Phyllis Hyman; Was Nominated for Tony Award

NEW YORK —  Jazz singer Phyllis Hyman, who received a Tony nomination for her role in Broadway’s “Sophisticated Ladies,” has been found dead in her Manhattan apartment, an apparent suicide, police said.

The 45-year-old darling of the jazz circuit was found lying face up on her bed by an assistant Friday afternoon. She was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead.

“Several vials of pills and a note were found near her body that could be related to her death,” police Detective Dwight Cunningham said.

Born in Philadelphia, Ms. Hyman was a 1981 Tony nominee for her role as Etta in “Sophisticated Ladies.” She also appeared in the Broadway production of “Dreamgirls” and in several films including “Lenny,” “School Daze” and “The Doorman.”

When Ms. Hyman performed at the Universal Amphitheatre in 1987, The Times jazz reviewer Zan Stewart commented: “Hyman, who possesses a warm, distinctive voice capable of hitting the back rows, went from sugary cooing to all-out belting in her deliveries of such tunes as ‘Our First Time Together’ and ‘What You Won’t Do for Love,’ but she made the transitions from these extremes smoothly, always landing musically on her feet.”

The statuesque 6-foot-1 Ms. Hyman also sang in such other Southern California venues as the Wiltern Theatre, the Long Beach Jazz Festival, the Beverly Theatre, Bell Gardens’ Bicycle Club and Anaheim’s Celebrity Theatre.

She appeared on the television special “A Celebration of Life: A Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Her 1977 debut album, “Phyllis Hyman,” was followed two years later by “You Know How to Love Me.” The title track became a dance anthem among soul fans. Her albums also include “Living All Alone,” “Prime of My Life” and “It Takes Style.”

She had been scheduled to appear last Friday evening at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.