Cicely Louise Tyson
Film Credits
The 50s
Girl Left on Porch (uncredited)
Cicely Tyson and Carmen de Lavallade – “Odds Against Tomorrow.”
Dottie
Tony
The 60s
East Side/West Side
No Hiding Place (1963)
George C Scott Cicely Tyson Ruby Dee Earle Hyman
East Side/ West Side (1963) – w/ James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson
LOS ANGELES – MAY 24: Actress Cicely Tyson is shown here in a scene from the CBS television program “East Side/West Side on May 24, 1963. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (TV Series)
Betty Kelly
– Guess Who’s Coming for Lunch (1969) … Betty Kelly
UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 29: THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER – “Guess Who’s Coming for Lunch” – Season One – 10/26/69, Cicely Tyson (as Betty), James Cole (as Max) on the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Television Network comedy “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. Eddie gets a new second-best friend – Tom will always be his best friend – by the name of Max. , (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 29: THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER – “Guess Who’s Coming for Lunch” – Season One – 10/29/69, Bill Bixby (as Tom), Cicely Tyson (as Betty) on the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Television Network comedy “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. Eddie gets a new second-best friend – Tom will always be his best friend – by the name of Max. , (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 29: THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER – “Guess Who’s Coming for Lunch” – Season One – 10/29/69, Brandon Cruz (as Eddie), Bill Bixby (as Tom), James Cole (as Max), Cicely Tyson (as Betty) on the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Television Network comedy “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. Eddie gets a new second-best friend – Tom will always be his best friend – by the name of Max. , (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
1968-1969 The F.B.I. (TV Series)
Lainey Harber / Julie Harmon
– Silent Partner (1969) … Lainey Harber
– The Enemies (1968) … Julie Harmon
Unspecified – 1968: (L-R) Cicely Tyson, Efrem Zimbalist Jr appearing on Walt Disney Television via Getty Images’s ‘The FBI’ episode ‘The Enemies’. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
Unspecified – 1968: (L-R) Al Freeman Jr, Cicely Tyson, Efrem Zimbalist Jr appearing on Walt Disney Television via Getty Images’s ‘The FBI’ episode ‘The Enemies’. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
1969 Medical Center (TV Series)
Susan Wiley
– The Last Ten Yards (1969) … Susan Wiley
1968 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Portia
1967 Judd for the Defense (TV Series)
Lucille Evans
– Commitment (1967) … Lucille Evans
1967 Cowboy in Africa (TV Series)
Julie Anderson
– Tomorrow on the Wind (1967) … Julie Anderson
COWBOY IN AFRICA – “Tomorrow on the Wind” – Airdate November 20, 1967. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) CICELY TYSON; RICHARD ELKINS; CHUCK CONNORS
1967 The Comedians
Marie Therese
1965-1966 I Spy (TV Series)
Vickie Harmon / Princess Amara
– Trial by Treehouse (1966) … Vickie Harmon
– So Long, Patrick Henry (1965) … Princess Amara
1966 Guiding Light (TV Series)
Martha Frazier
– Episode dated 9 August 1966 (1966) … Martha Frazier
1966 A Man Called Adam
Claudia Ferguson
Frank Sinatra Jr, Cicely Tyson, and Ossie Davis in a scene from the film ‘A Man Called Adam‘, 1966. (Photo by Embassy Pictures/Getty Images)
1965 Slattery’s People (TV Series)
Sarah Brookman
– Question: Who You Taking to the Main Event, Eddie? (1965) … Sarah Brookman
1963-1964 East Side/West Side (TV Series)
Jane Foster
– Here Today (1964) … Jane Foster
– The Givers (1964) … Jane Foster
– Nothing But the Half Truth (1964) … Jane Foster
– The Name of the Game (1964) … Jane Foster
– Take Sides with the Sun (1964) … Jane Foster
American actress Cicily Tyson (as Jane Foster) works at a filing cabinet in a scene from an episode of the television show ‘East Side/West Side,’ New York, New York, October 18, 1963. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 23: “EAST SIDE / WEST SIDE” featuring cast members Cicely Tyson as office secretary Jane Foster and George C. Scott as a New York City social worker Neil Brock. The Series premiered on September 23, 1963. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
1963 Naked City (TV Series)
Darlene Knox
– Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle (1963) … Darlene Knox
1962 The Doctors and the Nurses (TV Series)
Betty Ann Warner
– Frieda (1962) … Betty Ann Warner
1960 CBS Repertoire Workshop (TV Series)
Daughter
– Brown Girl, Brownstones (1960) … Daughter
The 70s
Saturday Night Live veteran Jim Downey said the highest-rated SNL ever was hosted by
Cicely Tyson
Feb 10, 1979
17.6 with a 42 share. Tonight SNL showed this pic as a tribute to her
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 11 — Pictured: (l-r) Garrett Morris and Cicely Tyson during the monologue on February 10, 1979 — (Photo by Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
– (Photo by Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 11 — Pictured: (l-r) Cicely Tyson and Garrett Morris during the ‘Black Perspective’ skit on February 10, 1979 — (Photo by Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 11 — Pictured: (l-r) Garrett Morris as Earl Bass, Cicely Tyson as Wilma Bass, Dan Aykroyd as Bob Widette, Jane Curtin as Betty Widette during the ‘The Widettes’ skit on February 10, 1979 — (Photo by Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 11 — Pictured: (l-r) Bill Murray as Mohammad Reza Pahlevi and Cicely Tyson as Gail Barnes during the ‘The Shah’s Final Days’ skit on February 10, 1979 — (Photo by Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 11 — Pictured: (l-r) Cicely Tyson as Bess and Garrett Morris as Porky during the ‘Litella Vision’ skit on February 10, 1979 — (Photo by Al Levine/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
1979 The Concorde… Airport ’79
Elaine
1978 A Woman Called Moses (TV Series)
Harriet Ross Tubman
– Episode #1.2 (1978) … Harriet Ross Tubman
– Episode #1.1 (1978) … Harriet Ross Tubman
(Original Caption) USA: Cicely Tyson as A Woman Called Moses, on NBC-TV, December 11 and 12.
