himself	1993
Lincoln	Frederick Douglas (voice)	1992
Malcolm X	Eulogy Performer (voice)	1992
Gladiator	Noah	1992
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker	Himself	1991
Jungle Fever	The Good Reverend Doctor Purify	1991
Evening Shade	Ponder Blue	1990
Joe Versus the Volcano	Marshall	1990
The Red Shoes	Narrator	1990
Making Do the Right Thing	Himself	1989
Do the Right Thing	Da Mayor	1989
B.L. Stryker	Oz Jackson	1989
American Experience	Self - Harlem Resident	1988
P.O.V.	Self (archive footage)	1988
School Daze	Paula (as Cassandra Davis)	1988
Nightlife	Himself	1986
American Masters	Himself (archive footage), Narrator (voice) / Self, Self	1986
Avenging Angel	Captain Harry Moradian	1985
Harry & Son	Raymond	1984
The House of God	Dr. Sanders	1984
Reading Rainbow	Himself (voice)	1983
Death of a Prophet	Himself	1981
All God's Children	Blaine Whitfield	1980
Freedom Road	Narrator	1979
Hot Stuff	Captain John Geiberger	1979
Roots: The Next Generations	Jones, Dad Jones	1979
King	Rev. Martin Luther King Sr.	1978
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid	Dr. Fredericks	1977
The Tenth Level	Reed	1976
Cool Red	Ernest Motapo	1976
NBC Special Treat	Mr. Elgin	1975
Let's Do It Again	Elder Johnson	1975
Malcolm X	Eulogy	1972
Actor's Choice	Himself - performer	1970
Love, American Style	(segment "Love and High Spirits")	1969
The David Frost Show	Himself	1969
Slaves	Luke	1969
Sam Whiskey	Jed Hooker	1969
Teacher, Teacher	Charles Carter	1969
The Fall	Himself	1969
The Name of the Game	Kubani	1968
Hawaii Five-O	Ramon Borelle	1968
Still a Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class	Narrator	1968
The Scalphunters	Joseph Lee	1968
The Outsider	Lt. Wagner	1967
N.Y.P.D.	Dempsey	1967
A Man Called Adam	Nelson Davis	1966
History of the Negro People	Himself - Host	1965
Run for Your Life	Dave Corbett, Frankie Morton, Sgt. Dave Corbett	1965
The Hill	Jacko King	1965
Slattery's People	Jack Phillips	1964
12 O'Clock High	Major Glenn Luke	1964
Shock Treatment	Capshaw	1964
The Cardinal	Father Gillis	1963
The Great Adventure	John Ross	1963
Gone Are the Days!	Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson	1963
The Fugitive	Lt. Johnny Gaines	1963
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Himself, Himself - Guest	1962
The Doctors and the Nurses	Dr. Farmer	1962
Accent on an American Summer	The Priest	1962
Car 54, Where Are You?	Officer Omar Anderson	1961
The Defenders	District Attorney Daniel Jackson, District Attorney, Nixie, Officer Bond, Assistant District Attorney	1961
CBS Repertoire Workshop	Father	1960
Play of the Week	Will	1959
Bonanza	Sam Davis	1959
Playhouse 90		1956
Hallmark Hall of Fame		1951
Fourteen Hours	Cab Driver (uncredited)	1951
No Way Out	John Brooks (uncredited)	1950
Kraft Theatre	The Emperor Jones	1947

Director Filmography

Title	Year

Cool Red	1976
Gordon's War	1973
Black Girl	1972
Cotton Comes to Harlem	1970
Kongi's Harvest	1970

Year	Type	Category	Won

2005	Emmy	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1997	Emmy	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Nominated
1978	Emmy	Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1969	Golden Globe	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
1969	Emmy	Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Nominated