Ruby Dee Assumed Many Roles – Actor, Playwright, Pioneer, Activist ...

Ruby Dee at the March on Washington. Archive photos.

BY TAMARA BECK

HER acting career started at the American Negro Theater (ANT), founded in 1940 as the Negro unit of the Federal Theater Project. Her first role was as Cobina in "On Strivers Row" in 1940. She appeared in productions there from 1941 to 1943.

Ruby Ann Wallace Dee, who died at the age of 91 on 11 June in New Rochelle, NY, leaves behind an impressive legacy of acting, activism and other pursuits.

Over the seven decades she spent on stage, RD appeared in productions by Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, William Inge, Athol Fugard and Moliere, among others.

The Cleveland, Ohio native was a pioneer and activist throughout her career. Colorblind casting was uncommon when she played Cordelia in "King Lear" and Kate in "The Taming of the Shrew." In 1965, RD was the first black woman to appear in major roles at Stratford, Connecticut's American Shakespeare Festival. In 1968, she was the first black actress with a regular role on a primetime TV soap, "Peyton Place."

Of these milestones, the artist once said all the celebrations over the many "firsts" she achieved - first black female actress as a regular on a TV series, for instance - could also be looked upon as a badge of shame for America.  

On the world stage, she was an advocate for civil rights and equality. About her activism, she has said, “That's what being young is all about. You have the courage and the daring to think that you can make a difference. You're not prone to measure your energies in time. You're not likely to live by equations.”

Along with her husband, Ossie Davis, RD stood by Martin Luther King Jr. when he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech and emceed the 1963 March on Washington. RD, who grew up in Harlem, also picketed Broadway theaters that did not hire black players and protested against film sets that did not hire enough blacks. Fittingly, Broadway theaters dimmed their light for one minute on Friday (13 June) in honor of this leading light.

Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier in a promotional poster for "A Raisin in the Sun."

Her activism also led her to look for more films that addressed racial inequity, working with Jules Dassin in adapting Liam O'Flaherty's "The Informer." John Ford directed a film version set in Cleveland titled “Up Tight,” about black revolutionaries betrayed by one of their own.

RD wrote and adapted dozens of works over the years, including "Zora is My Name," in which she starred at a Howard University production in 1983. In 1979, OD directed her in "Take It From The Top," a musical play she wrote with their son, Guy Davis.

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee in "Jeb."

From 1959 to 1960, RD played Ruth Younger opposite Sidney Poitier, and then OD who took over the role from SP, in the original Tony-nominated production of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Belasco Theatre. "A Raisin in the Sun" was reprised in 1961 as a film, starring RD and SP. In 2005, it was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry for its historic, aesthetic and cultural significance.

She and Ossie Davis wed during the rehearsals for "The Smile of The World" in which she was Evelyn at the Lyceum Theatre. The couple, who often worked together, were married for 56 years when OD died in February 2005.

Ruby Dee (front row, center) with fellow Kennedy City Honors recipients Sir Elton John, Warren Beatty, Ossie Davis, John Williams and Joan Sutherland.

RD's only Oscar nomination came with "American Gangster" (see video above) in 1983, but her film work, which started with a small role in "That Man of Mine" in 1946, netted her numerous other awards.

Among her many accolades were a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild and the Kennedy Center Honors' National Medal of Arts, as well as a Grammy, Emmy and Drama Desk award.

At this writing, arrangements for a viewing and memorial service are still being made.

As her name suggests, Ruby was precious.

Visit http://www.ossieandruby.com/ to learn more about Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.

TFF: History Is Alive in 'Sing Your Song'

Harry Belafonte in Africa. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival.

IT was in part the death of Harry Belafonte’s friend and acting workshop classmate, Marlon Brando, that inspired him toward “Sing Your Song.” The documentary was shown at the 10th Annual Tribeca Film Festival Friday night.

“I wanted to talk to these guys who were left while they could still talk,” HB, 84, said of his various colleagues. He made this revelation to journalist Tavis Smiley during a “Tribeca Talks: After the Movie” interview.