1978 King (TV Mini-Series)
Coretta Scott King
– Episode #1.3 (1978) … Coretta Scott King
– Episode #1.2 (1978) … Coretta Scott King
– Episode #1.1 (1978) … Coretta Scott King
1978 A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich
Sweets
A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich
1977 Wilma (TV Movie)
Blanche Rudolph
Shirley Jo Finney and Cicely Tyson in NBC’s “Wilma“.
Shirley Jo Finney and Cicely Tyson
1977 Roots (TV Mini-Series)
Binta
– Part I (1977) … Binta
1976 Just an Old Sweet Song (TV Movie)
Priscilla
1976 The River Niger
Mattie Williams
Louis Gossett, Jonelle Allen, Glynn Turman
Actor James Earl Jones and actress Cicely Tyson and actor Glynn Turman on the set of the Cine Artists Picture movie “The River Niger” in 1976. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Actress Cicely Tyson, actors James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr. Glynn Turman on the set of the Cine Artists Picture movie “The River Niger” in 1976. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
James Earl Jones
River Niger, lobbycard, THE, Louis Gossett, Jr, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Glynn Turman, 1976. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)
1976 The Blue Bird
Tylette
Actress Cicely Tyson in a scene from the film ‘The Blue Bird‘, 1976. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)
1974 The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (TV Movie)
Jane Pittman
1974 Desire Under The Elms
Roscoe Lee Browne
1972 Norman Corwin Presents (TV Series)
– Two Gods on Prime Time (1972)
1972 Sounder
Rebecca
1972 Wednesday Night Out (TV Movie)
1972 Emergency! (TV Series)
Mrs. Johnson
– Crash (1972) … Mrs. Johnson
1971 Neighbors (TV Movie)
Andrew Duggan, Raymond St. Jacques, Cicely Tyson, Jane Wyatt. “A provocative, emotion-packed drama about race relations in an all-White suburban community, this play depicts the confrontation between an upper-class White couple and a Black couple from Harlem who plan to buy their expensive suburban home. In negotiating the sale, all four parties learn a little more about each other…and a lot about their own latent prejudices. A stellar cast – including Oscar-nominee and 2-time Emmy-winner Cicely Tyson (Sounder), 3-time Emmy-winner Jane Wyatt (Father Knows Best), Andrew Duggan (Rich Man, Poor Man), and Raymond St. Jacques (Roots) – delivers outstanding performances. By Arkady Leokum.”
