A priceless Ruby.

I've enjoyed a lot of memorable moments of theater. One of the greatest and most unforgettable was seeing Ruby Dee as Ruth Younger in the original A Raisin in the Sun 55 years ago. I am sure that all the actresses who have played that role since have been excellent, but I cannot imagine anyone portraying that character more truthfully than Ms. Dee. Fortunately, for a change, the filmmakers were wise enough to put her in the 1961 movie version so that her performance endures. Over a lifetime, I have seen Ms. Dee in countless films and stage productions, often along with her equally brilliant  husband Ossie Davis, who died in 2005. Together they were not only theatrical royalty and celebrated playwrights, but activists who made major contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. Dee won a National Medal for the Arts in 1995, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 2000. In 2004 she and Davis received Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2007 their book won a Grammy for best spoken word album. But those were only a few of their many awards and honors. Sadly Ruby Dee has died at 91. A great, great loss.