Among those contemporaries is Quincy Jones, 78, who received special recognition Thursday at a Tribeca Film Institute Legacy Celebration. Another is Sidney Poitier, 84 and eight days older than HB, the latter pointed out, who will be honored for his life’s work Monday with the 38th Annual Chaplin Award from the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

“Sing Your Song,” a video biography directed by Susanne Rostock and produced by HB's daughter Gina Belafonte, will have a wide release on HBO in the fall. It is a delectable piece of American history and Civil Rights history.

The young and drop-dead gorgeous HB was on the path to super stardom until an encounter with a Southern police chief hastened his transformation into an artist-activist. Soon enough, the activism would dwarf the art (singer, actor, producer), for his conscience would not allow otherwise. A guiding spirit, too, was a directive given him as a boy by his mother: awake each day with a plan in mind to do something about injustice.

Not only is HB handsome, he is humble. It is owing to this humility that the real, true extent of his accomplishments – his role in the Civil Rights Movement, for instance, is known to very few. Of course, he was a point man for Dr. Martin Luther King, but HB helped disciple then-Attorney General Bobby Kennedy to the cause. Once he journeyed – with SP in tow – to deliver funds to SNCC (Student NonViolent Coordinating Committee) members in Mississippi. It was a risky mission; the wolves eventually appeared at the door but were met with resistance.

A poster from "Sing Your Song." Image from "Sing Your Song" Facebook page.

A question TB put to HB about SP still rankles. Essentially, the talk show host wondered whether HB harbored any resentment toward his friend, whose career went further, presumably because it was not interfered with by a pursuit of justice. The subtext was that SP, too, should have been on the frontline. Woolgathering before speaking, HB said, “In a vineyard, there are many varieties of grapes,” stressing that SP always answered his call. Further, he gave TS to know, that had he concentrated more on his career there are many people whom he would not have met; his life would not be as rich as it is. He would have had far “less fun.”

Many of the Hollywood stars – particularly nonblack ones – participated in the March on Washington at HB’s behest. The likes of Paul Newman, M.Brando (of course), Charlton Heston, Walter Matthau and others. In attendance at a concert before the march were the likes of Tony Bennett and Peter Paul and Mary.

HB’s activism also extended to Africa. Interestingly, it was Eleanor Roosevelt who helped him understand and appreciate the continent’s true place in and importance to human history. Fairly common knowledge is his involvement in the fight against South African apartheid and to free Nelson Mandela.

Not so commonly known is his work in the 60s to help Kenya. He was, for example, instrumental in arranging for a group of young Kenyans to be educated in the United States who were to return to their country to help build it after colonial rule. One of those students was Barack Obama Sr.

The names most closely associated with the “We Are the World” initiative are Michael Jackson and QJ. It was HB, however, who took the idea to QJ and who helped arrange the attendance of the staggering amount of A-list talent in that studio on that fateful day. Once again, he was content to be in the background.

Though “Sing Your Song” is about HB’s contribution to making the world a better place through art and activism, it never comes across as self-congratulatory. Quite the contrary, it is revelatory. How many people know that HB was the first recording artist to have a platinum album (“Calypso”)? Or the first black person to win an Emmy (“Tonight with Belafonte”)?

Harry Belafonte today and a younger version of himself at the start of his career. Photo from Getty Images.

Doubtless, HB has worked harder than most for the cause of justice and peace. How is it then, TS, asked that he is not bitter in this age of assaults on the causes – particularly unions and civil rights – for which he fought so stridently. HB’s response, not surprisingly, was nuanced.

“I really have no time to waste, and bitterness takes away too much valuable energy that can go to fixing problems.” Anger, though, is quite another matter. “Anger,“ HB said, “is good because it helps you find solutions to these problems.”

“Sing Your Song” only loses traction when HB alludes to his three marriages (that latest was to Pamela Frank in 2008). The introduction of these three women, two the mother of HB’s four children, is clumsy and clunky. In one breath, HB is discussing events of the day and in the next he discloses that he has married or divorced.

Thankfully, these events take up very little time in an otherwise stirring, engaging film.

Visit http://http://www.tribecafilm.com/ to learn more about the 10th Annual Tribeca Film Festival.