Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 â€" February 4, 2005)
was an American film, television and Broadway actor, director, poet,
playwright, author, and civil rights activist.He was married to Ruby
Dee (died June 11, 2014), with whom he frequently performed, until his
death.He and his wife were named to the NAACP Image Awards Hall of
Fame; were awarded the National Medal of Arts and were recipients of
the Kennedy Center Honors. He was inducted into the American Theater
Hall of Fame in 1994.Raiford Chatman Davis was born in Cogdell, Clinch
County, Georgia, a son of Kince Charles Davis, a railway construction
engineer, and his wife Laura (née Cooper; July 9, 1898 â€" June 6,
2004). He inadvertently became known as "Ossie" when his birth
certificate was being filed and his mother's pronunciation of his name
as "R. C. Davis" was misheard by the courthouse clerk in Clinch
County, Ga. Davis experienced racism from an early age when the KKK
threatened to shoot his father, whose job they felt was too advanced
for a black man to have. His siblings included scientist William Conan
Davis, social worker Essie Morgan Davis, pharmacist Kenneth Curtis
Davis, and biology teacher James Davis.
was an American film, television and Broadway actor, director, poet,
playwright, author, and civil rights activist.He was married to Ruby
Dee (died June 11, 2014), with whom he frequently performed, until his
death.He and his wife were named to the NAACP Image Awards Hall of
Fame; were awarded the National Medal of Arts and were recipients of
the Kennedy Center Honors. He was inducted into the American Theater
Hall of Fame in 1994.Raiford Chatman Davis was born in Cogdell, Clinch
County, Georgia, a son of Kince Charles Davis, a railway construction
engineer, and his wife Laura (née Cooper; July 9, 1898 â€" June 6,
2004). He inadvertently became known as "Ossie" when his birth
certificate was being filed and his mother's pronunciation of his name
as "R. C. Davis" was misheard by the courthouse clerk in Clinch
County, Ga. Davis experienced racism from an early age when the KKK
threatened to shoot his father, whose job they felt was too advanced
for a black man to have. His siblings included scientist William Conan
Davis, social worker Essie Morgan Davis, pharmacist Kenneth Curtis
Davis, and biology teacher James Davis.
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