Hundreds pay respects to actor Cicely Tyson at famed Harlem church
Associated Press
A vendor distributes a printed tribute to the late Cicely Tyson as people arrive for a public viewing at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Niall Gulstone of Atlanta, waits on line to attend a public viewing, at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, for Cicely Tyson in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
People wait on line at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York to attend a public viewing for Cicely Tyson, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Korey Small waits on line to attend a public viewing at the Abyssinian Baptist Church for Cicely Tyson in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
People wait on line about a block from the Abyssinian Baptist Church to attend a public viewing for Cicely Tyson in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
People wait on line near the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York to attend a public viewing for Cicely Tyson, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
People wait on line to attend a public viewing for Cicely Tyson at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress died on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
A photo collage of Cicely Tyson greets people arriving just inside the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York where a public viewing was held Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, for Tyson, who died Jan. 28. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper's wife in "Sounder," a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers' hearts in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," was 96. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
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NEW YORK (AP) — People traveled across the country and stood in a block-long line to pay respects to Cicely Tyson at a public viewing Monday.
As it began on a wintry Monday morning, hundreds of admirers of the pioneering Black actor lined up outside Harlem’s famed Abyssinian Baptist Church. Some said they had come from as far as Atlanta or Los Angeles to be there.
Many in the multigenerational crowd held photos of Tyson, who died Jan. 28. The New York-born actor was 96.
Her family said masks and social distancing would be required at the viewing.
Tyson was the first Black woman to have a recurring role in a dramatic television series, the 1963 drama “East Side, West Side.”
Her performance as a sharecropper’s wife in the 1972 movie “Sounder” cemented her stardom and earned her an Oscar nomination.
She went on to win two Emmy Awards for playing the 110-year-old former 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 age 88, Tyson won a Tony Award for the revival of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful” in 2013.
President Barack Obama awarded her the Medal of Freedom in 2016.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 22: U.S. President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actress Cicely Tyson during an East Room ceremony at the White House November 22, 2016 in Washington, DC. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honor for civilians in the United States of America. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
FILE – Actress Cicely Tyson arrives at the unveiling of director and producer Tyler Perry’s new motion picture and television studio in Atlanta on Oct. 4, 2008. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” has died. She was 96. Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details. (AP Photo/W.A.Harewood, File)
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 28: Cicely Tyson attends the Television Academy’s 25th Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Saban Media Center on January 28, 2020 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rachel Luna/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 10: Actress, advocate, and humanitarian Cicely Tyson speaks onstage during the Girls Write Now “Agents of Change” awards at DVF Studio on October 10, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Janette Pellegrini/Getty Images for Girls Write Now)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 05: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was shot in black and white.) Cicely Tyson attends Tyler Perry Studios grand opening gala at Tyler Perry Studios on October 05, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Tyler Perry Studios)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Cicely Tyson accepts her award onstage during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 10th annual Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on November 18, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 16: Cicely Tyson attends ELLE’s 24th Annual Women in Hollywood Celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on October 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON DC – DECEMBER 05: Actress and Broadway star Cicely Tyson, one of the five recipients of the 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, smiles after posing as part of a group photo following a dinner hosted by United States Secretary of State John F. Kerry in their honor at the U.S. Department of State on December 5, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The 2015 honorees are: singer-songwriter Carole King, filmmaker George Lucas, actress and singer Rita Moreno, conductor Seiji Ozawa, and actress and Broadway star Cicely Tyson.
(Photo by Ron Sachs – Pool via Getty Images)
FILE – Cicely Tyson arrives at night two of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, 2019, in Los Angeles. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” has died. She was 96. Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
