Married for fifty-seven years, actors, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were the epitome of Black love. Being in the acting game for just as long as they were married, they are the perfect examples of Hollywood legends. Being civil rights activists for just as long combined with their life’s accomplishments and compassion for others makes them true icons no doubt. But it’s their devoted roles as parents to their three children that we’re pretty sure they were most proud of. In fact, they even have a celebrity son who followed in their Hollywood footsteps. True Old Schoolers will remember him well…and for our ‘younger’ Old Schoolers,’ prepare to be entertained…

MEET THEIR SON

By the way, if you’re not a big time blues fan, you probably just thought that the dude from Beat Street was just another fly-by-night celeb’ who didn’t do much after that movie, but that’s actually not true. In addition to being an actor, he’s also a successful blues artist/musician, with over 15 albums under his belt. He’s a self-taught blues guitarist and banjo player (he says he never had the patience to take formal lessons).

Aside from his lead role in Beat Street, Davis also played “Dr. Josh Hall” on One Life to Live from 1985 to 1986 and made his Broadway musical debut in 1991 in the Zora Neale Hurston/Langston Hughes collaboration Mulebone.

In 1993, he performed Off-Broadway as blues player, Robert Johnson in Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil. He received great reviews and became the 1993 winner of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive Award.” He also still continues to combine his love of acting and music by appearing in various Off-Broadway stage plays and musicals, several of which he writes himself.

Probably one of Guy’s proudest recording projects is a title track he contributed to songs project titled I Will Be Your Friend: Songs and Activities for Young Peacemakers. The songs are combined together with a teacher’s aid kit to help teach diversity and understanding. It is all part of the national “Teaching Tolerance” campaign and continues to be distributed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and sent to every public school in the country to help combat hatred.

MEET ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee had a total of three children, Hasna, Nora, and Guy, and it sounds like their constant teaching of self love and self respect did not fall on deaf eras. Ruby Dee stated at the age of 90, that “I’ve been walking picket lines since I could walk” and that is apparently something they’ve instilled in their kids since they were very young. In fact, below is a photo of Ossie, Ruby, and their children picketing and protesting against racial injustice and standing up for what they believe in, during a time when racial tension and segregation were on high in the early 1960’s…

One of the beautiful attributes that Ossie and Ruby had is that they were like social warriors who stood up for what they believed in, with their tireless dedication toward equal rights for all races. They were civil rights activists who were really close friends with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and they used their fame to do whatever they could to help bring awareness to the fact that African Americans are people who bleed and breathe the same as any other human being and deserve to be treated as such. Sadly, their teachings are still needed today.

Dr. Hasna (shown above on far left) is a gifted and professional musician and attorney. She’s also a seasoned district school administrator, author and public speaker.

I’m sure Ossie and Ruby left this world, feeling a great sense of pride about their offspring.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old School news with a new point of view

The post We All Love Ossie Davis And Ruby Dee, But Many Never Knew Their Son Was An Actor Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Some years ago, our beloved Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis surprisingly revealed in their book, that at one point during their marriage, they allowed each other to have sex with other people, if they so chose to. Now, many people would probably be shocked by this, but they didn’t let that deter them from publicly sharing the intricacies of their marriage with the world. And…let’s just say, that we learn something new everyday around these parts and when we dig deep enough, sometimes we find life’s treasures.

Ossie and Ruby thought it was necessary for them to have an open marriage in their quest to find true love.

Ruby and Ossie on why they decided to have an open marriage arrangement:

“It occurred to us, from observation and reasoning, that extramarital sex was not what really destroyed marriages, but rather the lies and deception that invariably accompanied it — that was the culprit. So we decided to give ourselves permission to sleep with other partners if we wished — as long as what we did was honest as well as private, and that neither of us exposed the family to scandal or disease. We had to be discreet and, if the word can be apt, honorable in our behavior, both to ourselves, to whomever else might be involved, and most of all, to the family. And for the most part, we were.”

Ossie:”But looking back, I’d say no matter what did or did not happen, we freed each other. And in doing that, we also freed ourselves…Sex is fine, but love is better. That’s the most important part of being free. In light of what we learned, is extramarital sex something we recommend as a regular part of marriage? Not now…not anymore. Not since AIDS has entered the equation, and genital herpes, syphilis, and other veneral diseases…”

Ruby: “But, we both came to realize that we were very fortunate that, in all of the deep profound, fundamental ways, we really, really only wanted each other. It was like a rediscovery of something from the beginning. It’s not something that you’d recommend to everybody. But often Ossie has said – and I’ve thought too – the best way to have somebody is to let it go. If it doesn’t come back you are free in another kind of sense – in that you find the strength to let go and wish somebody well. So, we thought an open marriage was appropriate for us but it turned out not to be. But then that’s what we’re all about, we are moving from one position to another in the process of trying to unravel this thing call life.”

