| Pride: Cy Grant |
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ZiNG 8 (July 2010) 8th November 1919 – 13th February 2010 The multi-talented Cy Grant was a success at whatever he turned his hand to. For many he will be remembered as a great actor, for others, as a respected writer. Add to this list war hero, lawyer, musician and social reformer and no one can doubt that he was a truly inspirational man. Cy Grant, who died aged 90 this February, was one of a remarkable trio of West Indians who challenged prejudice and permanently changed the image of their people. Aimé Césaire applied his formidable gifts as a poet and statesman; Learie Constantine used his cricketing fame and immense personal charm. Cy Grant’s talents, like his determination, seemed without limit. Born in Guyana in November 1919, he was one of seven children in a cultured and close-knit family. His father, a Moravian minister, gave him his lifelong love of literature. His mother, originally from Antigua, fostered his gift for music. Cy’s first ambition was to study law abroad. Instead he arrived in England in 1941 as a recruit for the RAF to navigate Lancaster bombers. Shot down over Holland during the Battle of the Ruhr, he spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft III. He used the time to draft a book, which was later published under the title, A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race. In 1945 he returned to the law, qualifying for the Bar in 1950. When work failed to come his way, he took up acting. Finding that the parts available for men of colour were limited, he fell back on his music. He was an instant success. Starting in cabaret, he went on to perform in venues all round the world, and record five LPs. He was invited onto the BBC Third Programme, appeared in a great many television films, and finally achieved his own TV series, For Members Only. In 1957 he starred on the influential Tonight show, sending up ‘the news you ought to know’ calypso-style. But, increasingly uncomfortable with the stereotypical role he was allotted, he resigned after two years. Meanwhile he was making films, working with the likes of Richard Burton and Joan Collins, as well as science fiction for both adults and children. He appeared on stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre and others, and played the first black Othello since Paul Robeson. He became one of the best-known faces in Britain. But his sense of mission never left him. In 1962 he returned to the Bar, encountered the same old frustrations, and changed direction once again. With Zimbabwean John Mapondera he co-founded Drum, the first black arts centre in London, and, as President of the Concord Multicultural Festivals, he reached a whole new audience. His gift for poetry surfaced, and he published many fine books. His masterwork is the philosophical autobiography Blackness and the Dreaming Soul. A profound and moving meditation on the metaphorical prisons in which we all live, it advances the radical critique of Western materialism begun by Césaire. The all-singing, all-dancing wartime hero turned social reformer had mellowed into the revered sage. Dying, he left behind his wife Dorith and four children. Cy Grant did more than raise the image of his people. Through his many accomplishments and inspired writings he enlarged our notion of what it is to be human. • If you’d like to know more about Cy Grant’s WWII experiences, take a look at www.electricegg.co.uk/into_the_wind. Cy Grant’s book, A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race is published by Woodfield Publishing and can be purchased directly from them at www.woodfieldpublishing.co.uk or from Amazon |
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