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Ossie Davis

American actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist (1917-2005)
Person human Q515632
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Summary

Ossie Davis was born on December 18, 1917[1], in Cogdell[2]. He died on February 4, 2005[3], in Miami[4]. He worked as an actor[5], film director[6], screenwriter[7], stage actor[8], and television actor[9]. He ranks in the top 0.58% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (12,956 views/month, #5,762 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Ferncliff Cemetery[11]
  • Spouse: Ruby Dee[12]
  • Child: Guy Davis[13]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[14]
  • Native language: English[15]
  • Ethnic group: African Americans[16]
  • Occupation: writer[17], film actor[18], film producer[19], playwright[20]
  • Educated at: Howard University[21], Columbia University School of General Studies[22]
  • Notable work: Purlie Victorious[23]
  • Award received: National Medal of Arts[24], Marian Anderson Award[25], Daytime Emmy Award[26], James Parks Morton Interfaith Award[27], NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award[28], NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture[29], NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series[30], Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award[31], Kennedy Center Honors[32], Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording[33], Paul Robeson Award[34], Coretta Scott King Award[35]
  • Member of: NAACP[36], National Urban League[37], Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee[38], Southern Christian Leadership Conference[39]
  • Sex or gender: male[40]
  • Commons category: Ossie Davis[41]
  • Archives at: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture[42]
  • Residence: New York City[43], Waycross[44]
  • Family name: Davis[45]
  • Given name: Raiford[46], Chatman[47]
  • Manner of death: natural causes[48]
  • Described by source: African American Dramatists[49], Living Black American Authors: a Biographical Directory[50]
  • Nominated for: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical[51], Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture[52], Tony Award for Best Musical[53]

Why It Matters

Ossie Davis has Wikipedia articles in 18 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[54] He is known by 16 alternative names across languages and contexts.[55]

FAQs

Where was Ossie Davis born?

Ossie Davis was born in Cogdell[2].

Where did Ossie Davis die?

Ossie Davis died in Miami[4].

Who was Ossie Davis married to?

Ossie Davis's spouses include Ruby Dee[12].

What did Ossie Davis do for work?

Ossie Davis worked as an actor[5], film director[6], screenwriter[7], stage actor[8], and television actor[9].

Where did Ossie Davis go to school?

Ossie Davis was educated at Howard University[21] and Columbia University School of General Studies[22].

What awards did Ossie Davis receive?

Honors received include National Medal of Arts[24], Marian Anderson Award[25], Daytime Emmy Award[26], and James Parks Morton Interfaith Award[27].

Related Entities

Dinosaur Do the Right Thing JAG Malcolm X New York City Ruby Dee The Client United States

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [40] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  5. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [13] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  7. [21] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  8. [22] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  9. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [5] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [7] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [8] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  14. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  18. [20] ↑ . African American Dramatists. wikidata.org.
  19. [11] ↑ . Find a Grave. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  20. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [16] ↑ . African American Dramatists. wikidata.org.
  33. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [36] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  35. [37] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  36. [38] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  37. [39] ↑ . Broadside authors and artists : an illustrated biographical directory. wikidata.org.
  38. [42] ↑ . archives.nypl.org. Retrieved . archives.nypl.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  39. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [1] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  42. [3] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  43. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  48. [49] ↑ . African American Dramatists. wikidata.org.
  49. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  51. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  52. [53] ↑ . tonyawards.com. tonyawards.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [54] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [55] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Ossie Davis. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/ossie-davis
MLA “Ossie Davis.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 18 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/ossie-davis.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_ossie-davis_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Ossie Davis}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/ossie-davis}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-18}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 21h ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update-languages-and-other-short:0||nb */ other names, source for place of birth, source for place of death, source for date of birth, source for date of death from Store norske leksik"
  2. 17d ago · Marcae16 · 2026-10-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['af', 'ar', 'arz', 'azb', 'ckb', 'commons', 'de', 'en', 'es', 'fa', 'fi', 'fr',
    Sitelink count → 32
    Described by source → African American Dramatists, Living Black American Authors: a Biographical Directory
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Described by source: Living Black American Authors: a Biographical Directory"
  3. 6w ago · MsMorale · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    On focus list of wikimedia project → WikiProject African diaspora, WikiProject New York Public Library, WikiProject Black Bibliography Project
    Sinemalar person id → 37335
    Member of → NAACP, National Urban League, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee +1
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Sinemalar person id: 37335, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/270606|batch #270606]]"
  4. 9w ago · Yirba · 2026-08-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14750 → 3491-2CC5-B385-A723-4E64
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/46379|batch #46379]]: HAND ID (2)"
  5. 13w ago · ならちゃん · 2026-07-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Cine21 person id → 4587
    George eastman museum people id → 124273, 106284
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/42119|batch #42119]]"
  6. 21w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Notable work → Purlie Victorious
    Given name → Raiford, Chatman
    On focus list of wikimedia project → WikiProject African diaspora, WikiProject New York Public Library, WikiProject Black Bibliography Project
    Instance of → human
    + 32 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32116|batch #32116]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (29)"
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