They must have been doing something right though, because their marriage lasted for six decades (since 1948). Now y’all know nowadays we see all too often, marriages that aren’t even making it past 6 years…let alone 6 whole decades?!! Incredible!

Ruby and Ossie definitely deserve a lot of respect for revealing this info, because they put their love to the ultimate test, which was extremely risky. For Ossie and Ruby Dee, their open marriage turned out to be a testament to the old school saying: When you truly love someone, let them go and if it’s meant to be, they’ll always come back. Could this be why their marriage lasted so many decades? Hmmm…we’re not sure, but one thing’s for certain, their marriage has lasted up to their passing and beyond.

May they both rest well.

Source

The post Ossie Davis And Ruby Dee Once Disclosed Why They Had Open Marriage And How It Affected Them appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Some years ago, our beloved Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis surprisingly revealed in their book, that at one point during their marriage, they allowed each other to have sex with other people, if they so chose to. Now, many people would probably be shocked by this, but they didn’t let that deter them from publicly sharing the intricacies of their marriage with the world. And…let’s just say, that we learn something new everyday around these parts and when we dig deep enough, sometimes we find life’s treasures.

Ossie and Ruby thought it was necessary for them to have an open marriage in their quest to find true love.

Ruby and Ossie on why they decided to have an open marriage arrangement:

“It occurred to us, from observation and reasoning, that extramarital sex was not what really destroyed marriages, but rather the lies and deception that invariably accompanied it — that was the culprit. So we decided to give ourselves permission to sleep with other partners if we wished — as long as what we did was honest as well as private, and that neither of us exposed the family to scandal or disease. We had to be discreet and, if the word can be apt, honorable in our behavior, both to ourselves, to whomever else might be involved, and most of all, to the family. And for the most part, we were.”

Ossie:”But looking back, I’d say no matter what did or did not happen, we freed each other. And in doing that, we also freed ourselves…Sex is fine, but love is better. That’s the most important part of being free. In light of what we learned, is extramarital sex something we recommend as a regular part of marriage? Not now…not anymore. Not since AIDS has entered the equation, and genital herpes, syphilis, and other veneral diseases…”

Ruby: “But, we both came to realize that we were very fortunate that, in all of the deep profound, fundamental ways, we really, really only wanted each other. It was like a rediscovery of something from the beginning. It’s not something that you’d recommend to everybody. But often Ossie has said – and I’ve thought too – the best way to have somebody is to let it go. If it doesn’t come back you are free in another kind of sense – in that you find the strength to let go and wish somebody well. So, we thought an open marriage was appropriate for us but it turned out not to be. But then that’s what we’re all about, we are moving from one position to another in the process of trying to unravel this thing call life.”

They must have been doing something right though, because their marriage lasted for 6 decades (since 1948). Now y’all know nowadays we see all too often, marriages that aren’t even making it past 6 years…let alone 6 whole decades?!! Incredible!

Ruby and Ossie definitely deserve a lot of respect for revealing this info, because they put their love to the ultimate test, which was extremely risky. For Ossie and Ruby Dee, their open marriage turned out to be a testament to the old school saying: When you truly love someone, let them go and if it’s meant to be, they’ll always come back. Could this be why their marriage lasted so many decades? Hmmm…we’re not sure, but one thing’s for certain, their marriage has lasted up to their passing and beyond.

May they both rest well.

Source

The post Ossie Davis And Ruby Dee Once Disclosed Why They Had Open Marriage And How It Affected Them appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Married for fifty-seven years, actors, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were the epitome of Black love. Being in the acting game for just as long as they were married, they are the perfect examples of Hollywood legends. Being civil rights activists for just as long combined with their life’s accomplishments and compassion for others makes them true icons no doubt. But it’s their devoted roles as parents to their three children that we’re pretty sure they were most proud of. In fact, they even have a celebrity son who followed in their Hollywood footsteps. True Old Schoolers will remember him well…and for our ‘younger’ Old Schoolers,’ prepare to be entertained…

MEET THEIR SON

By the way, if you’re not a big time blues fan, you probably just thought that the dude from Beat Street was just another fly-by-night celeb’ who didn’t do much after that movie, but that’s actually not true. In addition to being an actor, he’s also a successful blues artist/musician, with over 15 albums under his belt. He’s a self-taught blues guitarist and banjo player (he says he never had the patience to take formal lessons).

Aside from his lead role in Beat Street, Davis also played “Dr. Josh Hall” on One Life to Live from 1985 to 1986 and made his Broadway musical debut in 1991 in the Zora Neale Hurston/Langston Hughes collaboration Mulebone.