1971 Marriage: Year One (TV Movie)
Emma Teasley
1971 Insight (TV Series)
Edna
– Bird on the Mast (1971) … Edna
1970 Gunsmoke (TV Series)
Rachel Biggs
– The Scavengers (1970) … Rachel Biggs
1970 Mission: Impossible (TV Series)
Alma Ross
– Death Squad (1970) … Alma Ross
1970 The Bill Cosby Show (TV Series)
Mildred Hermosa
– Blind Date (1970) … Mildred Hermosa
1970 Here Come the Brides (TV Series)
Princess Lucenda
UNITED STATES – JULY 23: HERE COME THE BRIDES – “Obie Brown and the Black Princess” 12/26/69 Cicely Tyson, Extras (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
The 80s
1989 The Women of Brewster Place (TV Mini-Series)
Mrs. Browne
– Episode #1.2 (1989) … Mrs. Browne
– Episode #1.1 (1989) … Mrs. Browne
Cicely Tyson, in costume in the role of Mrs. Browne, while on the set of the television mini-series ‘The Women of Brewster Place‘, Los Angeles, CA, 1988. (Photo by Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
1986 Intimate Encounters (TV Movie)
Dr. Claire Dalton
1986 Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story (TV Movie)
Muriel
1986 Acceptable Risks (TV Movie)
Janet Framm
Walt Disney Television via Getty Images MOVIE FOR TV – “Acceptable Risks” – Airdate: March 2, 1986. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
RICHARD GILLILAND; CICELY TYSON; BRIAN DENNEHY
1985 Playing with Fire (TV Movie)
Carol Phillips
Cicely Tyson, Gary Coleman for “Playing with Fire” NBC TV Movie
Cicely Tyson, Gary Coleman for “Playing with Fire” NBC TV Movie
1982 Benny’s Place (TV Movie)
Odessa
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
L-R: BEVER-LEIGH BANFIELD; CICELY TYSON
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
L-R: BEVER-LEIGH BANFIELD; DAVID HARRIS; CICELY TYSON
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
L-R: CICELY TYSON; BEVER-LEIGH BANFIELD; DAVID HARRIS
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
L-R: CICELY TYSON; BEVER-LEIGH BANFIELD; DAVID HARRIS
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
LOUIS GOSSETT JR.; CICELY TYSON
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
L-R: CICELY TYSON; PAULENE MYERS; LOUIS GOSSETT JR.
BENNY’S PLACE – TV Movie – Airdate: May 31, 1982. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
LOUIS GOSSETT JR.; CICELY TYSON
1981 The Marva Collins Story (TV Movie)
Marva Collins
1981 The Body Human: Becoming a Woman (TV Movie)
1981 Bustin’ Loose
Vivian Perry
1981: Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson appear in a scene from the movie “Bustin’ Loose” which was released in 1981. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
1981: Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson appear in a scene from the movie “Bustin’ Loose” which was released in 1981. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
1981: Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson appear in a scene from the movie “Bustin’ Loose” which was released in 1981. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
The 90s
1999 Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (TV Mini-Series)
Emily Lincoln
– Part 2 (1999) … Emily Lincoln
– Part 1 (1999) … Emily Lincoln
1999 A Lesson Before Dying (TV Movie)
Tante Lou.
1998 Mama Flora’s Family (TV Mini-Series)
Mama Flora
– Episode #1.2 (1998) … Mama Flora
– Episode #1.1 (1998) … Mama Flora
Based on Alex Haley’s novel about a Black matriarch in the early 20th century, this dramatic miniseries spotlights the struggle for social change. Cicely Tyson stars as Mama Flora, a woman determined to free her children from the bonds of racism and the system.
1998 Always Outnumbered (TV Movie)
Luvia
1997 Ms. Scrooge (TV Movie)
Ms. Ebenita Scrooge
1997 Hoodlum
Stephanie St. Clair
Directed by Bill Duke
Produced by Frank Mancuso, Jr.
Written by Chris Brancato
Starring
Laurence Fishburne
Tim Roth
Vanessa Williams
Andy García
Cicely Tyson
Chi McBride
Richard Bradford
Clarence Williams III
1997 The Price of Heaven (TV Movie)
Vesta Lotte Battle
1997 Riot (TV Movie)
Maggie (segment “Homecoming Day”)
1997 Bridge of Time (TV Movie)
Guardian
1996 The Road to Galveston (TV Movie)
Jordan Roosevelt
1994-1995 Sweet Justice (TV Series)
Carrie Grace Battle
– Love Kills (1995) … Carrie Grace Battle
– The Sensational Six (1995) … Carrie Grace Battle
– Muddy Waters (1995) … Carrie Grace Battle
– Pledges (1995) … Carrie Grace Battle
– Broken Ties (1995) … Carrie Grace Battle
Michael Warren, Cicely Tyson- “Sweet Justice” NBC TV
1994 Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (TV Mini-Series)
Castralia, Marsden Family House Slave / Maid
1993 House of Secrets (TV Movie)
Evangeline
1992 When No One Would Listen (TV Movie)
Sarah
1992 Duplicates (TV Movie)
Dr. Randolph
1991 Fried Green Tomatoes
Sipsey
1991 Clippers (TV Movie)
Donna
1990 The Kid Who Loved Christmas (TV Movie)
Etta
Actresses Cicely Tyson, Esther Rolle (1920 – 1998), and Della Reese (1931 – 2017), on the film set for the movie ‘The Kid Who Loved Christmas‘ at Union Station in Chicago, Illinois, February 12, 1990. The other figures are unidentified. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
