Gayle King Recalls Last Interview with Cicely Tyson: ‘She Was Talking About Future Projects’

Hollywood is mourning another legend. Cicely Tyson passed away yesterday at 96. Just before her death, she had been busy promoting her new memoir, “Just as I Am.”

“CBS This Morning’s” Gayle King, who had just interviewed Tyson about her book, is preparing a primetime special to air Sunday night on BET called “Cicely Tyson: In Her Words.”

King opened up to “Extra’s” Billy Bush about Cicely and how she’s still processing the loss.

“Just a week ago, we were sitting with Cicely in her church in Harlem doing this interview,” she said. “So Oprah called me yesterday and I could tell, FaceTime, and I could tell by her face something was wrong… and then she said, ‘Cicely, did you hear about Cicely?’… When I got the news, I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach, honestly.”

Recalling her interview with Tyson, she said, “Billy, this is the thing… She was talking about future projects. She was sitting there wearing Manolo Blahnik pumps… She was engaged and she was playful and she was reflective… There was nothing about her that said to me this could be the last interview.”

King continued, “Even when… I asked questions like, ‘When the time comes, how would you like to be remembered?’… I wasn’t asking because I thought the end was near, I was just asking because I was curious and you’re 96.”

Gayle added, “On one hand it’s very sad to get the news; on the other, may we all get to live to 96 and live with the grace of Cicely Tyson… She was essential to so many of us on so many levels and for so many reasons.”