Acting · Cogdell, Georgia, USA · Born December 18, 1917
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He may be best known for his roles in Spike Lee-directed films such as School Daze (1988) and Do the Right Thing (1989). Other films Davis acted in include The Hill (1965), A Man Called Adam (1966), Let's Do It Again (1975), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Grumpy Old Men (1993), The Client (1994), Dr. Dolittle (1998), Dinosaur (2000), and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002). He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, from 1948 until his death.
Love in Exile
2026
MovieLouis Armstrong's Black & Blues
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Folk Britannia
2006
as Self (archival footage)
The Peace!
2005
as Self
MovieDeacons for Defense
2005
as Reverend 'Rev' Gregory
MovieThe History Makers: Success
2005
as Self
Unstoppable
2005
as Self
MovieBy Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
2005
as Self
MovieShe Hate Me
2004
as Judge Buchanan
MovieProud
2004
as Lorenzo DuFau
MovieBaadasssss!
2004
as Granddad
TV Revolution
2004
MovieBeah: A Black Woman Speaks
2004
as Self
TVThe L Word
2004
as Melvin Porter
MovieThe Evolution of an American Filmmaker
2003
as Self
The Tuskegee Airmen: They Fought Two Wars
2003
as Narrator
MovieNat Turner: A Troublesome Property
2003
as Himself
MovieUnchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2003
MovieTheater Talk: 'A Raisin in the Sun'
2002
as Self
MovieBubba Ho-tep
2002
as John F. "Jack" Kennedy
TVChristianity: The First Two Thousand Years
2002
as Narrator
MovieFeast of All Saints
2001
as Jean-Jacques
MovieNeighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco - The Fillmore
2001
as Narrator
MovieThe Legend of the Candy Cane
2001
as Julius (voice)
MovieHere's to Life!
2000
as Duncan Cox
MovieDinosaur
2000
as Yar (voice)
MovieFinding Buck McHenry
2000
as Buck McHenry
MovieThe Unfinished Journey
1999
as Narrator (voice)
MovieTrans-Siberian Orchestra: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve
1999
as Caretaker
MovieThe Soul Collector
1999
as Mordecai
TVThird Watch
1999
as Mr. Parker
MovieThe Secret Path
1999
as Too Tall
MoviePaul Robeson: Here I Stand
1999
as Self
MovieA Vow to Cherish
1999
as Alexander Billman
Christianity: The First 1000 Years
1998
as Himself - Narrator
MovieDoctor Dolittle
1998
as Archer Dolittle
MovieSmall Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood
1998
as Self
MovieScandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
1998
as Self
Movie12 Angry Men
1997
as Juror 2
Movie4 Little Girls
1997
as Self - Actor and Playwright
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers
1997
as Narrator
MovieMiss Evers' Boys
1997
as Mr. Evers
TVThomas Jefferson
1997
as Narrator (voice)
MovieWalter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough
1997
as Self
MovieI'm Not Rappaport
1996
as Midge Carter
MovieGet on the Bus
1996
as Jeremiah / 'Pop'
TVPromised Land
1996
TVThe West
1996
as Self
TVJAG
1995
as Terrence Minnerly
TVThe Client
1995
as Judge Harry Roosevelt
MovieThe Android Affair
1995
as Dr. Winston
MovieRay Alexander: A Menu for Murder
1995
as Uncle Phil
TVTouched by an Angel
1994
as Gabriel
TVBaseball
1994
as Various (voice)
MovieThe Client
1994
as Harry Roosevelt
MovieRay Alexander: A Taste For Justice
1994
as Uncle Phil
TVThe Stand
1994
as Judge Richard Farris
MovieMalcolm X: Make It Plain
1994
as Self
Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World
