The television series “Cagney & Lacey” is where American actor Ellen Tyne Daly gained the majority of her notoriety. She has a successful job on both the big and small screens as well as on the stage. She made her Broadway début in “That Summer, That Fall” in 1967 and went on to win six Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. She is best known for her six-year stint as Detective Mary Beth Lacey on the television show “Cagney & Lacey,” for which she is best known. She later played the part again in four TV features. She received accolades for her performances in the television series “Christy” and “Judging Amy,” for which she earned awards. She appeared in several major motion pictures, including “John and Mary,” “Angel Unchained,” and “Basmati Blues,” over the course of a career covering more than six decades. Her work in the musicals “The Seagull,” “Rabbit Hole,” and “Master Class” received high praise from critics. She made her stage debut in the Broadway show “Gypsy” after a long absence, and she was honored with the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. A cabaret performance called “Second Time Around” was performed by the versatile actress in 2010 at the Loews Regency in New York City. In 2011, she was admitted to the American Theatrical Hall of Fame.
Early Youth & Life
On February 21, 1946, Ellen Tyne Daly was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in the United States, and she grew up in Westchester County, New York. Both her mother Mary Hope and father James Daly were performers. Tim Daly, her younger sibling, is also an actor. Mary Glynn and Pegeen Michael are her aunts.
She and her parents both acted in summer productions as children. She made an appearance in one of the “Foreign Affair” TV episodes from 1954. Together with her father, James Daly, she starred in the television series “Medical Center,” where she portrayed his daughter.
She received her Equity Card, which served as her membership identification for the Actors’ Equity Association of the United States when she was 15 years old.
She enrolled at Brandeis University and Rockland Community College before leaving to pursue performing. The American Musical and Dramatic School was another school she attended.
Career of Tyne Daly
In 1967, Tyne Daly made his Broadway debut in the drama “That Summer, That Fall”. She made her feature picture debut in 1969’s “John and Mary,” playing Hillary. Her early performances, such as those in “Angel Unchained” in 1970, “Play It As It Lays” in 1972, and “The Adulteress” in 1973, received acclaim.
Her breakthrough part came in 1982, when she played one of Mary Beth Lacey’s title characters in the police procedural crime series “Cagney & Lacey,” after working in films and TV shows for a few years. In a society where men predominate, her character had to struggle to strike a balance between a family and demanding work. The producers of the TV program, which aired on CBS from 1982 to 1988, incorporated her actual pregnancy into it, making it the first to feature one.
In 1988, she appeared on the TV variety program “Dolly,” where Broadway producer Barry Brown caught her. He proposed that she take the lead in the show “Gypsy” as Rose. Gypsy was presented on Broadway in November 1989 after 14 US locations in 1989 saw performances of the play.
Following a cameo appearance on her brother Tim’s television show “Wings” in 1991, she portrayed Madame Arkadina in the Broadway production of “The Seagull” in 1992.
In four TV features, she played Mary Beth Lacey again: “Cagney & Lacey: The Return” in 1994, “Cagney & Lacey: Together Again” and “Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling” in 1995, and “Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions” in 1996.
She played Maxine Gray, the main character’s mother, and a social worker, in the CBS drama series “Judging Amy,” which ran from 1999 to 2005.
She appeared in the drama “Me, Myself & I” by Edward Albee in 2008 at the McCarter Theatre in New Jersey. She made an appearance in the play “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” penned by Nora and Delia Ephron the following year. She portrayed Judy Steinberg in the 2011 production of “It Shoulda Been You” at the George Street Theater in New Jersey. Later, in 2015, it was performed on Broadway.
In the 2011 drama “Master Class,” she played Maria Callas. She performed in the West End performance of “Master Class” at the Vaudeville Theatre the following year.
She appeared in one episode of the television show “Modern Family” in 2014. She made an appearance in “Looking: The Motion” in 2016.
She portrayed Evelyn in the romantic comedy musical “Basmati Blues” and the film “Spider-Man: Homecoming” both released in 2017. She will appear in the Coen siblings’ 2018 television project “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” which they wrote, produced and directed.
Bigger Productions of Tyne Daly
In the box office hit Dirty Harry movie “The Enforcer” from 1976, Tyne Daly portrayed Kate Moore. Her portrayal of a strong female figure won praise from critics.
The pinnacle of her success was her portrayal of Cagney & Lacey. She received a number of honors and accolades for this performance. She participated in all seven seasons of the show. She portrayed an investigator for the New York City police who was married and a mother.
The critics gave her performance as Cynthia Nixon’s mother in the Broadway drama “Rabbit Hole” in 2006 high marks. In addition, she received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the show.
Individual Existence of Tyne Daly
Interracial marriages were still forbidden in many areas of the US when Tyne Daly wed African-American actor Georg Stanford Brown in 1966. They have three daughters: actresses Alyxandra Brown, Alisabeth Brown, and Kathryne Dora Brown. In 1990, Daly and Brown got separated.
Kathryne Dora Brown, her daughter, and she have frequently appeared together on screen. They appeared together in the stage shows “Judging Amy,” “The Wedding Dress,” and other projects.