I can't say I was a huge fan of Cicely Tyson. Or rather, the movies she was in. I've always admired her. Been fascinated by her for some reason. Tremendous presence. Amazing actress. But her penchant for ultra-serious roles in movies that were, more often than not, set in hot (dry and/or muggy), hot, hot places; I found off putting. Perhaps it's more that particular milieu. Westerns are my least favorite genre (hot, dry, dusty) followed pretty closely by films with rural settings (often in the Southern U.S.: hot and wet). Why are movies that are set in the South so often glacially paced? Do the filmmakers equate drawn out speech and movement with sultriness? I spent a lot of time in the South as a kid so I know sultry. Perhaps I experience sense memories when viewing films set in these locales. To wit: Cicely's movies usually made me hot, bothered, tired and sticky (not necessarily in that order). I remember watching Sounder on TV as a child. I don't recall much about it. Was Sounder a dog? Was the story about Cicely's missing husband? Did either both the dog and the husband die. I remember it was depressing and extremely sultry. However, I can easily close my eyes and picture Ms. Tyson from the movie. She's in a beige V-necked dress and straw hat, joyfully tromping through green grass. Is she running to her husband? I don't know; but I do remember that image. I have another image of Cicely from another film seen during childhood. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. I don't remember anything of the movie; but Cicely leaning down to drink from that water fountain is etched in my brain. The drinking of the water was palpable...you could taste it. Feel the coldness. Experience her thirst and it being quenched both literally and metaphorically.
There was a time, however, when she wasn't in some hot environment crying her eyes out. She was on Saturday Night Live the evening of February 10th, 1979. I suppose, in its way, SNL was a hot environment. Hot as in popular and also hot as in "the heat is on." I lived for that show. I remember the first time I saw it. It was the first season and we were at my grandparent's house in Boston. My siblings and I were up late (waiting for the adults to wrap up their looooong good-bye) and flipping through all six TV channels. A commercial came on for a K-Tel product. A personal price tagging gun. A blowsy woman uses it on a melon and proclaims, "I got this melon for a penny!" I was hooked. I credit that show for getting me through junior high school. During the opening of Cicely's episode, she is introduced by Don Pardo. Garrett Morris comes out in drag, pretending to be Cicely. She marches on stage from the audience and proceeds to gently admonish Garrett for essentially being a token and implying worse. She tells him he's better than that. And she has a point. It's funny; but it's not funny. Morris had in a way been reduced to playing almost nothing but maids. You can sense a kind of change in him as he interacts with Cicely. He seems to become empowered in her presence. Later in the show there's a sketch called "Black Perspective" and it's a talk show spoof, hosted by Garrett. He's interviewing Cicely, as herself, and asking her about being a black role model (something which she consciously strived to be). The interview backfires on Garrett when she admonishes (far less gently this time) that the only thing keeping black women down, is black men. I don't know why, but this moment imprinted into my long term memory bank. Looking back and wondering why, I think it was the honesty of it, courtesy of Cicely. It seemed I was hearing an authentic black voice on TV for maybe the first time. Interesting to note that the show aired in February. And the musical guests however, couldn't have been whiter: The Talking Heads; again, interesting to note that this was just before they released Remain in Light which was famously influenced by African "polyrhythms." Maybe perhaps by the shows host that night as well. If anyone was giving out a polyrhythmic performance that night, it was Cicely. She was even in a Widettes sketch (remember the family with the huge rear ends?) where she had a speech about Ho-Ho's.
There was a time, however, when she wasn't in some hot environment crying her eyes out. She was on Saturday Night Live the evening of February 10th, 1979. I suppose, in its way, SNL was a hot environment. Hot as in popular and also hot as in "the heat is on." I lived for that show. I remember the first time I saw it. It was the first season and we were at my grandparent's house in Boston. My siblings and I were up late (waiting for the adults to wrap up their looooong good-bye) and flipping through all six TV channels. A commercial came on for a K-Tel product. A personal price tagging gun. A blowsy woman uses it on a melon and proclaims, "I got this melon for a penny!" I was hooked. I credit that show for getting me through junior high school. During the opening of Cicely's episode, she is introduced by Don Pardo. Garrett Morris comes out in drag, pretending to be Cicely. She marches on stage from the audience and proceeds to gently admonish Garrett for essentially being a token and implying worse. She tells him he's better than that. And she has a point. It's funny; but it's not funny. Morris had in a way been reduced to playing almost nothing but maids. You can sense a kind of change in him as he interacts with Cicely. He seems to become empowered in her presence. Later in the show there's a sketch called "Black Perspective" and it's a talk show spoof, hosted by Garrett. He's interviewing Cicely, as herself, and asking her about being a black role model (something which she consciously strived to be). The interview backfires on Garrett when she admonishes (far less gently this time) that the only thing keeping black women down, is black men. I don't know why, but this moment imprinted into my long term memory bank. Looking back and wondering why, I think it was the honesty of it, courtesy of Cicely. It seemed I was hearing an authentic black voice on TV for maybe the first time. Interesting to note that the show aired in February. And the musical guests however, couldn't have been whiter: The Talking Heads; again, interesting to note that this was just before they released Remain in Light which was famously influenced by African "polyrhythms." Maybe perhaps by the shows host that night as well. If anyone was giving out a polyrhythmic performance that night, it was Cicely. She was even in a Widettes sketch (remember the family with the huge rear ends?) where she had a speech about Ho-Ho's.
I think another thing about Cicely Tyson and my vibe with her is that she is a fellow Sagittarius. Not only that, we share the same birthday, December 19th. Also Edith Piaf, Jean Genet, Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Beals and Mike Lookinland: trailblazers all! I believe in all that stuff (to varying degrees). I remember the day myself and my three best friends in high school realized we were all Sagittarians. I mean, what were the odds?
So, Cicely, thank you for the memories and the sensations. And yes, you were a trailblazer and yes, you most certainly were a role model; for all of us. I hope I live as long and graciously as you did.
So, Cicely, thank you for the memories and the sensations. And yes, you were a trailblazer and yes, you most certainly were a role model; for all of us. I hope I live as long and graciously as you did.
