NEW YORK (AP) – Tyler Perry, Bill and Hillary Clinton were among the participants in a private memorial service for Cicely Tyson at Harlem’s famous Abyssinian Baptist Church.
Gospel singer Bebe Winans sang “Stand” – a request from Tyson before his death – and a letter was read by rocker Lenny Kravitz, who was a close friend.
“The ceremony was beautiful. It was very Cicely Tyson: it was formal, it was humorous, it was sad, it was glorious, ”said Larry Thompson, Tyson’s manager for over 40 years.
The reporters were not allowed to enter, but several mourners stopped to share their thoughts later.
Pastor Abyssinian Baptist, Rev. Calvin O. Butts, said that Tyson was an example of “a life well lived and an example of how we can all live”, adding: “She was as much an ambassador for peace and love as any person can think. ”
He noted that Tyson’s service fell during Black History Month, giving us “another illustration of some of the great people who contributed to American arts and culture”.
The funeral service on Tuesday came a day after hundreds of admirers of the pioneering black actor lined up outside the church for a public display.. Some said they came from distant places like Atlanta or Los Angeles to be there.
During the ceremony, the sun broke through the clouds and the temperature rose from 40 for the first time in the snowy city in more than a week. His coffin was taken to a hearse by six porters with a white tie and tail.
Tyson died on January 28. The New York-born actor was 96 years old.
Faye Wattleton, a reproductive rights activist who has been friends with Tyson for more than 30 years, said: “She was 96, but we think she would live to be at least 100. People like her never leave. Fortunately, she is feeling all the love we gave her today. “
Also present was Valerie Simpson of the duo Ashford & Simpson, stylist Ellin LaVar and Emmy-nominated choreographer George Faison, who said he met Tyson through her ex-husband Miles Davis.
“Now they are united in heaven and I am happy to be here to say goodbye to her,” said Faison. “She was a wonderful woman.”
Tyson was the first black woman to have a recurring role in a television drama series, the 1963 drama “East Side, West Side”. Her performance as the wife of a sharecropper in the 1972 film “Sounder” cemented her stardom and earned her an Oscar nomination.
She won two Emmy awards for playing the 110-year-old ex-slave in the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” and another Emmy 20 years later for “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All”.
At 88, Tyson won a Tony Award for the revival of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful” in 2013. President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Joseph Joubart played the piano during the service and said it was a moment he would never forget. “It was a really moving experience and a tribute to the great lady she was – an icon, a legend.”
___
Mark Kennedy is in http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits