To me, Hollywood never celebrated Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis as enthusiastically as it should have. That married couple truly was a dynamic duo of Broadway, film and television. Ruby Dee was one of those extremely talented Black actresses who got one Oscar nomination yet should've received more -- and more quality scripts from Hollywood. Included in that list of actresses are Cicely Tyson, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett, Taraji P. Henson and the late Diahann Carroll and the late Beah Richards. All those women turned to TV for steady employment after their Oscar nominations. Ruby Dee starred in the original Broadway cast of the groundbreaking play, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, from playwright Lorraine Hansberry. She and the other members of the original cast recreated their roles in the 1961 film adaptation from Columbia Pictures. Another giant step forward in the area of Black Hollywood History is seen in the opening credits: "Screen Play By Lorraine Hansberry." The playwright wrote the screenplay. How many times had we seen a film released by a top Hollywood studio and the opening credits had the name of a Black woman underneath the words "Screen Play By"? THAT was major and it's a fact I rarely hear mentioned on TV when it's shown. Ruby Dee had been doing films roles since 1950. She repeated her Broadway success with co-star Sidney Poitier in the 1961 movie adaptation. She followed the film version of A RAISIN IN THE SUN with a lot of TV work and other film roles. She and husband Ossie Davis shine in two Spike Lee films -- DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) and JUNGLE FEVER (1991). Look at A RAISIN IN THE SUN today.
Ruby Dee gave an Oscar nomination-worthy performance as the Chicago-area wife dealing with racial discrimination and her husband's irresponsibility due to racial frustration. Her one Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, came late in her career thanks to AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007). Hollywood never fully utilized the talents of Ruby Dee. That was solely because of race and Hollywood's lack of equal opportunities. Here's an example: The 1963 classic, HUD, starring Paul Newman and Patricia Neal. My parents loved that movie. Patricia Neal deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actress. In the novel, the earthy housekeeper played by Neal was a Black woman. If Hollywood had not been so racially restricted in those days, can you imagine Ruby Dee in the role opposite Paul Newman? Wow. They would've been sensational together in HUD.
On TV shows and in films, we could always count on Ruby Dee to deliver a top quality dramatic performance. Did you know that she could be a knock-out in a comedy role just like a Judy Holliday? She and Ossie Davis starred on Broadway in a civil rights comedy written by Ossie Davis. PURLIE VICTORIOUS premiered in 1961. Purlie is a clever, young, self-ordained preacher down South who wants to "make civil rights out of civil wrongs." He proclaims, "...freedom is my business!" While on his subversive mission in the Jim Crow south, he meets the sweet, unassuming, slightly ditzy and very luscious Lutiebelle Jenkins. He declares she is "absolute Ethiopian perfection." Lutiebelle may be able to help him in his plans to shake up life on the cotton plantation owned by Colonel Cotchipee. The colonel hates all this talk about integration -- especially when the talk comes from his college-educated son, Charlie.
PURLIE VICTORIOUS was made into a 1963 indie film. On the screen, in the opening credits, we saw "Screen Play by Ossie Davis," based on his play. Original Broadway cast members recreated their roles in the movie. Ossie Davis was Purlie, Ruby Dee was Lutiebell. The cast also included Godfrey Cambridge, Beah Richards and -- in his film debut -- Alan Alda as Charlie Cotchipee. The movie opened in September 1963, a month after Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee participated onstage in Dr. Martin Luther King's March on Washington and stood on the podium during his "I Have a Dream" speech. Here's a photo of the Broadway cast backstage -- with Dr. Martin Luther King.
In December 1963, Ossie Davis made another giant step for in Black Hollywood History. The epic Otto Preminger drama, THE CARDINAL, opened. It's the story of a priest who is elevated to cardinal. As we flashback to his early years as a priest, we see that he had to deal with abortion, fascism and racial bigotry. Ossie Davis played a fellow priest. Many American moviegoers were probably unaware that we Black Catholics do exist in America. The movie got 6 Oscar nominations.
The Ossie Davis play, PURLIE VICTORIOUS, was adapted in a 1970 Broadway musical comedy. He co-wrote the book for the play. Cleavon Little and Melba Moore won Tony Awards for taking on the roles originated by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Melba wowed audiences singing "I Got Love" and the play, titled PURLIE!, was a Tony nominee for Best Musical.
Did Hollywood turn this hit Broadway musical comedy into a big screen movie? No.
Remember how Viola Davis played the lead female role in the film version of FENCES but won the Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category? (Being in that category was a shrewd strategic move that surely clinched her Oscar victory.) Well, there should've been a campaign to get Ruby Dee a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her 1963 comedy performance. In my opinion. Here are the women who were nominated: Margaret Rutherford for THE V.I.P.s, Lila Skala for LILIES OF THE FIELD, Diane Cilento for TOM JONES, Dame Edith Evans for TOM JONES and JOYCE REDMAN for TOM JONES. All comedy performances. Rutherford won for getting laughs as a bumbling broke Duchess in the airport love drama starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Hollywood should've offered Ruby Dee other good comedy roles.
Judge for yourself. If you have 95 minutes free, watch the 1963 comedy, PURLIE VICTORIOUS (later retitled GONE ARE THE DAYS), from actor, playwright and screenwriter Ossie Davis. Just click onto the link. I was introduced to this comedy during my grade school years in South Central L.A. It played one Friday night on Channel 9, then an independent station on Southern California TV. My parents belly-laughed with such animation at Godfrey Cambridge that watching them made me laugh. It's one reason why PURLIE VICTORIOUS holds a special place in my heart. Now click onto the link:
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