In 1993, he performed Off-Broadway as blues player, Robert Johnson in Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil. He received great reviews and became the 1993 winner of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive Award.” He also still continues to combine his love of acting and music by appearing in various Off-Broadway stage plays and musicals, several of which he writes himself.

Probably one of Guy’s proudest recording projects is a title track he contributed to songs project titled I Will Be Your Friend: Songs and Activities for Young Peacemakers. The songs are combined together with a teacher’s aid kit to help teach diversity and understanding. It is all part of the national “Teaching Tolerance” campaign and continues to be distributed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and sent to every public school in the country to help combat hatred.

MEET ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee had a total of three children, Hasna, Nora, and Guy, and it sounds like their constant teaching of self love and self respect did not fall on deaf eras. Ruby Dee stated at the age of 90, that “I’ve been walking picket lines since I could walk” and that is apparently something they’ve instilled in their kids since they were very young. In fact, below is a photo of Ossie, Ruby, and their children picketing and protesting against racial injustice and standing up for what they believe in, during a time when racial tension and segregation were on high in the early 1960’s…

One of the beautiful attributes that Ossie and Ruby had is that they were like social warriors who stood up for what they believed in, with their tireless dedication toward equal rights for all races. They were civil rights activists who were really close friends with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and they used their fame to do whatever they could to help bring awareness to the fact that African Americans are people who bleed and breathe the same as any other human being and deserve to be treated as such. Sadly, their teachings are still needed today.

Dr. Hasna (shown above on far left) is a gifted and professional musician and attorney. She’s also a seasoned district school administrator, author and public speaker.

I’m sure Ossie and Ruby left this world, feeling a great sense of pride about their offspring.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old School news with a new point of view

The post We All Love Ossie Davis And Ruby Dee, But Many Never Knew Their Son Was An Actor Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The year was 1974 when we watched Claudine and witnessed Diahann Carroll display a total contrast to her sophisticated character of “Nurse Julia” from her 60s/70s TV show, Julia. Although many were skeptical about Diahann being able to convince us that she would be a poor single mother on welfare, raising six kids, she pulled it off and Claudine forever went down in history as a 70’s cult classic film…BUT…

There was another very popular actress whom the producers of the film were trying to convince to take the “Claudine” role, but she turned it down for the very reason that we all fell in love with the film- she didn’t want to portray an unmarried African American woman who was on welfare and raising six kids on her own. Of course that’s not the only reason we loved the film, but seeing a representation of an unfortunate reality that many of us are faced with in our own families and communities, was a reality that was very relatable for us. Nonetheless, it’s understandable that this actress couldn’t see herself playing such a character. See who this strong willed, iconic actress is below…

So THAT’S Who Turned Down “Claudine” Role…

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It’s the beautiful Cicely Tyson! In a prior interview, Cicely revealed that she was offered the role of “Claudine” before Diahann Carroll, but she just did not want to take on that type of stereotypical role at that point in her career. Therefore, she declined.

We all know that Cicely would have nailed that character like no other, but now that we’ve seen Diahann kill that role, it’s hard to imagine anyone else filling her shoes. The film would have felt totally different with any other actress loving on “Roop” (James Earl Jones’ character).

That same year in 1974, Cicely Tyson’s TV movie, The Autobiography of Jane Pittman, released and her character was a slave named “Jane” who told the story of transitioning from being a slave to being a free person at the end of the Civil War and living into the start of the civil rights era at the age of 110.

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While “Jane” was a far cry from the role of “Claudine,” it can also be argued that “Claudine” was the result of a woman, much like “Jane Pittman.” “Jane” had to rebuild, after generations of oppression and was still trying to navigate her way through the American system -through parenthood, and the men in her life. Sure, “Claudine” had more opportunities than “Jane,” or so it seemed, but the biased ‘American system’ was still strong and in tact. For example, “Claudine” -and women like “Claudine,” who are on welfare- still have to keep the men out of the household, or face consequences of having their government assistance stripped away from them and their children. As long as there is no man in the home, the possibility of building a strongly bonded, complete family is very minimal and basically impossible.

