Peter Kramer/ASSOCIATED PRESS Spike Lee, seen here with Ruby Dee, was crushed by the news of her death. Inspiring actress Ruby Dee was remembered with reverence and deep respect Thursday after her death at age 91.
"We have lost another tall tree," said Kenny Leon, director of the Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun."
"What a life and an example of how to live it richly," he said. "She will be missed but never forgotten as she lives on in many of us."
Spike Lee, who directed Dee and husband Ossie Davis in both "Do The Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever," was crushed by the news.
Reed Saxon/AP Celebrities have expressed their deep respect for Ruby Dee. 
Paul Zimmerman/WireImage Audra McDonald said Ruby Dee was among the people who made her career possible. 
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images Director Kenny Leon praised Dee. 'What a life and an example of how to live it richly,' he said of the actress."RUBY DEE — God Bless You," Lee wrote on his Instagram account, where he posted a shot of Dee with Samuel L. Jackson in "Jungle Fever."
Actress Audra McDonald won a best actress Tony for playing the role created by Dee in "Raisin," and has credited her predecessor — among others — for making her career possible.
"Ruby Dee taught us not only how one can change the world on stage, but also how one can help change the world off stage," said McDonald.
Mayor de Blasio hailed Dee as a "lifelong New Yorker whose mark on the performing arts community and civil rights movement lives on, inspiring us to do better."
Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/celebrities-praise-ruby-dee-article-1.1828081
