Thursday, May 15, 2025

Viola Davis on Cicely Tyson: “I’m devastated. My heart is just broken. I loved you so much!! You were everything to me!”

Cicely Tyson played Viola Davis’s mother on “How to Get Away with Murder” for five seasons. She was nominated for Emmys each of those years.

Viola sent me this message as a quote about Miss Tyson: “I’m devastated,” she wrote, “I remember a prayer I had when I was 9. I asked God in a desperate moment to pluck me out of my hard life. I closed my eyes and waited. Cut to 40 yrs later working with…this beauty…this Queen….God answered my prayer. With a bonus. That’s how it felt. An answer to my deepest prayer.”

Miss Davis also posted to Instagram, as you can see below. Both statements are so moving, I teared up as I read them. You will, too. (PS She doesn’t want to hear this now, but Viola carries the mantle of Cicely Tyson. She is a daughter in spirit and talent.)

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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