1990 Heat Wave (TV Movie)
Ruthana Richardson
1990 B.L. Stryker (TV Series)
Ruth Hastings
– Winner Takes All (1990) … Ruth Hastings
2000 – 2010
2010 Why Did I Get Married Too?
Ola
2009 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)
Ondine Burdett
– Hell (2009) … Ondine Burdett
2009 Relative Stranger (TV Movie)
Pearl
2007 Rwanda Rising
Jeanette Nyirabagarwa (voice)
2006 Idlewild
Mother Hopkins
2006 Fat Rose and Squeaky
Celine
2006 Madea’s Family Reunion
Aunt Myrtle
2005 Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Myrtle
2005 Higglytown Heroes (TV Series)
Great Aunt Shirley Hero
– Wayne’s 100 Special Somethings (2005) … Great Aunt Shirley Hero (voice)
2005 Because of Winn-Dixie
Gloria
2002 The Proud Family (TV Series)
Mrs. Maureen Parker
– Behind Family Lines (2002) … Mrs. Maureen Parker (voice)
2002 The Rosa Parks Story (TV Movie)
Leona Edwards McCauley
2001 Jewel (TV Movie)
Cathedral
2000 The Outer Limits (TV Series)
Justice Gretchen Parkhurst
– Final Appeal (2000) … Justice Gretchen Parkhurst
2000 Touched by an Angel (TV Series)
Abigail Peabody-Jackson
2011 – 2020
2015-2020 How to Get Away with Murder (TV Series)
Ophelia Harkness
– Stay (2020) … Ophelia Harkness
– The Reckoning (2020) … Ophelia Harkness
– Are You the Mole? (2019) … Ophelia Harkness
– Where Are Your Parents? (2019) … Ophelia Harkness
– Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2018) … Ophelia Harkness
2020 Cherish the Day (TV Series)
Miss Luma Lee Langston
– Catharsis (2020) … Miss Luma Lee Langston
– Nemesis (2020) … Miss Luma Lee Langston
– Analysis (2020) … Miss Luma Lee Langston (credit only)
– Basis (2020) … Miss Luma Lee Langston
– Oasis (2020) … Miss Luma Lee Langston
2020 A Fall from Grace
Alice
2019 Madam Secretary (TV Series)
Flo Avery
– Leaving the Station (2019) … Flo Avery
NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 12: The series finale of MADAM SECRETARY will feature a host of esteemed guest stars who will help celebrate the critically acclaimed series’ six-year run. The episode will air Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019 (10:30-11:30 PM, ET/10:00-11:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured (L-R) Cicely Tyson as Flo Avery, Erich Bergen as Blake Moran, Sabina Zúñiga Varela as Angel Lopez Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, World Cup Champion U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Members Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, Crystal Dunn, and Allie Long (Photo by Mark Schafer/CBS via Getty Images)
2017 Last Flag Flying
Mrs. Hightower
2016 Showing Roots
Hattie
2016 House of Cards (TV Series)
Doris Jones
– Chapter 42 (2016) … Doris Jones
– Chapter 41 (2016) … Doris Jones
– Chapter 40 (2016) … Doris Jones
2014 The Trip to Bountiful (TV Movie)
Mrs. Watts
2013 The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
Mama Kay
2012 Alex Cross
Nana Mama
2011 The Help
***
American fashion model and actress Cicely Tyson at Heathrow Airport, London, UK, 18th February 1973. (Photo by George Stroud/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In an interview with Behind the Lens, Cicely Tyson explained how this was when she decided what kind of roles she would take:
“I think that I made a very conscious decision the early part of my career when I was doing promotion for ‘Sounder.’ I was at a press conference, and one of the journalists stood up and said, ‘I discovered a bit of prejudice in myself which I had never thought existed.’ And it came about at a moment when Kevin Hooks who played my oldest son called his father “daddy.” And so I asked if he had any children and he says, ‘Yes.’ And point of fact, he had two sons, like I had two sons [in the film]. And I asked, ‘What did they call you?’ He said, ‘Daddy.’ He could not equate the fact that this little black boy was calling this Black man daddy like his children were calling him daddy.
It floored me. It absolutely floored me. I just feel it here. I couldn’t believe what the man was saying. I couldn’t believe it. And I thought to myself, ‘This is absolute sheer ignorance.’ I said [to myself], ‘What is the difference? Is he a man just like you are?’ I didn’t say this to him, but I was too stunned to say anything. And then finally I said to him, ‘I have to tell you that I admire your chutzpah.’ And the audience laughed because I had to break it some kind of way. I said, ‘For you to stand up here in the midst of all your peers and make that statement, I really respect you. Because you discovered something about yourself. And in the process, other people here will have the same experience.’
I never forgot that. I made my mind up at that moment, that and one or two other similar experiences, that I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. I had to do something that I felt would in some way benefit humankind. And I chose my career as my platform to address causes that I felt I want to change it some way. I went for five years without working. During that time I just went around schools, talking to kids and so on. But I wouldn’t take anything that I felt was degrading in any way. I couldn’t do it.”
