The Amazing, Iconic Cicely Tyson Has Passed Away at the Age of 96

She was an incredible actress, a trailblazer and an icon. Miss Cicely Tyson has passed away. Her autobiography, "Just as I Am" just came out on Tuesday . . . and Cicely passed away yesterday. She was 96 years old. Cecily received an Oscar nomination for the 1972 film "Sounder". In 1974 she became the first African American to win a lead actress Emmy for "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman". In 2013, she won a Tony for "A Trip to Bountiful" . . . and she received an honorary Oscar in 2018. She also starred as Coretta Scott King in the 1978 miniseries "King" . . . Harriet Tubman in the 1978 series "A Woman Called Moses" . . . Kunta Kinte's mother in "Roots" . . . and Rosa Parks' mother in a 2002 CBS movie. She once said, quote, "I saw that I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. So I made the choice to use my career as a platform to address the issues of the race I was born into." Cicely’s career enjoyed a resurgence in her later years. Tyler Perry gave her roles in several of his productions and she played the mother of Viola Davis’ character in “How to Get Away with Murder.” She was asked in 2018 if she’d retire. “And do what? The reason why I have been in this universe as long as I have been is because He’s not ready for me,” she noted. “When I’ve completed my job, he’ll take me away.”