So both characters -“Jane” and “Claudine”- still represent women who possess a certain level of strength and triumph, but under a different set of circumstances. Moving on…

Diahann Caroll Wasn’t The 2nd Pick Either…Diana Sands Was…

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Another fact about the film, Claudine, is that Diahann wasn’t supposed to play “Claudine” either. Actress, Diana Sands, was originally casted as “Claudine” and production had already started in 1973 with Sands. It came to a screeching halt when Sands and James Earl Jones were doing a love scene and Jones knew something must have been wrong with Sands, when she winced in pain. Sadly, it turned out that Sands had a terminal form cancer, called leiomyosarcoma, and had to pull out of the film. It was Sands who suggested that her close friend, Diahann Carroll, take the part instead, and the rest is history. Sands sadly passed away that same year. May she continue to rest peacefully.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view

Source

The post Before Diahann, Another Iconic Actress Rejected “Claudine” Movie Over Stereotype appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In case this guy probably looks familiar to some of you, it’s probably because he was one of the stars of the 1984 break dancing movie, Beat Street. Remember him from the movie? He played “Double K,” an aspiring DJ who fell in love with actress, Rae Dawn Chong’s character, “Tracey.”

Well what many never knew was that he also has very famous parents, who are actors that we all know. If you look closely at him, you may be able to figure it out. (Shout out to ILOSM family member, Ebony S. B. for sending us this info).

Turn the page to see who his parents are…

The post He Was In The 80s Film Beat Street…Wait Til U See His FAMOUS PARENTS appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Some years back, our beloved Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis surprisingly revealed in their book, that at one point during their marriage, they allowed each other to have sex with other people, if they so chose to. Now, many people would probably be shocked by this, but they didn’t let that deter them from publicly sharing the intricacies of their marriage with the world. And…let’s just say, that we learn something new everyday around these parts and when we dig deep enough, sometimes we find life’s treasures.

Ossie and Ruby thought it was necessary for them to have an open marriage in their quest to find true love.

Ruby and Ossie on why they decided to have an open marriage arrangement:

“It occurred to us, from observation and reasoning, that extramarital sex was not what really destroyed marriages, but rather the lies and deception that invariably accompanied it — that was the culprit. So we decided to give ourselves permission to sleep with other partners if we wished — as long as what we did was honest as well as private, and that neither of us exposed the family to scandal or disease. We had to be discreet and, if the word can be apt, honorable in our behavior, both to ourselves, to whomever else might be involved, and most of all, to the family. And for the most part, we were.”

Ossie:”But looking back, I’d say no matter what did or did not happen, we freed each other. And in doing that, we also freed ourselves…Sex is fine, but love is better. That’s the most important part of being free. In light of what we learned, is extramarital sex something we recommend as a regular part of marriage? Not now…not anymore. Not since AIDS has entered the equation, and genital herpes, syphilis, and other veneral diseases…”

Embed from Getty Images

Ruby: “But, we both came to realize that we were very fortunate that, in all of the deep profound, fundamental ways, we really, really only wanted each other. It was like a rediscovery of something from the beginning. It’s not something that you’d recommend to everybody. But often Ossie has said – and I’ve thought too – the best way to have somebody is to let it go. If it doesn’t come back you are free in another kind of sense – in that you find the strength to let go and wish somebody well. So, we thought an open marriage was appropriate for us but it turned out not to be. But then that’s what we’re all about, we are moving from one position to another in the process of trying to unravel this thing call life.”

They must have been doing something right though, because their marriage lasted for 6 decades (since 1948). Now y’all know nowadays we see all too often, marriages that aren’t even making it past 6 years…let alone 6 whole decades?!! Incredible!

This is a testament to the old school saying: when you truly love someone let them go, and if it’s meant to be they’ll always come back. Could this be why their marriage lasted so many decades? Scientifically proven that only 5 to 6 percent of all mammals are a naturally monogamous species and although humans fall in the category of being a monogamous species, it’s been scientifically proven that we aren’t naturally that way, but that we do that as a result of societal structure and invention, but not biological makeup. One mammal that is a monogamous species is a goose whom even if their longtime partner is killed, will never ever have sex with another mate ever again in life. Now can you see the difference? So if we were not a society whom was still successfully able to have the father figure in their children’s lives without the children’s well being being compromised in any way, or is there were no concerns about being judged in society or by your significant other, would we view the idea of open marriages differently?

Ruby and Ossie definitely deserve a lot of respect for revealing this info, because they put their love to the ultimate test, which was extremely risky. For Ossie and Ruby Dee, their open marriage turned out to be a testament to the old school saying: When you truly love someone, let them go and if it’s meant to be, they’ll always come back. Could this be why their marriage lasted so many decades? Hmmm…we’re not sure, but one thing’s for certain, their marriage has lasted up to their passing and beyond.

Like we said earlier, for them, it was necessary to have an open relationship, on their quest to finding true love. We hope that in covering this story, this may help anyone who is in dire need of understanding true love. We salute these two legends and thank them for sharing such an intimate piece of their lives with their fans. May they both rest well.

Source

The post Ruby Dee Revealed Her Alternative Sex Life To Strengthen Her Marriage appeared first on I Love Old School Music.