As a hopelessly dopey white boy, I'd heard of Cicely Tyson and knew she was a great actress but I didn't really know that much else about her. Upon her recent death, at the age of 96, I read more about her life and career -- and my jaw dropped.
What an amazing journey she had over ten decades of life! What a lady!
Imagine the length and scope of her life -- it's hard to comprehend. Imagine being born poor to immigrant parents and going onto a huge career as an in-demand fashion model and award-winning actress on stage and in movies and TV. And imagine starting this career in your twenties and still working into your nineties. Imagine traveling the world, meeting every famous person alive, winning tons of awards and getting all sorts of honors, helping to found the Dance Theather of Harlem, and becoming a beloved icon.
Imagine being married to another great icon named Miles Davis -- and that not even being the most interesting thing about you.
Now imagine doing all that as a black woman in America -- and achieving great success in these fields before Civil Rights? And imagine being as successful late in your life and career as you were earlier?
Wow.
The odds were, to put it mildly, way against her and yet she beat and crushed them. And in addition to all this Cicely Tyson never forgot, never strayed, from where she came from. She was not only a great talent and trailblazer, she was a leading citizen of NYC.
Cicely Tyson's incredible voyage began and ended in the same place -- Harlem, where she was born on December 19, 1924 and died on January 28, 2021. She truly came full circle.
RIP.
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