![]() ![]() ![]() In 1972, Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the film Sounder. In 1968 Tyson had a featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. in the film A Man Called Adam (1966) and had a small role in the film version of The Comedians (1967) based on the Graham Greene novel. In the mid-1960s she had a recurring role in the soap opera The Guiding Light. She was at the time the only African-American regular member of a TV cast, The show was noted for its treatment of social issues, and one of its episodes, on an African-American couple in Harlem (played by James Earl Jones and Diana Sands), was blacked out in Atlanta and Shreveport, Louisiana. Tyson, who once worked for a social services agency, was spotted by producer David Susskind in The Blacks and in Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, and was cast for a role in the CBS TV series East Side/West Side (1963–1964), playing the secretary of a social worker played by George C. She won the 1961-1962 Vernon Rice Award (later known as the Drama Desk Award) for her performance in another off-Broadway production, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. The show was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances. She played the role of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop other notable cast members included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones, Godfrey Cambridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Charles Gordone. In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet's The Blacks. ![]() Tyson had small roles in the 1959 films Odds Against Tomorrow and The Last Angry Man, as well as the 1960 comedy, Who Was That Lady? 1n 1961, she made her television debut in the NBC series Frontiers of Faith. Her first acting role was a bit part in the 1956 film Carib Gold and she first appeared onstage in Vinnette Carroll's production of Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA in 1958. Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a successful fashion model. In 1963, while a student at New York's New School For Social Research, Tyson appeared on the network television game show To Tell The Truth as an "imposter" for Australian singer Shirley Abicair, receiving two of the four possible votes. She changed her mind when she saw Cicely appear on stage. Tyson's mother was opposed to her becoming an actress and would not speak to her for a time. She sang in the choir and attended prayer meetings at an Episcopal church in East Harlem. Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919. Her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies. She was one of three children born to Fredericka (Huggins) Tyson, a domestic worker, and William Augustine Tyson, who worked as a carpenter and painter. Tyson was born in the Bronx, New York City, but soon relocated with her family to East Harlem. In 2020, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In November 2016, Tyson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the United States. Tyson was named a Kennedy Center honoree in 2015. Tyson also starred as Carrie Watts in the Broadway play The Trip to Bountiful, winning the Tony Award, the Outer Critics Award, and the Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play in 2013. She received a Vernon Rice Award in 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. In addition to her screen career, Tyson appeared in various theater productions. On TV she played the recurring role of Ophelia Harkness in the ABC legal drama TV series How to Get Away With Murder, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series five times. Tyson continued to act in film and television in projects such as Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), A Lesson Before Dying (1999), Because of Winn-Dixie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman (both 2005), The Help (2011), The Trip to Bountiful (2014) and Last Flag Flying (2017). She received another Emmy Award nomination for her role as Binta in the acclaimed series Roots (1977). Tyson's portrayal of the title role in the 1974 television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman won her two Emmy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She garnered widespread attention and critical acclaim for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972), for which she was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Tyson received various awards including three Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Tony Award, an Honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award. ![]() Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021) was an American actress known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. ![]()
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