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John Korty, who directed the Emmy-winning The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and the Oscar-winning documentary Who Are the DeBolts? and Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, died March 9 at his home in Marin County, CA. He was 85.

His death was first reported in the Marin Independent Journal.

One of the premiere directors during the made-for-tv movie heyday that began in the early 1970s, Korty helmed the sci-fi chiller The People (1972), the anti-drug drama Go Ask Alice (1973) and, in 1980, the holiday tale A Christmas Without Snow.

His greatest television achievement came in 1974, when he directed Cicely Tyson in the celebrated CBS movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Based on the 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines, the film told the story of a Black woman who, in 1962 at the age of 110, narrates her life story that began in slavery in the American South. Although works of fiction, both the novel...

Nearly 30 years ago, Daughters of the Dust ruptured the fixed line of film history. It was the first film directed by a Black woman to see theatrical distribution in the United States. It fit neither the Black history Hollywood co-opted, nor the modern Black story they allowed (urban peril). Daughters of the Dust portrayed a day in the life of the Gullah-Geechee community off the coast of South Carolina through their circular perception of time, a past, present and future that runs concurrently. Nana Peazant, the old matriarch, urges her successors to cling to their roots, to hang on to her, as each body holds both “the last of the old and the first of the new.” The younger generations plan to run up the river north, leaving behind Ibo Landing, home to centuries of their ancestors. An unborn child narrates from the future and dawdles through the present day,...

In 2018, Charles Dickens’ classic novella “A Christmas Carol” turns 175, but its utility as a springboard for movie and TV adaptations shows no signs of slowing down. It’s a classic story of regret and redemption, and its lead character Ebenezer Scrooge offers an arc from misery and cruelty to love and kindness that’s catnip for any actor or actress. (I watched a sleighful of Scrooges for my book “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas” and am doing you the service of keeping the Barbie and “All Dogs Go to Heaven” versions off this list.)

Here’s a look at 20 performers who have put their own unique spin on “Bah! Humbug!”

Seymour Hicks, “Scrooge” (1935): There were a few silent versions, but this was the screen’s first talking Scrooge, in a version that’s early-talkie through and through, from the technical limitations to the big, theatrical performances, Hicks’ included.

Three-time Emmy winner Cicely Tyson is set for a leading role in Ava DuVernay’s Own anthology series Cherish the Day. Tyson joins previously announced leads Xosha Roquemore and Alano Miller in the series from Warner Horizon Scripted Television. It’s slated for a winter 2020 premiere.

Created by DuVernay, each season of Cherish the Day will chronicle the stirring romance of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The season-long narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love — from the extraordinary to the everyday.

Tyson will play Miss Luma Lee Langston, a legendary star of stage and screen in decades past.

With a straight-to-series order, DuVernay is executive producing the original anthology series as part of her recently announced overall deal with the studio, Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Cherish the Day is produced for Own...

Cicely Tyson will be joining the cast of Ava DuVernay’s upcoming Own anthology romance series “Cherish the Day” as a series regular.

Tyson will play Miss Luma Lee Langston, a legendary star of stage and screen in decades past. The “How to Get Away With Murder” star joins previously announced leads Xosha Roquemore and Alano Miller. Roquemore will play Gently James, Luma’s live-in assistant, and Miller will play, Evan Fisher, Luma’s romantic interest.

Each season of “Cherish the Day” will chronicle one couple’s romance, with each episode spanning a single day. The season-long narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday, according to Own.

Also Read: Ava DuVernay Still Talks With Central Park Five 'Almost Every Day'

“Last November I was honored to present Ms. Tyson with her Honorary Academy Award,...

Hollywood icon and multiple award-winner Cicely Tyson has signed with CAA for agency representation, while she continues to be managed by her longtime manager, Larry Thompson.

With a career spanning over six decades, Tyson has solidified her standing as of one of Hollywood’s most revered performers. The fashion model-turned-actress breakout role came in the 1972’s Sounder, which earned her an Oscar and Golden Globe award nom for best actress. She followed that up with memorable turns in films such as The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Help, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and most recently Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying. She also received an Honorary Oscar at the Motion Picture Academy’s Governors Awards in 2018.

On the TV side, Tyson nabbed her first and second Emmy in 1974 for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman television movie. Other credits include the original Roots miniseries,...

The Television Academy continues to break glass ceilings and with this year’s Emmy nominations has set a new record in recognizing the work of performers from diverse backgrounds. Last year counted 27 diversity nominees in the acting categories across drama, comedy and limited series/movie, and this year that figure shoots up to a record 36. If you count reality TV hosts, that number moves up to a cool 38 versus 30 nominees last July.

The explosion of streaming and the further dominance of cable have created an abundance of opportunities for performers on television in ways that they did not three decades ago with content limited to the Big Four networks and cable in its infancy.

Some notable achievements today:

Sandra Oh became the first Asian nominated in the lead actress drama series category, scoring her sixth acting Emmy nomination and her first in the lead actress slot for playing a burgeoning...

Cicely Tyson turned 93 in December and though she has a long and heralded career, she has one response for anyone who would ask if she’s thought about retiring.

“And do what?” the legendary actress asks, followed by a long, joyous laugh.

Truly, Tyson is busier and better than ever; in recent years she’s landed Emmy noms for her work on ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder” (she’s already won three statues), a SAG Award for her work in “The Help” ensemble, and in 2013 won her first Tony Award for her star turn in “The Trip to Bountiful.” There was also the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor in 2016, when President Obama listed her many achievements and couldn’t help but add, “And she’s just gorgeous!” Tyson again lets loose that wonderful laugh when reminded about this, admitting, “I was so embarrassed, I was red as a beet!

Viola Davis doesn’t mince words about her childhood. “I was the kind of poor where I knew right away I had less than everyone around me,” she says. “We had nothing.”

As she celebrates her historic Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in Fences, Davis, 51, reflects on her journey to the pinnacle of Hollywood success in People’s new cover story. “‘I cannot believe my life,'” she says. “I just can’t. I’m so blessed.”

The first black woman to ever be nominated for three Academy Awards, Davis has been paving her own way for more than 30 years,...

All Mother Watts wants is to go home one final time.

Mother Watts (Cicely Tyson) needs to see her childhood home before she's ready to die. In Lifetime's "The Trip to Bountiful," airing Saturday, March 8, Tyson and Vanessa Williams, as Jessie Mae, re-create their roles from Broadway's revival of this Horton Foote masterpiece.

Tyson won the Tony for this, and it's a fair bet she'll garner an Emmy as well.

"She has within her a fighting spirit that cannot be denied, and that is what I like about her," Tyson tells Zap2it of the character. "Her feeling that God has kept her here for a purpose she is yet to fulfill, and she is determined to do it despite the odds."

This is a quiet study in family angst. Both women love Ludie (Blair Underwood).

He's a devoted son and husband. He and Jessie Mae have no children, and...