Ruby Dee

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Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun (1961). Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) and Do the Right Thing (1989).

Birth Name

Ruby Ann Wallace

Born

Friday, 27 October 1922

Died

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Actress Filmography

Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age	Self	2021
Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart	Self	2017
And when I die, I won't stay dead	Self	2015
The Oscars	Self - Actress (In Memoriam)	2015
An Ecstatic Experience	Self	2015
The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards	Self (In Memoriam)	2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee	Self	2014
1982	Rose Brown	2013
American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs	Self	2013
Betty and Coretta	Narrator	2013

(see additional filmography)

Actress Filmography

Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age	Self	2021
Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart	Self	2017
And when I die, I won't stay dead	Self	2015
The Oscars	Self - Actress (In Memoriam)	2015
An Ecstatic Experience	Self	2015
The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards	Self (In Memoriam)	2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee	Self	2014
1982	Rose Brown	2013
American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs	Self	2013
Betty and Coretta	Narrator	2013
Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary	Self	2012
A Thousand Words	Annie McCall	2012
Sing Your Song	Self	2012
Politics of Love		2011
The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll	Miss Candy	2011
Video Girl	Valerie	2011
For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots	(voice)	2010
A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School	Narrator	2009
America	Mrs. Harper	2009
Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement	Self	2009
The 80th Annual Academy Awards	Self - Nominee	2008
Meet Mary Pleasant	Self	2008
Steam	Doris	2007
American Gangster	Mama Lucas	2007
All About Us	Ms. Ella	2007
The Way Back Home	Maude	2006
Naming Number Two	Nanna Maria	2006
Lockdown, USA	Narrator	2006
The Tyra Banks Show	Self	2005
Their Eyes Were Watching God	Nanny	2005
Character Studies	Self	2005
Fatherhood	Louise	2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years	(archive footage)	2004
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks	Herself / Self	2003
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives	Reader	2003
Def Poetry	Self	2002
Counting on Democracy: The Untold Story of 175,000 Missing Votes in the 2000 Presidential Election	Self - Narrator	2002
Taking Back Our Town	Emelda West	2001
The Feast of All Saints	Elsie Claviere	2001
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Mary Wilson	2000
Finding Buck McHenry	Mrs. Henry	2000
A Storm in Summer	Grandmother	2000
Little Bill	Alice The Great	1999
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years	Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany	1999
Baby Geniuses	Margo	1999
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand	Self	1999
Passing Glory	Mommit Porter	1999
The Directors	Self	1999
A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner	Narrator	1998
A Simple Wish	Hortense / Hortence	1997
Theater Talk	Self	1996
Cosby	Mattie	1996
Promised Land	Alicia	1996
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story	Indigo	1996
Mr. and Mrs. Loving	Sophia	1996
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Grandma	1995
Just Cause	Evangeline / Evangeline Ferguson	1995
Tuesday Morning Ride	Jennie	1995
Touched by an Angel	LaBelle Springbelt	1994
Whitewash	Grandmother (voice) / Grandmother	1994
The 48th Annual Tony Awards	Self - Presenter	1994
The Stand	Mother Abagail Freemantle / Mother Abagail, Mother Abagail	1994
Street Gear	Mosley Davis	1994
The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery	Self - Narrator	1994
Cop & ½	Rachel	1993
Middle Ages	Estelle Williams, Estelle	1992
HBO First Look	Self	1992
Color Adjustment	Narrator	1992
Jazztime Tale	Narrator / Narrator (voice)	1991
Jungle Fever	Lucinda Purify	1991
Decoration Day	Rowena / Rowena, Finch's Housekeeper	1990
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson		1990
Evening Shade	Aurelia Danforth	1990
Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday	Billie Holiday	1990
Love at Large	Corrine Dart	1990
Making Do the Right Thing	Herself / Self	1989
Do the Right Thing	Mother Sister	1989
American Experience	Narrator	1988
P.O.V.	Self	1988
China Beach	Ruby	1988
Lincoln	Elizabeth Keckley	1988
Windmills of the Gods	Dorothy - Secretary to Mary Ashley	1988
American Masters	Narrator, Self	1986
Spenser: For Hire	Eleanor Simpson	1985
The Golden Girls	Mammy Watkins	1985
The Atlanta Child Murders	Faye Williams	1985
Go Tell It on the Mountain	Mrs. Grimes	1984
Reading Rainbow	Herself (voice), Herself	1983
Cat People	Female	1982
American Playhouse	Mrs. Grimes, Zora Neale Hurston	1982
All God's Children	Irene Whitfield	1980
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings	Grandmother Baker / Grandmother Baxter	1979
Roots: The Next Generations	la reine Victoria Haley, Queen Haley / la reine Victoria Haley	1979
America at the Movies	Ruth Younger	1976
Cool Red	Leah Matanzima	1976
Anyone for Tennyson? The Master Poets Collection	Self - Narrator	1976
Police Woman	Cora Sanders	1974
Wedding Band	Julia Augustine	1974
It's Good to Be Alive	Ruth Campanella	1974
Tenafly	Jan Lennox	1973
Wattstax	Self	1973
Black Girl	Netta's mother	1972
Buck and the Preacher	Ruth	1972
Great Performances	Narrator / Self, Self	1971
Actor's Choice	Self - performer	1970
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis	Self	1970
The Bold Ones: The Protectors	Lucinda	1969
Uptight	Laurie	1968
The Incident	Joan Robinson	1967
History of the Negro People	Self	1965
Peyton Place	Alma Miles	1964
The Great Adventure	Harriet Tubman	1963
Gone Are the Days!	Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins	1963
East Side/West Side	Marilyn Marsden	1963
The Fugitive	Laura Smith	1963
The Balcony	Thief	1963
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Herself - Guest	1962
The Doctors and the Nurses	Jenny Bishop	1962
Alcoa Premiere	Irene Clayton	1961
Password	Self	1961
The DuPont Show of the Week	Self	1961
The Defenders	Catherine Collins	1961
A Raisin in the Sun	Ruth Younger	1961
Take a Giant Step	Christine	1959
Play of the Week	Jane, Lila	1959
Our Virgin Island	Ruth	1959
St. Louis Blues	Elizabeth	1958
Edge of the City	Lucy Tyler	1957
The Great American Pastime	Mrs. Ashlow	1956
Armchair Theatre	Vicky Kingsbury	1956
Go Man Go	Irma Jackson	1954
The Tall Target	Rachel - Slave Maid / Rachel	1951
No Way Out	Connie Brooks	1950
The Jackie Robinson Story	Rae Robinson	1950

2008	Oscar	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Nominated
1993	Emmy	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series	Nominated
1991	Emmy	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special	Won
1990	Emmy	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated
1988	Emmy	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special	Nominated
1979	Emmy	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special	Nominated
1964	Emmy	Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Nominated