Research Catalog

Title

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee papers.

Author

Davis, Ossie

Publication

1932-2015.

Supplementary Content

Finding aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• X, Malcolm, 1925-1965
• Dee, Ruby
• Foner, Moe, 1915-
• Hansberry, Lorraine, 1930-1965
• Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
• Lee, Spike

Description

73.67 linear feet (179 boxes)

Summary

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were African American actors, directors, writers, and activists whose careers spanned the mediums of theatre, television, radio, film, and print. Their papers date from 1932 to 2015, and chronicle the couple's artistic careers as performers and authors, as well as their work as civil rights activists. The collection consists of materials generated by Davis and Dee over a lifetime of performing arts work and activism, and in their personal lives together.

Subjects

• Clippings (information artifacts)
• African American motion picture actors and actresses
• Local 1199 Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union (New York, N.Y.)
• screenplays
• Motion picture directors
• Actresses
• African American actresses
• African Americans in television broadcasting
• Actors
• African Americans in the performing arts
• Correspondence
• Sound recordings
• Labor leaders > United States
• African American actors
• Scrapbooks
• Video recordings (physical artifacts)
• African American political activists
• Scripts (documents)
• Photographs
• African American motion picture producers and directors
• Civil rights workers > United States

Genre/Form

• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Correspondence.
• Photographs.
• Scrapbooks.
• Scripts (documents)
• Sound recordings.
• Video recordings (physical artifacts)
• screenplays.

Access (note)

• Sound and video recordings held by the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division are unavailable pending digitization
• Correspondence item in Box 178 is closed to all access until after January 1, 2043.

Source (note)

• Purchased from Nora Davis Day and Dr. Hasna Muhammad in 2018.

Provenance (note)

• The materials in this collection were previously arranged and inventoried by a researcher hired by Davis and Dee in 1997. The researcher compiled thirty-two binders, which assisted the couple in organizing their files in preparation for writing their joint autobiography With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together. After the publication of the book, the researcher continued to work with Davis and Dee to compile subsequent binders and inventory their files. The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Drama Collection, 1951-1981 [bulk 1970-1979] (Sc MG 305) has been integrated into the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Papers, 1932-2015. Originally transferred to the Schomburg Center in 1989, the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Drama Collection consisted principally of scripts from productions written, directed, or featuring Davis and Dee but also included an assortment of programs, clippings, and other printed matter.

Call Number

Sc MG 305

OCLC

1135064241

Author

Davis, Ossie, creator.

Title

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee papers.

Production

1932-2015.

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

Restricted Access

Sound and video recordings held by the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division are unavailable pending digitization

Correspondence item in Box 178 is closed to all access until after January 1, 2043.

Location of Other Archival Materials

Materials Separated from the Resource: Photographs originally located in binders 37 to 39, and 48 to 53 were transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division at the Schomburg Center. Sound and video recordings were transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division at the Schomburg Center. For the audio and moving image holdings, please contact the Moving Image & Recorded Sound Division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.

Provenance

The materials in this collection were previously arranged and inventoried by a researcher hired by Davis and Dee in 1997. The researcher compiled thirty-two binders, which assisted the couple in organizing their files in preparation for writing their joint autobiography With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together. After the publication of the book, the researcher continued to work with Davis and Dee to compile subsequent binders and inventory their files. The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Drama Collection, 1951-1981 [bulk 1970-1979] (Sc MG 305) has been integrated into the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Papers, 1932-2015. Originally transferred to the Schomburg Center in 1989, the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Drama Collection consisted principally of scripts from productions written, directed, or featuring Davis and Dee but also included an assortment of programs, clippings, and other printed matter.

Source

Purchased from Nora Davis Day and Dr. Hasna Muhammad in 2018.

Connect to:

NYPL Digital Collections

Finding aid

Occupation

Actors.

Actresses.

African American actors.

Labor leaders United States.

Motion picture directors.

Added Author

X, Malcolm, 1925-1965, contributor.

Dee, Ruby, contributor.

Foner, Moe, 1915- contributor.

Hansberry, Lorraine, 1930-1965, contributor.

Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967, contributor.

Lee, Spike, contributor.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 305