A Guyanese man, who became the first black man to appear regularly on British television, recently died in London at age 90, according to a BBC news report.
Cy Grant, who was an actor, singer and writer, served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and qualified as a barrister before turning to acting.
According to the report, Grant, whose daughter confirmed his demise, became best known for his role on the BBC’s daily topical programme, ‘The Tonight Show’. Although the show made him a household name he left after two and a half years to avoid being typecast.
After leaving the show, Grant went on to star in the award-winning TV drama Home of the Brave in 1957 and played the lead in Othello at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester in 1965 at a time when white actors were routinely “blacked up” for the part.
Grant also helped created the Drum Arts Centre in London, which was considered to be hugely important in the development of black theatre. He also set up multi-cultural festivals across England in the 1980s.
But it was not on acting Grant was involved in as he also recorded five albums, having performed Caribbean folk songs and calypso across the world.
Two of his best known singles are “King Cricket” and “The Constantine Calypso”, in celebration of Garfield Sobers and Learie Constantine, two of the West Indies’ most famous cricketers.
He also recorded many shows for radio and wrote several books including a collection of poems.
