By Keith Brunson
Orson Wells spent a lifetime using his incredible voice. One of the millions he caught the attention of was a seven-year-old boy in east Tennessee, Calvin Cylk Cozart. "When I listened to him, he painted a picture, and it was only his voice. I never forgot it." It was the era in America of the Beatles, hippies, free love, and a social objection to the Vietnam war. And that was when Cylk had an epiphany about the power of the voice.
"Noticing the power of the voice impressed me early on." So, in a small community known as Karns, Cylk's wheels began to turn about the power of the human voice. He was watching. Listening. Observing. And that's when the positive impression of just the voice was imprinted on the young and impressionable little boy's heart.
A young and impressionable Cylk Cozart discovers the world of voice over and narration.
Cylk first encountered being paid for his voice for the megahit television show "Miami Vice" in the 80s. Cylk voiced scenes for Phillip Michael Thomas, the actor opposite Don Johnson. The process was known as looping. Cylk was brought in to repair spots of audio that had been botched during principal photography. "It was just as you picture it," Cylk tells me. "The footage was displayed on a large screen, and I dubbed in my voice to support the actor in scenes where sound needed to be re-recorded." And in that very moment, Cylk connected to the power of the voice.
Cylk Cozart's name means "Running Water" he was born of a Cherokee mother and a black father in the hills of Tennessee.
Because of his strong Cherokee/African American good looks, Cylk was encouraged by observation to try acting. He would appear in (70) motion pictures or television shows. He had notable success and is probably best remembered for the movies "White Men Can't Jump," "Three To Tango," and "Conspiracy Theory." A long list of memorable credits kept Cylk busy for over thirty years. But the undercurrent of his appreciation of the human voice always continued to percolate.
Ten years ago, Cylk relocated from Los Angeles back to his community of Karns and did so to provide for his ailing mother. "It was very difficult to leave that life, very difficult," Cylk comments. "One day, I was in Malibu, and the next day I'm back in Tennessee with my mother, who always came first."
Cylk created a scholarship in his mother's name, "The Bettie Ruth Cozart Scholarship," at King University.
His mentor Denzel Washington advised him well. "You now have a substantial body of work, so you don't need to be in Hollywood." And Washington was right. Instead of being in Hollywood, Cylk created Hollywood for himself in Knoxville.
Cylk performing voice narration in the recording studio.
Cylk morphed his Hollywood career into that of an independent producer. Translated, Cylk now could develop his own movies and direct them as well. He would launch Cozart Enterprises. And this move created an entirely new beginning to a life he had left behind in California.
Cylk performs, provides voiceovers, produces, and directs films for Cozart Enterprises.
Because of his affinity for basketball, Cylk entered into the story of who invented the game of basketball with his long-time confidante Keith Zimmerman. The film would be the story of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. And true to form, Cylk narrated the documentary, which became titled "Ball Of Confusion." "I always had experienced the world of basketball as something that connected people that would not have otherwise met." That led to Cylk remembering the power of Orson Wells' voice, so he narrated the documentary. Keith Zimmerman agreed. Who better to tell the story?
A sample of Cylk narrating his film, "Ball Of Confusion."
Cylk would now begin to use his voice in a way he did before for filmmaking. "Ray Liotta, who narrated "Good Fellas" helped me to understand that fusing narration inside a story your telling can really make a film memorable."
The latest film Cylk narrates is called "Inherit The Land." This film is a story of two white women who willed eight hundred acres of land to a black family during the Jim Crow era. Cylk teamed up with yet another personal v.i.p. Jim Johnson. Together, they went to Marvin, North Carolina, the town where the historical event took place. It was there that Jim produced the on-location historical movie, and both Jim and Cylk cast descendants of the story to appear in the film. Cylk would direct and then narrate. "To use my voice to communicate the historic event was very moving," says Cylk. "Jim and I were both affected by the love this town offers and its' historical racial impact on the south.
A voice narration sample from Cylk's upcoming movie, "Inherit The Land."
Marvin, North Carolina, today is a town of 6,358 people with a black population of 7.61 percent. The mean income is $269,257.00 annually. It has a poverty rate of 2.41 percent.
"When you discover a place where racism has no part of the fabric of the town, it'll really make a deep impression," Cylk tells me. "The town has never experienced racial problems where equality on all fronts is the makeup of this quiet southern hamlet. I used the feeling of that love in my narration in telling the story, and I hope it really comes through."
"Ball Of Confusion" and "Inherit The Land" have yet to be released. Cozart Enterprises brands its productions in documentary form with narration and centers around actual historical events.
As for Cylk's future in new productions that have yet to be made, he has a unique perspective. "The best voiceover narration I will do, I have yet to voice."
And as the recipient of Joe Biden's 2022 Presidential Humanitarian Award, Cylk speaks to everyone when he communicates through his movies. "I hope Mom is proud."
