Cicely Tyson, Pioneering Hollywood Icon, Dies at 96
Jan 28, 2020 4:05pm PT
By Carmel Dagan
Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Cicely Tyson, who distinguished herself in theater, film and television, died on Thursday afternoon. She was 96.
“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as 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.”
Throughout her career Tyson refused to play drug addicts, prostitutes or maids, roles she thought demeaning to Black women. But when a good part came along she grabbed hold of it with tenacity.
Onstage she was in the original 1961 Off Broadway production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks” and, decades later, she won a Tony for her starring role in a revival of “The Trip to Bountiful.”
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The actress became a household name thanks to her starring role in “Miss Jane Pittman.” The TV movie, in which a 110-year-old woman recalls her life, required her to portray the heroine over a nine-decade period. Writing about Tyson’s performance, Pauline Kael compared her “to the highest, because that’s the comparison she invites and has earned.”
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Link to tweet
FOX 4 NEWS @FOX4
NEW YORK (AP) -- Agent: Cicely Tyson, Emmy and Tony-winning actor noted for 'Sounder,' 'Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,' dies at 96.
7:02 PM · Jan 28, 2021
The fountain scene;
Cross gently, Ms Tyson.
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What a life!
A life well lived. I celebrate her life!
But what years she had!
Every role I ever saw her in, she took my breath away.
The word I think of to describe her is 'dignity.'
We are richer, because she shared her talent with us.
Rest peacefully, Ms. Tyson.
Her, and Diahanne Carroll and Lesley Uggams.
All before age 8 or so. I watched everything they were in.
She lived an amazing life...
What a life! 
RIP.. so many in just the month of January
She was one of my favorites. She will be dearly missed.
What a great actress, I can hardly believe she was that old ... R-I-P Cicely
display of sympathy for the family. I loved Cicely Tyson, and thought she would never die. Her body of work is just amazing. I'm thinking Tyler Perry and Oprah are probably inconsolable at this news.