RIP, CICELY TYSON
Tributes are pouring in via social media for Cicely Tyson, the groundbreaking actress and Civil Rights activist who died Thursday at the age of 96.
Throughout her career, Tyson strictly accepted roles that conferred dignity on Black people, which significantly limited the work she took on, and was critical of films and shows that traded in stereotypes. She nonetheless appeared in more than 100 film, television and stage productions over a seven-decade career.
Tyson won three Emmy Awards, a Tony and an honorary Oscar. She’s in the American Theater Hall of Fame and the Television Hall of Fame and received a career achievement Peabody Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, awarded by former President Barack Obama.
The films and TV series she starred in are significant not only for her performances but their places in visual arts history: Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, to name a few. She was the first Black woman to host Saturday Night Live, back in 1979.
A native of Harlem, Tyson started on the stage, in an Off Broadway production of Jean Genet’s The Blacks in 1961 with James Earl Jones and Louis Gossett Jr. Near the end of her career, she returned to the stage, appearing with Jones in The Gin Game in the 2015-16 season.
Heather Headley wrote on Facebook: "Death has a sting... We know that all too well... So there will be sadness... But we should CELEBRATE! #Celebrate a long life well lived. Celebrate strong shoulders that carried not just women of color but ALL women... men, even! Celebrate feet that taught us what we could dance through and trample over, and celebrate a head deserving, responsible, beautiful & graceful enough to carry a crown. Yes... let’s CELEBRATE... #CicelyTyson!"
In her extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson was one of the rare award-winning actors whose work on the screen was surpassed only by what she was able to accomplish off of it. She had a heart unlike any other—and for 96 years, she left a mark on the world that few will ever match. pic.twitter.com/JRsL3zlKtP
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 29, 2021
#CicelyTyson This is your story. Your song. Blessed Assurance. It’s what you gave us. A foretaste of glory!❤️ I love this video of you. A spectacular night. A spectacular life. Thank you for blessing us and for lighting way. I miss you already. So so much https://t.co/F73A9k9dT9
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 29, 2021
RIP to the legendary Cicely Tyson, shown here with Louis (and in one photo, Ossie Davis) on the set of the film “A Man Called Adam.” The photo of Armstrong and Tyson kissing was taken by Sammy Davis Jr. pic.twitter.com/wuu7C0bjfK
— Louis Armstrong (@ArmstrongHouse) January 29, 2021
This is why #CicelyTyson was so important https://t.co/ua5gQ3oB0c
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) January 29, 2021
My Mentor #cicelytyson So blessed to watch and learn from the greatest #rip https://t.co/niyda5vfnV
— Vanessa Williams (@VWOfficial) January 29, 2021
Your hugs I’ll remember. How your petite arms wrapped around me like mighty branches of a sunlit tree, strong and warm. Your love I’ll remember. You loved me for some reason and told me often. Thank you, Your Majesty. And bless you as you journey ahead. Until we meet again... pic.twitter.com/Z6f3dp7AA1
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 29, 2021
Cicely Tyson 🙏🏾🕊 pic.twitter.com/5TO7LL2mlx
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 29, 2021
Dang we lost another Queen of the screen. Ms. Cicely Tyson (Dec. 19, 1924 – Jan. 28, 2021) was an American actress and fashion model. In a career spanning more than seven decades, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Job well done, Thx u. R.I.P.🙏 pic.twitter.com/46Os1PJRyg
— Bootsy Collins (@Bootsy_Collins) January 29, 2021
I’m so sad to hear the news that trailblazing artist and cultural icon Cicely Tyson has passed away today. While she may be gone, her work and life will continue to inspire millions for years to come. God Bless. pic.twitter.com/vfvdmIMQxh
— COMMON (@common) January 29, 2021
