Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun. Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Do the Right Thing (1989) and American Gangster (2007).
Born: 27 October 1922 • Died: 11 June 2014
Played In
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage)
Poitier's Walter Lee
Self (archive footage)
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
Betty and Coretta
Narrator
Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal
Self
A Thousand Words
Annie McCall
Video Girl
Valerie
Politics of Love
The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll
Miss Candy
A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School
Narrator (voice)
America
Mrs. Harper
Steam
Doris
American Gangster
Mama Lucas
All About Us
Ms. Ella
In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema
Herself
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
Self
Discovering William Greaves
Self
The Way Back Home
Maude
No. 2
Nanna Maria
Iconoclasts
Self
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Nanny
Beah: A Black Woman Speaks
Self
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
(archive footage)
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
Theater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun'
Self
Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years
Narrator
Taking Back Our Town
Emelda West
Feast of All Saints
Elsie Claviere
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Mary Wilson
Finding Buck McHenry
Mrs. Henry
A Storm in Summer
Grandmother
The Unfinished Journey
Narrator (voice)
Little Bill
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Annie Elizabeth 'Bessie' Delany
Baby Geniuses
Margo
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Self
Passing Glory
Mommit Porter
A Time To Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner
Narrator
Christianity: The First 1000 Years
Herself - Narrator
The Wall
Mrs. Mitchell (segment "The Badge")
Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
Self
A Simple Wish
Hortence
Sports on the Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
Indigo
Mr. and Mrs. Loving
Sophia
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Grandma (voice)
Just Cause
Evangeline Ferguson
Tuesday Morning Ride
Jennie
Touched by an Angel
LaBelle Springbelt
Whitewash
Grandmother (voice)
The Stand
Mother Abagail Freemantle
After Goodbye
Narrator
Cop & ½
Rachel
The Ernest Green Story
Lydia Wilson
Middle Ages
Estelle Williams
Color Adjustment
Narrator
Jazztime Tale
Narrator (voice)
Jungle Fever
Lucinda Purify
Decoration Day
Rowena
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
Jackie's Mother
Love at Large
Corrine Dart
Zora is My Name!
Zora Neale Hurston
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
Self
Do the Right Thing
Mother Sister
American Experience
Narrator (voice)
China Beach
Lincoln
Elizabeth Keckley
Spenser: For Hire
The Golden Girls
Mammy Watkins
The Atlanta Child Murders
Faye Williams
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Mrs. Grimes
Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Mary Tyrone
Cat People
Female
All God's Children
Irene Whitfield
The Torture of Mothers: The Case of the Harlem Six
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Grandmother Baxter
Roots: The Next Generations
Queen Haley
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
Countdown at Kusini
Leah Matanzima
Police Woman
Wedding Band
Julia Augustine
It's Good to Be Alive
Ruth Campanella
Chelsea D.H.O.
Dr. Bianca Pearson
Black Girl
Netta's mother
Buck and the Preacher
Ruth
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
Lorraine Hansberry and other assorted characters
On Merit
Narrator (voice)
The Sheriff
Sue Ann Lucas
Great Performances
Self
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
Deadlock
Lucinda
Uptight
Laurie
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
The Incident
Joan Robinson
Now is the Time
Self
Neighbours
Vicky Kingsbury
The Great Adventure
Harriet Tubman
The Fugitive
Laura Smith
Gone Are the Days!
Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins
The Balcony
Thief
The Defenders
Catherine Collins
A Raisin in the Sun
Ruth Younger
Take a Giant Step
Christine
Virgin Island
Ruth
St. Louis Blues
Elizabeth
Edge of the City
Lucy Tyler
Armchair Theatre
Vicky Kingsbury
Go Man Go
Irma Jackson
The Oscars
Self
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Rowena Finch
The Tall Target
Rachel
No Way Out
Connie Brooks (uncredited)
The Jackie Robinson Story
Rae Robinson
The Fight Never Ends
What a Guy
Easy to Get
Drugstore Girl
Love in Syncopation
That Man of Mine
Joan