OBIT - RUBY DEE

One of the icons of African-American cinema and of American cinema as a whole, actor Ruby Dee has died. She was aged 91 when she passed away peacefully in her sleep. An acclaimed and groundbreaking actor on stage, in film and on TV, Dee broke through barriers for black women in the entertainment industry, including prominent work in theatre as a renowned Shakespearean performer. The star of many classic films, she will be remembered for her powerful turns in A Raisin in the Sun, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever and her SAG award-winning role in American Gangster. Additionally, she and her late husband Ossie Davis, with whom she was married for 56 years until his death in 2005, were key figures in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, standing alongside Martin Luther King at the 1963 March on Washington, and also participating in social causes such as opposing the Vietnam War and South African apartheid. She leaves behind three children, Guy, Nora and Hasna.