Ossie Davis has had a long and distinguished career as an actor, writer, and director. He made his Broadway debut in a production of Jeb in 1946, and spent the next decade as one of Broadway 's leading actors, starring in such plays as Anna Lucasta and A Raisin in the Sun. He wrote and starred in the Broadway production of Purlie Victorious and later reprised his role for the feature film version, entitled Gone Are the Days. His many additional motion picture credits include Grumpy Old Men, No Way Out, Jungle Fever, Joe Versus the Volcano, Her Alibi, and Do the Right Thing. He directed the feature films Countdown at Kusini, in which he also starred, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Black Girl, and Gordon 's War.

Davis starred in the television series Evening Shade, and the mini-series The Stand and Queen, all on the CBS Television Network. He is the author of a novel, Just Like Martin, about the impact of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement on a group of teen-agers in a fictional southern city. He was born in Cogdell, Georgia, is married to actress Ruby Dee, and lives in upstate New York. His birth date is December 18.