Happy 83rd Birthday To Ruby Dee

Saturday October 27th is the 83rd birthday of actress Ruby Dee. With a career spanning nearly 70 years, Ms. Dee has appeared in films such as "Raisin In the Sun" and "Jungle Fever" and guest-starred on countless programs, including "The Fugitive", "The Golden Girls", and "CSI". Through it all, Ms. Dee has never failed to inject class and dignity into her performances.

Of her many performances, my favorite is her role as "Mother Sister" in the Spike Lee joint "Do the Right Thing". She and her real-life husband (the late, great Ossie Davis as Da Mayor) have one of the most memorable exchanges in the film:

Mother Sister: Hey, you old drunk, what did I tell you about drinking in front of my stoop? Move on, you're blocking my view. You are ugly enough, don't stare at me, the Evil Eye doesn't work on me.
Da Mayor: Mother Sister, you've been talkin' about me for 18 years. What have I ever done to you?
Mother Sister: You a drunk fool.
Da Mayor: Besides that? Da Mayor don't bother nobody and nobody no bother Da Mayor but you. The Man just tends to his own business. I love everybody; I even love you.
Mother Sister: Hold your tongue: you don't have that much love.
Da Mayor: One day you're gonna be nice to me. We may both be dead and buried, but you're gonna be nice, at least civil.

With the short lifespan of many celebrity marriages, the relationship of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee was an anomaly. As a matter of fact, they were married from 1948 until Davis' death in 2005. In addition to their many collaborations on the stage and screen, they also co-authored the book "With Ossie And Ruby: In This Life Together".

Even though Ms. Dee has received many accolades (such as an Emmy, Grammy, and two NAACP Image Awards) during her career, she has never even been nominated for an Oscar. When I think of some the performers who DO have Academy Awards, it becomes even more apparent to me what a joke the Oscars can be.

With no sign of slowing down, you can see Ms. Dee starting Nov. 2nd in the Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe crime drama " American Gangster". You sometimes hear certain performers referred to as national treasures. For Ms. Dee, the term is more than fitting.

Below is a clip from the 1991 Spike Lee film "Jungle Fever". In this scene, Ms. Dee deals with her oldest son (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and his harrowing drug addiction.