On the heels of finding out that Ernst Mayr died, I also just read that Ossie Davis has died. Ossie Davis, husband of actress Ruby Dee, was a brilliant actor, playwright, writer and civil rights activist. If you don't recognize his name, you almost surely would recognize his face and his deep, booming voice. I especially recall the performances of he and his wife in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, which I consider to be one of the finest movies ever made. In addition to delivering so many great performances on screen, he also delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X. Davis and Ruby Dee were married for 56 years, and their work in the civil rights movement went on throughout their lives. He undoubtedly left the world a better place than he found it, and for that he deserves to be honored.
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I was saddened to hear of his passing. I have enjoyed his work over the years. The last film I saw him in was a neat little indie pic called "Bubba Ho-Tep." He played JFK alongside Bruce Campbell's fine portrayal of Elvis.
I listened to NPR on the way home yesterday. There was an interesting 5 or 6 minute piece on Ossie Davis's death. There was no notice that I heard concerning the death of Ernst Mayr.
I listened to NPR on the way home yesterday. There was an interesting 5 or 6 minute piece on Ossie Davis's death. There was no notice that I heard concerning the death of Ernst Mayr.
I noticed the same sort of thing. When I first heard about Mayr I looked around the web a little at the major news sites (CNN, ABC, etc.) and while I found something on Davis on most I had to look on a science news related site to find something about Mayr.
No disrespect intended to Mr. Davis, but it is kind of sad that the death of a mid-level (in celebrity not talent) actor gets far more attention than that of a truly significant scientist like Mayr.
I guess that shows where our society's priorities are.
See, you had to come here to find obits on both Mayr and Davis. Who needs the "legacy media", or whatever they're being called these days.