Perhaps no one recognized him as he strolled down Broadway heading toward the Cort Theatre on September 28, 1961. However, Ossie Davis, the writer, actor, and director of Purlie Victorious was a legend of his own time. He states:

Nothing I had learned from the Baptist Bible, from Howard University, from my long association with Causes, black and white, or my fifteen years on Broadway, prepared me in any degree for what I was to learn from Purlie Victorious--as actor, as author, as negro, and as -- what I hope someday to be soon--a man!

Out of all the plays Davis wrote and directed (Escape to Freedom: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass, Alice in Wonder and Langston), Purlie Victorious is his most critically acclaimed dramatic work. According to Davis, Purlie Victorious is a satire about adventures of African-American "manhood" in a world created for European Americans only.

Davis was born on December 18, 1917, in Cogdell, Georgia. He attended Howard University from 1935 to 1939. Against the advice of Dr. Alain Locke, his mentor, Davis dropped out of school to become an actor with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem. On December 9, 1948, he married a fellow actress, Ruby Dee, who would later star in some of his plays. Despite his disappointing departure from Howard in 1939, Davis was granted an honorary degree (Doctor of Humanities) on May 12,1973.

Davis was not the stereotypical artist with his head in the clouds. He was a leading activist in the civil rights era. He joined Martin Luther King , Jr. in his crusade for jobs and freedom. He also helped raise money for the Freedom Riders who had been arrested in the South for violating segregation laws. Even in times of sorrow, Davis found time for the causes he loved best. He eulogized Martin Luther King, Jr. and later Malcolm X at their funerals. In his words, "The profoundest commitment possible to a black creator in this country today--beyond all creeds, crafts, classes and ideologies whatsoever--is to bring before his people the scent of freedom."

Truly Ossie Davis is a writer, actor and director who qualifies as a Howard Legend.

Essay by Naijean Bernard of Howard University

Theater: Jeb (1946), No Time for Sergeants (1955), Purlie Victorious (1961, wrote and starred), I'm Not a Rappaport (1986).


Films: No Way Out (1950), The Joe Louis Story (1953), The Cardinal (1963), The Hill (1965), The Scalphunters (1968), Let's Do It Again (1975), Harry and Son (1984), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Jungle Fever (1991), I'm Not a Rappaport (1996).

TV Movies: The Sheriff (1971), Freedom Road (1979), All God's Children (1980), Don't Look Back (1981).

TV Specials: The Next Generation (1979), Eyes on the Prize 2 (1990).

Radio: The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Story Hour (1974-1975).