1974

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
CBS movie
John Korty, director
Ted Swanson, unit production manager
Ric Rondell, first assistant director
Nate Haggard, second assistant director

In one of the most ambitious and successful shows in TV history, Cicely Tyson plays what became her signature role, the 110-year-old black woman of the title. Miss Pittman was an ex-slave whose span of experiences includes both the Civil War in the 1860s and the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Tyson's performance, Korty's superb direction across a myriad of time-specific settings and eras, and the teleplay by Tracy Keenan Wynn, adapted from Ernest J. Gaines' novel, accounted for three of nine total Emmy Awards, including for outstanding special. Barbara Chaney, Richard Dysart, Thalmus Rasulala and Michael Murphy co-starred.