Cecilia Hart (February 19, 1948 – October 16, 2016), sometimes credited as Ceci Jones, was an American actress who played Stacey Erickson in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

police drama ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

'', which originally ran from 1979 until 1980. Hart co-starred in the series with her future husband

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

, to whom she was married until her death in 2016.

Biography

A native of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

, and the daughter of an Army colonel and his wife, Hart moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. She appeared on Broadway in

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's play ''Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land'' from January to March 1977, winning the 1977

Theatre World ''Theatre World'' is an annual United States, American theatre pictorial and statistical print publication. It includes Broadway theatre, Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre, nation ...

Award. She appeared on Broadway in ''The Heiress'' (1976) and ''Design for Living'' (1984), and in ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' as a replacement "Desdemona" in March 1982. Hart starred opposite

Paxton Whitehead Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (17 October 1937 – 16 June 2023) was an English actor and theatre director. He was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of '' Camelot''. Whiteh ...

in five plays before appearing together in ''

Bedroom Farce A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy focusing on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors. Overview Georges Feydeau plays, presented in Paris in the 1890s, a ...

'' at the

Westport Country Playhouse Westport Country Playhouse is a not-for-profit regional theater in Westport, Connecticut, Westport, Connecticut. It was founded in 1931 by Lawrence Langner, a New York theater producer. Langner remodeled an 1830s tannery with a Broadway-quality ...

in 2015. The production ran from August 25, 2015, through September 13, 2015.

Personal life

Hart married actor

Bruce Weitz Bruce Peter Weitz (born May 27, 1943) is an American actor, best known for his role as Sgt. Michael "Mick" Belker in the TV series ''Hill Street Blues'', which ran from 1981 until 1987. For his role in the series, he received six nominations for ...

in 1971; they divorced in 1980. She married actor

in 1982; it was also his second marriage. They had one child, and were married until Hart's death. The couple were residents of

Pawling, New York Pawling may refer to: *Pawling (town), New York, in Dutchess County **Pawling (village), New York, in the town of Pawling *** Pawling (Metro-North station), train station for the village **Pawling Nature Reserve, in the northern section of the t ...

. Hart died from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

on October 16, 2016, at the age of 68.Cecilia Hart dead: Wife of James Earl Jones dies at 68 - October 22, 2016
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Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Cecilia 1948 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actors from Cheyenne, Wyoming Actresses from Wyoming American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from ovarian cancer in the United States People from Pawling, New York