1994
as Narrator
MovieGrumpy Old Men
1993
as Chuck
MovieCop & ½
1993
as Detective in Squad Room
MovieGoin' Back to T-Town
1993
as Narrator
TVAlex Haley's Queen
1993
as Parson Dick
MovieThe Ernest Green Story
1993
as Grandfather
Lincoln
1992
as Frederick Douglas (voice)
MovieMalcolm X
1992
as Eulogy Performer (voice)
MovieThe Real Malcolm X
1992
MovieGladiator
1992
as Noah
MoviePreminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
as Self
MovieJungle Fever
1991
as Reverend Purify
TVEvening Shade
1990
as Ponder Blue
MovieJoe Versus the Volcano
1990
as Marshall
MovieThe Red Shoes
1990
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
1989
as Self
MovieDo the Right Thing
1989
as Da Mayor
TVB.L. Stryker
1989
as Oz Jackson
TVAmerican Experience
1988
as Self - Harlem Resident
MovieSchool Daze
1988
as Coach Odom
TVAmerican Masters
1986
as Self
MovieSesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories
1986
as Anansi the Spider (Sleepytime Songs and Stories) (voice)
MovieAvenging Angel
1985
as Capt. Harry Moradian
MovieTyler Texas Black Film Collection
1985
as Himself
MovieHarry & Son
1984
as Raymond
Marcus Garvey: Toward Black Nationhood
1984
as Narrator
MovieThe House of God
1984
as Dr. Sanders
TVReading Rainbow
1983
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MovieDon't Look Back: The Story of Leroy "Satchel" Paige
1981
as Chuffy Russell
MovieDeath of a Prophet
1981
MovieAll God's Children
1980
as Blaine Whitfield
MovieFreedom Road
1979
as Narrator
MovieHot Stuff
1979
as Captain John Geiberger
TVRoots: The Next Generations
1979
as 'Dad' Jones
Freedom Man
1979
as Benjamin Banneker
TVThe Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
TVKing
1978
as Rev. Martin Luther King Sr.
MovieBilly: Portrait of a Street Kid
1977
as Dr. Fredericks
MovieThe Tenth Level
1976
as Reed
MovieCountdown at Kusini
1976
as Ernest Motapo
MovieLet's Do It Again
1975
as Elder Johnson
MovieBlack Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975
as Narrator
MovieWattstax
1973
as Self (uncredited)
MovieMalcolm X
1972
as Eulogy (voice)
MovieThe Sheriff
1971
as James Lucas
MovieKongi's Harvest
1970
as Narrator
MovieNight Gallery
1969
as Osmond Portifoy
MovieSlaves
1969
as Luke
MovieSam Whiskey
1969
as Jed Hooker
MovieTeacher, Teacher
1969
as Charles Carter
MovieThe Fall
1969
TVHawaii Five-O
1968
as Ramon Borelle
TVThe Name of the Game
1968
as Kubani
MovieThe Scalphunters
1968
as Joseph Lee
MovieStill A Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class
1968
as Narrator
MovieThe Outsider
1967
as Lt. Wagner
MovieBlack Liberation
1967
as Narrator
Now is the Time
1967
as Self
MovieA Man Called Adam
1966
as Nelson Davis
TVRun for Your Life
1965
as Frankie Morton
The Sun... the Sand... the Hill
1965
as Jason King (archival footage)
MovieThe Hill
1965
as Jacko King
TV12 O'Clock High
1964
as Major Glenn Luke
MovieShock Treatment
1964
as Capshaw
MovieThe Cardinal
1963
as Father Gillis
TVThe Great Adventure
1963
as John Ross
TVThe Fugitive
1963
as Lt. Johnny Gaines
MovieGone Are the Days!
1963
as Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson
MovieHands of Inge
1962
as Narrator (voice)
TVThe Defenders
1961
as Nixie
MovieJohn Brown's Raid
1960
as Dangerfield Newby
TVBonanza
1959
as Sam Davis
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Charles Carter
MovieFourteen Hours
1951
as Cab Driver (uncredited)
MovieNo Way Out
1950
as John Brooks (uncredited)
TVKraft Television Theatre
1947
as The Emperor Jones
MovieHaiti: Killing the Dream
