With Ossie and Ruby

In This Life Together

Contributors

By Ossie Davis

By Ruby Dee

Read by Ruby Dee

Read by Ossie Davis

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This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around February 1, 2006. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

This captivating and inspiring autobiography tells the story of a Hollywood power couple that dominated the screen and championed civil rights issues for decades.

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee: legendary stars of the American stage, television, and film, a beloved and revered couple cherished not just for their acting artistry but also for their lifelong commitment to civil rights, family values, and the black community. Now they look back on a half- century of their personal and political struggles to maintain a healthy marriage and to create the record of distinguished accomplishment that earned each a Presidential Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.

With Ossie and Ruby overflows with consummate storytelling skill developed by decades in the spotlight. From their early years as struggling actors in Harlem's black theater to Broadway and Hollywood stardom, they regale the reader with colorful, entertaining tales of the places they've been and the people they've met. But their charming humor is leavened with a more serious side, as they share their experiences of keeping a family together in a world where scandal and divorce is the rule, and of being artists and political activists in an era of intense racial ferment. Born into the struggle, their characters were shaped by the dynamic collisions of life, politics, and art; and from those experiences, they achieved some sense of their worth as married people, friends, and lovers. Warm, positive, and compelling, this is a book that will surprise and challenge readers everywhere — black and white, male and female, young and old. Lifting the veil of public image, media hype, and mystique, Ossie and Ruby speak of the real-life dilemmas and rewards of their lifelong search for purpose and value.

"They both keep the material fresh, which could be hard to do when talking about one's own life. This is an immensely captivating dual memoir and a real audio treasure, especially poignant since Davis has since passed away. The listener comes away with a true sense of the essence of these lives, the things that were and are important to them, and their accomplishments." — AudioFile Magazine

" . . . this is a compelling read, effectively evoking the challenges and rewards that have attended the authors' roles as black leaders . . . " — Publishers Weekly, October 1998

"By turns sassy and sage . . . full of razor-sharp observations on who business, politics, race and love." — Ebony

"Consistently lively, witty and insightful." — USA Today

Genre:

On Sale
Feb 1, 2006
Publisher
Hachette Audio
ISBN-13
9781594834899

Ossie Davis

About the Author

Ossie Davis was an American film, television and Broadway actor, director, poet, playwright, author, and civil rights activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death in 2005. He and his wife were named to the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame; were awarded the National Medal of Arts, and were recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994.

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Ruby Dee

About the Author

Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and civil rights activist. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of “Ruth Younger” in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun. Her other notable film roles include The Jackie Robinson Story, and Do the Right Thing. She was a Grammy, Emmy, Obie and Drama Desk winner. She was also a National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award recipient. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed, until his death in 2005.

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