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The first-ever “Star Wars” movie, “A New Hope,” won six Academy Awards in 1978 including Best Editing and Best Original Score while George Lucas was nominated for Best Director. The biggest accomplishment, however, is arguably that Alec Guinness reaped a Best Supporting Actor citation for his turn as Obi-Wan Kenobi. That is the sole acting nomination “Star Wars” movies have earned at the Oscars.

The movies, in total, have won seven Oscars from a total of 37 nominations, but it is only Guinness who has been recognized for his acting across a total of 11 live-action “Star Wars” flicks, which includes all nine films in the main Skywalker Saga plus the spin-off films “Rogue One” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” However, plenty of the franchise’s cast have landed nominations for other projects at other major awards groups.

Given that it’s Emmys season, we’re going to focus on the Emmys.

Joanna Merlin, who created the role of the daughter Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway and served as a casting director for Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince and Bernardo Bertolucci, has died. She was 92.

Merlin died Sunday in Los Angeles of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder, her daughters, documentary filmmaker Rachel Dretzin (Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey) and actress Julie Dretzin (The Handmaid’s Tale), announced.

Merlin also portrayed the dance teacher Miss Berg in Alan Parker’s Fame (1980) and recurred as Judge Lena Petrovsky for more than a decade on NBC’s Law and Order: Svu.

Her acting résumé included the films Hester Street (1975), All That Jazz (1979), Baby It’s You (1983), The Killing Fields (1984), Mystic Pizza (1988), Class Action (1991) and City of Angels (1998) and such TV shows as Naked City, The Defenders, East Side/West Side, Homeland and The Good Wife.

Merlin cast the original Broadway productions of Sondheim’s Company,...

Within a single week in April 1964, CBS’s “East Side/West Side” concluded its one-season run and racked up eight Primetime Emmy nominations. The show, which starred George C. Scott as a New York City social worker, was reportedly cancelled due to its sensitive subject matter making it non-advertiser-friendly. Nonetheless, it was recognized by Emmy voters as one of the best drama series of the year and snagged a prize for its direction. Scott was also nominated for his role, as were guest performers James Earl Jones and Diana Sands.

Jones (33) and Sands (29) appeared together on the episode “Who Do You Kill?” as a young Harlem couple struggling to support themselves and their baby girl. At the time, the two of them were some of the youngest actors to have contended for Emmys, with Jones having been the youngest male guest performer ever recognized. Nearly 60 years later, he ranks as the 10th youngest,...

Within a single week in April 1964, CBS’s “East Side/West Side” concluded its one-season run and racked up eight Primetime Emmy nominations. The show, which starred George C. Scott as a New York City social worker, was reportedly cancelled due to its sensitive subject matter making it non-advertiser-friendly. Nonetheless, it was recognized by Emmy voters as one of the best drama series of the year and snagged a prize for its direction. Scott was also nominated for his role, as were guest performers James Earl Jones and Diana Sands.

Jones (33) and Sands (29) appeared together on the episode “Who Do You Kill?” as a young Harlem couple struggling to support themselves and their baby girl. At the time, the two of them were some of the youngest actors to have contended for Emmys, with Jones having been the youngest male guest performer ever recognized. Nearly 60 years later, he ranks as the 10th youngest,...

Veteran actress Cicely Tyson, whose career spanned almost seven decades, died Thursday.

She was 96.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” Tyson’s manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement to Variety.

“Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”

A cause of death has not been revealed.

On TV screens, Tyson made history in 1963 with her role as secretary Jane Foster in on East Side/West Side, making her the first Black actress to co-star in a TV drama.

The actress went on to guest-star or recur in many series over the years, Guiding Light, The Outer Limits, Touched by an Angel, House of Cards, How to Get Away With Murder, and Madam Secretary.

America doesn’t have a system of knights or dames, as Britain, Australia and New Zealand do. If there were such a system, Cicely Tyson would have undoubtedly been honored. But Tyson, who died on Thursday, a month after her 96th birthday, didn’t need any government-sanctioned titles: Admirers such as Ava DuVernay, Tyler Perry and Shonda Rhimes call her Queen Cicely, which was much more appropriate for her.

Her 70-year career was filled with landmark works, including the film “Sounder” (1972) and TV’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “A Woman Called Moses”, and “The Trip to Bountiful” (2014), among many others. There was also her recurring role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” in which she was Emmy-nominated five times, most recently in 2020, for playing the mother of lead character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis).

In 2018, Whoopi Goldberg told Variety, “When you think about artistry and elegance in acting,...

Actress Cicely Tyson, star of “Sounder” and ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder,” has died at the age of 96. The news was broken by the Associated Press with no mention of cause of death.

Tyson’s career spanned seven decades starting in 1951. She gained widespread acclaim in 1972 when she played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the adaptation of “Sounder,” the story of Black sharecroppers, and a young boy’s relationship with his beloved dog. She would not only get an Oscar nomination for her performance, but a Golden Globe nod as well. She would later win two Emmys for playing the title role in 1974’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” The role saw her play the title character, who goes from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement. In her career, Tyson would rack up a whopping 14 Emmy nominations.

Despite her age, Tyson refused to give up acting.

Veteran actress Cicely Tyson, whose career in Hollywood spanned nearly seven decades, died Thursday. She was 96.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” Tyson’s manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement to our sister pub Variety. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.” (A cause of death has not been revealed.)

More from TVLineCloris Leachman, Legendary Comedic Actress and Emmy Winner,...

Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Cicely Tyson, who distinguished herself in theater, film and television, died on Thursday afternoon. She was 96.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”

Her memoir “Just As I Am” was published on Tuesday.

Tyson broke into movies with the 1959 Harry Belafonte film “Odds Against Tomorrow,” followed by “The Comedians,” “The Last Angry Man,” “A Man Called Adam” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” Refusing to participate in the blaxploitation movies that became popular in the late ’60s, she waited until 1972 to return to the screen in the drama “Sounder,” which captured several...

Cicely Tyson has been selected as this year's Peabody career achievement award recipient.

In recognizing the veteran actress, the Peabody Awards praised Tyson for "transforming how African Americans are considered on and off screen," calling her a "foundational figure in the advancement of meaningful programming and social change through her performances."

Appearing in 23 TV programs and series from 1951-70, Tyson has small-screen credits that include roles in East Side/West Side, Gunsmoke, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, A Lesson Before Dying, The Trip to Bountiful, House of Cards, How to Get Away With ...

Cicely Tyson has been selected as this year's Peabody career achievement award recipient.

In recognizing the veteran actress, the Peabody Awards praised Tyson for "transforming how African Americans are considered on and off screen," calling her a "foundational figure in the advancement of meaningful programming and social change through her performances."

Appearing in 23 TV programs and series from 1951-70, Tyson has small-screen credits that include roles in East Side/West Side, Gunsmoke, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, A Lesson Before Dying, The Trip to Bountiful, House of Cards, How to Get Away With ...