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Cicely Tyson: Legendary actress dies at 96 years old
Cicely Tyson, the iconic black actress whose career spans more than six decades has died. According to Variety, the Tony-winning actress died on January 28, 2021 at the age of 96.
“I have run Miss Tyson’s race for over 40 years, and every year has been a privilege and a blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement to Variety. “Cicely considered her new memoir a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a star, on top of the tree.”
Tyson had a daughter, whom he referred to as John in his memoirs, Just like I am. She was married twice, even to musician Miles Davis for seven years, according to Biography.com.
Tyson was born on December 19, 1924 and grew up in the Harlem section of New York City, Biography.com noted. At the age of 18 she began modeling and then entered the world of acting in 1956. She became the first African American to star in a television drama in East Side / West Side in 1963. According to her iMDb biography, she was the first African-American actress to win an Emmy Award for Best Leading Actress in a Television Movie for her performance in The autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Tyson is one of 11 black actresses nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. There is also a school named in East Orange, New Jersey: Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing & Fine Arts.
During his career, he received many accolades, nominations and honors. According to Biography.com:
Tyson became a member of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977. She was also honored by the Congress on Racial Equality and the National Council of Black Women. And in 2010, the National Association for the Advancement of People of Color awarded Tyson his 95th Spingarn Medal, an award given to African Americans who have achieved excellent levels of achievement. In 2016, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the hands of Barack Obama.
He also received a Tony Award for The journey to generosity of 2013 and an honorary Oscar in 2018. She has been nominated for an Emmy five times and received an honor from the Kennedy Center in 2015.
Tyson has starred in films and television shows such as Sounds, The autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, Just a sweet, old song, Diary of a black woman, Why did I get married too much?, How to get away from murder, A fall of grace, Mission impossible, Castle of cards, Idlewild, Alex Cross, Madea family reunion and many more.
“The story of Sounds it is part of our history, a testament to the strength of humanity, “Tyson told The New York Times in 1972. “Our whole black heritage is that of struggle, pride, and dignity. Never before had the black woman been shown on screen in this way.”
Tyson said he enjoyed “every moment” of marriage to Miles Davis
In 2015, Tyson talked a bit about her marriage to legendary jazz musician Miles Davis. Despite allegations of abuse, she spoke kindly of him during an interview with CBS This morning with Gayle King.
Tyson: I’m not really talking about that. No, I don’t. But I will say that. He loves every moment I had with him.
King: But they say it was tumultuous, that it was difficult.
Tyson: What do they know? They are assuming it was because of the kind of reputation they perceived that this man was. You know? I knew a band –
King: The reputation was not good. Alcoholism, drugs, he abused you …
Tyson: Women, yes. All this kind of stuff. But this is not the man I met.
During a talk with the magazine New York News, Spoke of the only time Davis physically assaulted her, which he described in his memoirs, Just like I am.
Tyson: Oh, that was the only time it hit me, and it was at the beginning of our relationship. I was shocked. Some people came to the house, a famous writer and his wife, and something happened. He had prepared lunch and …
New York Times Magazine: You dropped a knife on the ground.
Tyson: Yeah, and he thought I threw the knife to the ground for something he said. He hadn’t even been listening to what he was saying. And he came up to me, yes he did, and he punched me in the chest. This is the only time it hit me. No one had ever done that to me. He was so sorry. I’m glad you reminded me. These things come and go. The abuse mentioned, I understood where it came from. People don’t behave this way for no reason. It comes from something or somewhere. And nine out of 10 times, it’s because they’ve been deeply hurt. The way people referred to Miles, “It’s bad, it’s this, it does that,” not in a vacuum, it doesn’t. Nine out of 10 times, the abuse manifested itself when it was under the influence of drugs, of alcohol.
In a recent interview with NPR, he still spoke very well of Davis.
“I wish people knew the Miles Davis I knew,” he said. “Not only was he a brilliant talent, he was also incredibly sensitive. And that’s the Miles Davis that people … don’t know he was trying to protect.”
Tyson revealed that she was assaulted early in her career in her book
In addition to talking about Davis’ unique assault, she also revealed that she was assaulted early in her career. While looking for acting lessons, I wanted to attend the Paul Mann Actors Workshop to work with Lloyd Richards. First, he had to meet with Mann. In her memoirs, according to USA Today, she described the assault that she said took place in Mann’s office.
Paul, a menacing tower of flesh, lunged at me and began to touch my breasts, trying to take off my blouse as he pushed it. “‘No!’ I shouted. Release me! He tried to hit me against the wall and put his hand under my shirt, but somehow I managed to free myself.”
After the assault, Tyson continued to learn about his craft and said in his memoirs that he did not let the assault discourage him.
Life is decisions and, as I saw it, I had two. I could have run away from this man’s office and never come back. Many, understandably, could have chosen this route. … He had come to this studio for the singular purpose of training with Lloyd. And even though Paul, in a show of breathless lasciviousness, had tried to frustrate my mission, I shouldn’t be discouraged. “
Tyson receives a lot of tribute on social media

GettyCicely Tyson: Legendary actress dies at 96 years old
Social media has been flooded with posts from people who share her shock and sadness over Tyson’s death, in addition to acknowledging how iconic she was.
“This loss hurts, today we honor and celebrate the life of one of the greatest to have achieved it,” Zendaya tweeted. “Thank you Cicely Tyson. Rest in great power.”
“Surprised to hear that Cicely Tyson had joined the ancestors,” wrote Marc Lamont Hill. “Words like pioneer, genius, and legend are shamefully insufficient to describe Mrs. Tyson. May she rest in perfect peace.”
A force in his industry that opened the doors to so many fans. There will never be another with Cicely Tyson’s level, class and talent.
Rest in power. pic.twitter.com/z9N72BLdUh
– Netflix (@netflix) January 29, 2021
Soledad O’Brien he tweeted:
“So many great stories about Cicely Tyson! Wow, this lady was amazing. While they were filming a documentary about her in Spanish Harlem, people kept stopping her performances! On the street! They went out and greeted her! Old people. Teenagers .Middle-aged fans. “Ciss-le-lege” chanted as she passed! “
See more tweets below.
Another powerful and influential voice has moved on to the transition. Thank you for sharing your gift with the world. Thank you for blessing us with so much beauty and grace. Rest well, Cicely Tyson 💕🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/8ffV2xHtII
– The issue of black voters (@BlackVotersMtr) January 29, 2021
Rest in power, Cicely Tyson. Forever our queen pic.twitter.com/DZH93RDJwV
– Black lead fort (@strongblacklead) January 29, 2021
This one hurts, today we honor and celebrate the life of one of the greatest who has ever done so. Thanks Cicely Tyson. Rest with great power. pic.twitter.com/vwchWT5512
– Zendaya (@Zendaya) January 29, 2021
“Everything I’ve achieved as an actress I think was directly proportional to my efforts to portray black women who have made positive contributions to my heritage.” #CicelyTyson #JustAsIAm pic.twitter.com/o2n4vFlpaI
– Black Girl ™ good reading (@wellreadblkgirl) January 29, 2021
This is the original version of this story on Heavy.com