Cecilia Hart, an actress of stage and screen and the wife of actor James Earl Jones, died Sunday after a one-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was 68.
Her death was reported by the Westport, Conn.-based website WestportNow. She and her husband acted often onstage at the Westport Country Playhouse.
The two met on the 1979-80 Steven Bochco series Paris, in which Jones played Los Angeles Police Captain Woody Paris and Hart portrayed a young detective, Sgt. Stacey Erickson.
Hart played Desdemona opposite Jones’ Othello on Broadway in 1982, and they were married in March of that year.
The couple attended the Tony Awards in June. Jones is a winner of two Tonys and received an honorary Oscar in 2012 for his legendary body of film work.
Hart was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in 1977 for her performance in Tom Stoppard’s Dirty Linen & New-Found-Land, and she also appeared on Broadway in revivals of The Heiress and Design for Living.
On television, she guest-starred on episodes of shows including Emergency!, Three’s Company, Quincy M.E., MacGyver and Law & Order.
A native of Cheyenne, Wyo., and the daughter of an Army colonel, Hart previously was married to actor Bruce Weitz, best known for playing Sgt. Mick Belker on Hill Street Blues, another Bochco series. Jones’ first wife was actress Julienne Marie.
In addition to Jones, Hart’s survivors include their son, Flynn, and her brothers James and William. The family requests that donations in Hart’s name be made to The Actors Fund or Hudson Valley Hospice.
