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H.R. No. 531
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The stage and screen actor Ossie Davis died on
February 4, 2005, at the age of 87, and the conclusion of his
remarkable life provides a fitting opportunity to reflect on the
contributions this renowned performer and social activist made over
the span of his 50-year career; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1917, Ossie Davis set out on foot from his
hometown in rural Georgia to attend Howard University and study
playwriting; at the end of his junior year, he moved to New York to
join a Harlem theater group and made his Broadway debut in 1946 in
the title role of Jeb; although the play only ran for nine
performances, it produced a magnificent personal and professional
partnership that lasted more than five decades, for it was then that
he met his future wife, Ruby Dee; and
WHEREAS, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were one of the most revered
couples of the American stage and screen, performing in 11 plays and
5 movies together; their illustrious partnership was recognized in
2004 when they were selected for the prestigious Kennedy Center
honors; they were also awarded with induction into the Theater Hall
of Fame, a National Medal of Arts, and a Silver Circle Award from
the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the couple celebrated
their 50th wedding anniversary in 1998 with the publication of a
dual autobiography, In This Life Together; and
WHEREAS, In 1950, Mr. Davis and Ms. Dee made their first film
together, No Way Out, an acclaimed story of racial hatred also
starring Sidney Poitier; Mr. Davis, who also wrote, directed, and
produced for both the theater and Hollywood, made films that often
explored the lessons of black history in the United States, most
notably in such films as Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and Countdown
at Kusini (1976), the first American feature to be shot entirely in
Africa by black professionals; his and Ms. Dee's company, Emmalyn
Enterprises, produced the 1986 PBS special, Martin Luther King: The
Dream and the Drum, and they both had key roles in the television
series Roots: The Next Generation (1978); and
WHEREAS, Mr. Davis was introduced to a younger generation
with performances in Grumpy Old Men (1993), The Client (1994), the
television series Evening Shade (1990-1994), and I'm Not Rappaport
(1995), in which he reprised his stage role of 10 years earlier, but
perhaps his most memorable recent performances grew out of a
collaboration with the director Spike Lee in films such as School
Daze, Jungle Fever, and Get on the Bus; in Mr. Lee's 1989 film, Do
the Right Thing, Mr. Davis and Ms. Dee were described by one critic
as "not only figures within the film, but they also seem to preside
over it as if ushering in a new era of black filmmaking"; and
WHEREAS, Offstage, Mr. Davis was deeply involved in civil
rights issues, taking up such causes as the freeing of Nelson
Mandela and the championing of human rights in Haiti; an eloquent
spokesperson for civil rights and social equality, Mr. Davis
delivered an inspiring keynote address at the first meeting of the
Congressional Black Caucus, which took place shortly after Martin
Luther King's assassination, and a moving eulogy at the funeral of
Malcolm X, which he later recited in Spike Lee's biographical film
about the slain civil rights leader; and
WHEREAS, A central figure among black performers for decades,
Mr. Davis paved the way for future generations of African American
artists while fighting zealously for human rights and creating
profound and lasting work that has touched us all; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Ossie Davis and extend
sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, Ruby
Dee; to his children, Guy Davis, Nora Day, and Hasna Muhammad; to
his seven grandchildren; and to his brother, Dr. William C. Davis of
San Antonio; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas House
of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Ossie
Davis.
McClendon
Craddick Geren Menendez
Allen of Harris Giddings Merritt
Allen of Dallas Gonzales Miller
Alonzo Gonzalez Toureilles Moreno of Harris
Anchia Goodman Moreno of El Paso
Anderson Goolsby Morrison
Bailey Griggs Mowery
Baxter Grusendorf Naishtat
Berman Guillen Nixon
Blake Haggerty Noriega
Bohac Hamilton Oliveira
Bonnen Hamric Olivo
Branch Hardcastle Orr
Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Otto
Brown of Brazos Hartnett Paxton
Burnam Hegar Pena
Callegari Herrero Phillips
Campbell Hilderbran Pickett
Casteel Hill Pitts
Castro Hochberg Puente
Chavez Hodge Quintanilla
Chisum Homer Raymond
Coleman Hope Reyna
Cook of Navarro Hopson Riddle
Cook of Colorado Howard Ritter
Corte Hughes Rodriguez
Crabb Hunter Rose
Crownover Hupp Seaman
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Dallas Jackson Smith of Harris
Dawson Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solis
Denny Keel Solomons
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Strama
Driver Keffer of Eastland Straus
Dukes King of Parker Swinford
Dunnam King of Zavala Talton
Dutton Kolkhorst Taylor
Edwards Krusee Thompson
Eiland Kuempel Truitt
Eissler Laney Turner
Elkins Laubenberg Uresti
Escobar Leibowitz Van Arsdale
Farabee Luna Veasey
Farrar Madden Villarreal
Flores Martinez Vo
Flynn Martinez Fischer West
Frost McCall Wong
Gallego McClendon Woolley
Gattis McReynolds Zedler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 531 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on May 18, 2005.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House