---
name: "David Ruffin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-ruffin"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "18 January 1941"
died: "1 June 1991"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-17T05:47:24.687943+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Ruffin

Actor. Born 18 January 1941 in Whynot, Mississippi, USA. Died 1 June 1991.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 18 January 1941, Whynot, Mississippi, USA
- **Died:** 1 June 1991
- **Also known as:** The Temptations 
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1176417, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749278/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/545422

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)*](https://film.one/film/summer-of-soul-or-when-the-revolution-could-not-be-televised.md) (87)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

David Ruffin was an American soul singer and lead vocalist. Born Davis Eli Ruffin on 18 January 1941 in Whynot, Mississippi, he joined the Temptations in 1964 and sang lead on many of the group's early hits, including "My Girl" (1965), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966) and "I Wish It Would Rain" (1967). He left the group in 1968 and pursued a solo career, releasing albums on Motown and later labels.

Ruffin appeared in archival footage as Self in the 2021 documentary *Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)*, performing at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. He also performed as Self at *Live Aid* in 1985. He died on 1 June 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

*Sources: imdb.com, biography.com, en.wikipedia.org, eurweb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)* (2021), Fi1m 87, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/summer-of-soul-or-when-the-revolution-could-not-be-televised.md)

## Also known for

- *Live Aid* (1985), Self

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-ruffin