BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Cicely Tyson
| Cicely Tyson | |
|---|---|
Tyson at The Heart Truth's Fashion Show in 2009
| |
| Born | New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Spouse(s) | Miles Davis (1981–1988; divorced) |
Cicely L. Tyson[1] is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Award for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972). For this role she also won the NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards. She starred in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), for which she won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA Award.
During her career she has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three. In 2011, she appeared in the filmThe Help, for which she received awards for her ensemble work as Constantine from the BFCA and SAG Awards and she has an additional four SAG Award nominations. She starred on Broadway in The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts, for which she won theTony Award, Outer Critics Award, and Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play. She previously received a Drama Desk Awardin 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
Early life
Tyson was born and raised in Harlem, the daughter of Theodosia, a domestic and William Tyson, who worked as a carpenter, as a painter, and at any other jobs he could find. Her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies.[2][3][4] Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919.[5]
Career
Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a popular fashion model. Her first acting role was on the NBC series Frontiers of Faith in 1951.[6] Her first film role was in Carib Gold in 1956, but she went on to do more television work, such as the celebrated series East Side/West Side and the soap opera The Guiding Light. In 1961, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet's The Blacks, the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances. The original cast also featured James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Louis Gossett, Jr., Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou and Charles Gordone. She appeared with Sammy Davis, Jr. in the film A Man Called Adam (1966) and starred in the film version of Graham Greene'sThe Comedians (1967). Tyson had a featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), and appeared in a segment of Roots.[7]
In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the critically acclaimed Sounder. In 1974, she won twoEmmy Awards for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Other acclaimed television roles included Roots; King, in which she portrayedCoretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story, When No One Would Listen, and The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, for which she received her third Emmy Award. In 1982, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women, who through their endurance and the excellence of their work have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[8]
In 1991 she appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey. In her 1994–95 television series Sweet Justice, Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist and attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she shaped by reportedly consulting with noted Washington, D.C. civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. In 2005, Tyson co-starred in Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The same year she was honored at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball. The Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East Orange, New Jersey, was renamed in her honor. She plays an active part in supporting the school, which serves one of New Jersey's most underprivileged African-American communities. In 2010, Tyson narrated the "Paul Robeson Award"-winning documentary, Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream. In 2010, she appeared in Why Did I Get Married Too? In 2011, Tyson appeared in her first music video in Willow Smith's 21st Century Girl. That same year she played Constantine Jefferson in The Help.[9]
At the 67th Tony Awards on June 9, 2013, Tyson won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful.[10] She also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the role.[11][12]
Personal life
Tyson has been married once, to legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis on November 26, 1981. The ceremony was conducted by Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at the home of actor Bill Cosby. Tyson and Davis divorced in 1988. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. On May 17, 2009, she received an honorary degree from Morehouse College, an all-male college. In 2010, she was awarded theSpingarn Medal from the NAACP.[13] On May 21, 2014, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Columbia University.
Credits
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | The Nurses | Betty Ann Warner | Episode: "Frieda" |
| 1963 | Naked City | Episode: "Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle" | |
| 1963–64 | East Side/West Side | (26 episodes) | |
| 1965 | Slattery's People | Sarah Brookman | Episode: "Question: Who You Taking to the Main Event, Eddie?" |
| 1965–66 | I Spy | Princess Amara Vickie Harmon | Episode: "So Long, Patrick Henry" Episode: "Trial by Treehouse" |
| 1966 | Guiding Light | Martha Frazier | |
| 1967 | Cowboy in Africa | Julie Anderson | Episode: "Tomorrow on the Wind" |
| 1967 | Judd for the Defense | Lucille Evans | Episode: "Commitment" |
