In 1974, the world watched Claudine and witnessed Diahann Carroll display a total contrast to her sophisticated character of “Nurse Julia” from her ’60s/’70s TV show, “Julia.” Though many were skeptical about Diahann being able to convince us that she was a poor, single mother on welfare, raising six kids…she pulled it off, and Claudine forever went down in history as a ’70s cult classic film…BUT…
Initially, the film’s producers tried to convince Cicely Tyson to take the “Claudine” role. However, she turned it down, and there’s a very valid reason why Ms. Tyson couldn’t see herself playing such a character.
Cicely Tyson Kept It Real…
In a prior interview with her friend/actress, Phylicia Rashad, Cicely Tyson revealed she was offered the role of “Claudine” before Diahann Carroll, but she did not want to portray that type of ‘stereotypical’ character. Therefore, she declined…but there’s more:
Cicely Tyson: I had been offered a film [Claudine] that was well-written and ultimately well-produced. I read it and knew that it wasn’t something I could do because it was about a Black woman who was living with some man. They were not married. She had six children, illegitimate, with different men, and I knew that was not something that I wanted to do, so I passed. I was called by the producer and the writer of the movie, who asked why I was turning it down, and I explained that it wasn’t the kind of woman I wanted to portray. The writer said, “But those ladies are out there.” I said, “Yes, I know, but there are a lot of other ladies out there. Doctors, lawyers. I want the world to know about those kinds of ladies. That’s what I want to do.” They finally decided that I was not going to do it and it went to another actress [Diahann Carroll] who did it and was nominated for an Oscar for it. They all said to me, “See, you could have had two Oscar nominations.” I said, “That’s what you would have been happy with, but not me.” Six weeks later, I got Jane Pittman. Had I been involved in doing this other movie, I would not have been available to play Jane.
That same year, Cicely Tyson’s TV movie, The Autobiography of Jane Pittman, released. She played a slave named “Jane,” who told the story of transitioning from a slave, to a free person at the end of the Civil War, and living well into the start of the Civil Rights era at the age of 110.
While “Jane” was a far cry from “Claudine,” it can be argued that “Claudine” was the result of a woman much like “Jane Pittman.”
“Jane” had to rebuild after generations of oppression, and while trying to navigate through the American system – through parenthood, and the men in her life. Sure, “Claudine” had more opportunities than “Jane,” or so it seemed, but the biased ‘American system’ was still strong and in tact.
For example, “Claudine” – and women like “Claudine,” who are on welfare – have to keep the men out of the household, or face consequences of having their government assistance stripped away from them and their children. As long as there is no man in the home, the possibility of building a strongly bonded, complete family, is very minimal and basically impossible.
So, both characters -“Jane” and “Claudine”- represent women who possess a certain level of strength and triumph, but under a different set of circumstances.
Diahann Caroll Wasn’t The 2nd Pick Either…Diana Sands Was…
Actress, Diana Sands (pictured above), was originally casted as “Claudine,” and production had already started in 1973 with Sands. It came to a screeching halt when Sands and James Earl Jones (“Roop”) were doing a love scene. Jones knew something must have been wrong with Sands, when she winced in pain.
Sadly, Sands discovered she had a terminal form cancer, leiomyosarcoma, and had to pull out of the film. It was Sands who suggested that her close friend, Diahann, take the part instead. Sands sadly passed away that same year. May each of these iconic women rest peacefully.
