Editing Cicely Tyson (section)

=== 1956–1969: Rise to prominence ===
[[File:Cicely Tyson 1973b.jpg|thumb|left|Tyson in 1973]]
Tyson was discovered by a photographer for [[Ebony (magazine)|''Ebony'']] magazine and became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was a bit part in the 1956 film ''[[Carib Gold]]''<ref name="TCC">{{Cite web |url= https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/02/11/at-94-the-legendary-cicely-tyson-remains-an-optimist/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190211194438/https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/02/11/at-94-the-legendary-cicely-tyson-remains-an-optimist/|url-status= usurped|archive-date= February 11, 2019|title=At 94, The Legendary Cicely Tyson Remains An 'Optimist'| work= The Charleston Chronicle| first=Stacy M. | last= Brown| publisher= |date=February 11, 2019 | access-date= }}</ref> and she first appeared onstage in [[Vinnette Justine Carroll|Vinnette Carroll]]'s production of ''[[Dark of the Moon (play)|Dark of the Moon]]'' at the [[Harlem YMCA]] in 1958.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Messina |first1=Matt |title=Actress Finds TV Role Strikes Familiar Note |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68834446/ny-daily-news-profile-of-cicely-tyson/ |access-date=January 29, 2021 |work=Daily News |date=September 8, 1963 |pages=10|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Tyson had small roles in the 1959 films ''[[Odds Against Tomorrow]]'' and ''[[The Last Angry Man]]'', as well as the 1960 comedy, ''[[Who Was That Lady?]]''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Harold V. |title=At Random: Maelstrom |url=https://www.mediafire.com/view/59j7hr0jw6y3tmg |access-date=August 4, 2021 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=October 14, 1965}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Margold |first1=Jane |title=Movies Mean Growing Up to Actress Cicely Tyson |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96908224/newsday-suffolk-edition/ |access-date=August 4, 2021 |work=Newsday |date=August 4, 1966}}</ref> In 1961, she made her television debut in the [[NBC]] series [[The Eternal Light|''Frontiers of Faith'']].<ref>{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=Integration Conflict Dramatized |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=82771888 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |work=The Bradenton Herald |date=February 18, 1961 |pages=6|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1962, she became the first African American woman to wear an Afro on television in the United States.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright [[Jean Genet]]'s ''[[The Blacks (play)|The Blacks]].'' She played the role of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop; other cast members included [[Maya Angelou]], [[James Earl Jones]], [[Godfrey Cambridge]], [[Louis Gossett Jr.]], and [[Charles Gordone]].<ref>{{Cite book |url= http://archive.org/details/blacks00grov|title=The blacks : a clown show|first1=Jean|last1=Genet|first2=Bernard|last2=Frechtman|date=November 24, 1960|place= New York |publisher= Grove Press, Inc. |isbn=9780394172200|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The show was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/16/obituaries/jean-genet-the-playwright-dies-at-75.html| title= Jean Genet, The Playwright, Dies at 75| first= Mel |last= Gussow |date= April 16, 1986 |work= The New York Times |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> She won the 1961–1962 Vernon Rice Award (later known as the [[Drama Desk Award]]) for her performance in another off-Broadway production, ''[[Moon on a Rainbow Shawl]]''.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Off-Broadway Awards Presented |work=The New York Times |date=May 15, 1962 |page=49}}</ref> In 1963, Tyson appeared on the game show ''[[To Tell The Truth]]'' as an "imposter" for Australian singer [[Shirley Abicair]], receiving two of the four possible votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=To Tell the Truth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-qRsU6Aoc |website=[[CBS]] | date=July 28, 2016 |access-date=July 17, 2022}}</ref>

Tyson, who once worked for a social services agency, was spotted by producer [[David Susskind]] in ''The Blacks'' and in ''[[Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright]]'', and was cast for a role in the CBS TV series ''[[East Side/West Side (TV series)|East Side/West Side]]'' (1963–1964), playing the secretary of a social worker played by [[George C. Scott]].<ref name=":1" /> She was at the time the only African-American regular member of a TV cast,<ref>{{cite web|title=Cicely Tyson Biography (1924–2021)|url=https://www.biography.com/actor/cicely-tyson| access-date= February 28, 2019 |publisher= [[Biography.com]]|quote=In 1963 Tyson became the first African American star of a TV drama in the series ''East Side/West Side''...}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news|last1=Cosham|first1=Ralph H.|date=November 25, 1963 |title= Negro Comes to Television; Sponsors Happy|pages=29|work=Nashville Banner|agency=United Press International |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68828054/article-on-cicely-tyson-and-east-side/|access-date=January 29, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|quote= …only one dramatic program features a Negro as a regular member of the cast. She is Cicely Tyson, who portrays a social worker in the new CBS series ''East Side, West Side''.}}</ref> The show was noted for its treatment of social issues, and one of its episodes, on an African-American couple in [[Harlem]] (played by [[James Earl Jones]] and [[Diana Sands]]), was [[Blackout (broadcasting)|blacked out]] in [[Atlanta]] and [[Shreveport, Louisiana]].<ref name=":2" /> In the mid-1960s she had a recurring role in the soap opera ''[[Guiding Light|The Guiding Light]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kantrowitz|first=Barbara|date=September 3, 2009|title=After 72 Years, Springfield Gets a Stop Sign (Published 2009)|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/arts/television/06kant.html}}</ref> She appeared with [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] in the film ''[[A Man Called Adam (film)|A Man Called Adam]]'' (1966)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/08/cicely-tyson-and-glynn-turman-emmy-how-to-get-away-with-murder-1202167146/|title='How to Get Away with Murder': Cicely Tyson and Glynn Turman on the Honor of Acting|first1=Tambay|last1=Obenson|date=August 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-06-07/whats-on-tv-monday-the-bachelor-the-greatest-seasons-ever|title=What's on TV Monday: 'The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever'|date=June 8, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> and had a small role in the film version of ''[[The Comedians (1967 film)|The Comedians]]'' (1967) based on the [[Graham Greene]] novel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/comedians/review/111205|title=The Comedians &#124; TV Guide|website=TVGuide.com}}</ref> In 1968 Tyson had a featured role in ''[[The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (film)|The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/08/01/archives/screen-the-heart-is-a-lonely-hunteralan-arkin-starred-in-mccullers.html|title=Screen: 'The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter':Alan Arkin Starred in McCullers Story Dean Martin Western Is at Local Houses |first= Renata |last= Adler |date= August 1, 1968 |work= The New York Times |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>