On Jan. 29, LeVar remembered Cicely in an article for Variety. "She was quite simply one the most beautiful and talented women of her generation," he said in the piece. "She played big both in life and on the stage in spite of her diminutive frame, but make no mistake, she could summon the fierceness of a prowling lioness at will."
While reminiscing about their time in Roots, LeVar brought up how nervous he was to work with her. "During a lull, I saw what I was certain to be a sure fire way to score some approval points. An interloper, some gnarly bug, had made its way into the hut and in my mind did pose a threat to the one and only Cicely Tyson," he added. "Her response was as unexpected as any I have ever encountered. She lit into me as if she had given birth to me, 'Don't you ever think that because you are bigger than a thing, or more powerful, that you have the right to take its life!' . . . In true motherly fashion she impressed upon me in that moment, not only the sanctified nature of life but the responsibility of the strong to watch out for and protect the weak, as well."
He finished off by saying, "While the sense of what we have lost in her passing will only come fully into focus through the passage of time, the impact of her life and legacy will always be that of a Royal, who walked among us and shined her regal radiance upon us."