| 1968–69 | The F.B.I. | Julie Harmon Lainey Harber | Episode: "The Enemies" Episode: "Silent Partners" |
| 1969 | Medical Center | Susan Wiley | Episode: "The Last 10 Yards" |
| 1969 | The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Betty Kelly | Episode: "Guess Who's Coming for Lunch" |
| 1970 | Gunsmoke | Rachel Biggs | Episode: "The Scavengers" |
| 1970 | Mission: Impossible | Alma Ross | Episode: "Death Squad" |
| 1970 | The Bill Cosby Show | Mildred Hermosa | Episode: "Blind Date" |
| 1970 | Here Come the Brides | Princess Lucenda | Episode: "A Bride for Obie Brown" |
| 1971 | Insight | Episode: "The Bird of the Mast" | |
| 1971 | Marriage: Year One | Emma Teasley | (unsold pilot) |
| 1971 | Neighbors | ||
| 1972 | Emergency! | Mrs. Johnson | Episode: "Crash" |
| 1972 | Wednesday Night Out | ||
| 1974 | The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | Jane Pittman | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Emmy Award for Actress of the Year – Special Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| 1974 | Free to Be… You and Me | Herself | |
| 1976 | Just an Old Sweet Song | Priscilla Simmons | |
| 1977 | Roots | Binta | Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1977 | Wilma | Blanche Rudolph | |
| 1978 | King | Coretta Scott King | Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1978 | A Woman Called Moses | Harriet Ross Tubman | |
| 1981 | The Marva Collins Story | Marva Collins | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1982 | Benny's Place | Odessa | |
| 1985 | Playing with Fire | Carol Phillips | |
| 1986 | Intimate Encounters | Dr. Claire Dalton | |
| 1986 | Acceptable Risks | Janet Framm | |
| 1986 | Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story | Muriel | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special |
| 1989 | The Women of Brewster Place | Mrs. Browne | |
| 1990 | The Kid Who Loved Christmas | Etta | |
| 1990 | B.L. Stryker | Ruth Hastings | Episode: "Winner Takes All" |
| 1990 | Heat Wave | Ruthana Richardson | CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries |
| 1991 | Clippers | Donna | Unsold pilot |
| 1991 | Fried Green Tomatoes | Sipsey | |
| 1992 | Duplicates | Dr. Randolph | |
| 1992 | When No One Would Listen | Sarah | |
| 1993 | House of Secrets | Evangeline | |
| 1994 | Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All | Castralia, Marsden Family House Slave/Maid | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 1994–95 | Sweet Justice | Carrie Grace Battle | Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series |
| 1996 | The Road to Galveston | Jordan Roosevelt | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best TV Actress Nominated — CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 1997 | Bridge of Time | Guardian | |
| 1997 | Riot | Maggie | Segment: "Homecoming Day" Nominated — CableACE Award for Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries |
| 1997 | Ms. Scrooge | Ms. Ebenita Scrooge | |
| 1997 | The Price Of Heaven (Blessed Assurance) | Vesta Lotte Battle | |
| 1998 | Always Outnumbered | Luvia | |
| 1998 | Mama Flora's Family | Mama Flora | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special |
| 1999 | A Lesson Before Dying | Tante Lou | Black Reel Award for Network/Cable – Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special |
| 1999 | Aftershock: Earthquake in New York | Emily Lincoln | |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Abby | Episode: "Living the Rest of My Life" |
| 2000 | The Outer Limits | Justice Gretchen Parkhurst | Episode: "Final Appeal" |
| 2001 | Jewel | Cathedral | |
| 2002 | The Rosa Parks Story | Leona Edwards McCauley | Black Reel Award for Network/Cable – Best Supporting Actress |
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Great Aunt Shirley Hero | Episode: "Wayne's 100 Special Somethings" |
| 2009 | Relative Stranger | Pearl | Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2009 | Law and Order: SVU | Ondine Burdett | Episode "Hell" |
| 2014 | The Trip to Bountiful | Mrs. Carrie Watts | TV Movie Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie (executive producer) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Pending — Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Film Pending — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Dark of the Moon[14] | Little Theatre | |
| 1959 | Jolly's Progress[15] | Jolly (understudy) | Longacre Theatre |
| 1960 | The Cool World[16] | Girl | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 1961 | The Blacks: A Clown Show[14][17] | Stephanie Virtue Diop | St. Mark's Playhouse |
| 1962 | Moon on a Rainbow Shawl[14] | East 11th Street Theater | |
| 1962 | Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright[18] | Celeste Chipley Adelaide Smith (understudy) | Booth Theatre |
| 1963 | The Blue Boy in Black[14][19] | Joan | Masque Theatre |
| 1963 | Trumpets of the Lord[14][20] | Rev. Marion Alexander | Astor Place Theatre |
| 1966 | A Hand Is on the Gate[21] | Performer | Longacre Theatre |
| 1968 | Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights[14][22] | Myrna Jessup | John Golden Theatre |
| 1969 | To Be Young, Gifted and Black[14][23] | Various | Cherry Lane Theatre |
| 1969 | Trumpets of the Lord[24] | Rev. Marion Alexander | Brooks Atkinson Theatre |
| 1983 | The Corn Is Green[25][26] | Miss Moffat | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre |
| 2013 | The Trip to Bountiful | Miss Carrie Watts | Stephen Sondheim Theatre |
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