Mary Alice

Mary Alice Smith (born December 3, 1941),[3] known professionally as Mary Alice, is an American film, television, and stage actress. Alice is known for her roles as Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on NBC's A Different World (1987–1989) and Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama Sparkle. Alice has also performed on the stage, and received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her appearance in the 1987 production of August Wilson's Fences.[4][5]

For other uses, see Mary Alice (disambiguation).
Mary Alice
Alice at the 45th Emmy Awards Governor's Ball, 1993.
Born
Mary Alice Smith

(1941-12-03) December 3, 1941[1][2]
Indianola, Mississippi, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationChicago Teacher's College
OccupationActress
Years active1969–2005
Known forEffie Williams – Sparkle
Leticia "Lettie" Bostic – A Different World

Life and career

Born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola, Mississippi, Alice is the daughter of Ozelar (née Jurnakin) and Sam Smith.[6] Alice showed an early and natural ability for acting, and began her stage career in her hometown.[7] Her family moved from Mississippi to Chicago when she was two years old. Mary Alice graduated from Chicago Teacher's College, now known as Chicago State University, and taught at an elementary school.[8] She returned to acting in the mid-1960s, through community theater, and appeared in three Douglass Turner Ward's plays, including Days of Absence and Happy Endings. Mary Alice also washed the cast's laundry for a salary of $200 a week.[9]

She did some acting in New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s, performing in multiple productions at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in Manhattan's East Village between 1969 and 1973. Her first production at La MaMa was Adrienne Kennedy's A Rat's Mass in September 1969.[10] She reprised her role as Sister Rat in the October 1969 production,[11] and again in the January 1971 production.[12] All three productions were directed by Seth Allen. In 1970, Mary Alice performed in Ed Bullins' Street Sounds, directed by Hugh Gittens.[13] She later performed in Lamar Alford's Thoughts in December 1972[14] and January 1973.[15]

Mary Alice made her screen début in the 1974 film The Education of Sonny Carson, and later appeared in the television shows Police Woman and Sanford and Son. She played Ellie Grant Hubbard on the soap opera All My Children during the mid-1980s, and co–starred in A Different World as Leticia 'Lettie' Bostic from the series' start in 1987 until the end of the second season in 1989.[7] Mary Alice won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 for I'll Fly Away.[7] Her other film credits include Malcolm X (1992), The Inkwell (1994), and Down in the Delta (1998).[7]

In 2000, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.[16] Mary Alice replaced Gloria Foster as the Oracle in the film The Matrix Revolutions[17] and the video game Enter the Matrix after Foster, who originated the role, died in 2001.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1974The Education of Sonny CarsonMoms
1974The Sty of the Blind PigAlberta WarrenTelevision movie
1976Just an Old Sweet SongHelen MayfieldTelevision movie
1976SparkleEffie Williams
1979Lawman Without a GunMinnie HaywardTelevision movie
1981The Color of FriendshipMrs. Garth
1983The Brass RingMrs. HauserTelevision movie
1984Beat StreetCora Kirkland
1984Concealed EnemiesEdith Murray
1984TeachersLinda Ganz
1985Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in FreedomBlind Lily
1990To Sleep with AngerSuzieNominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
1990The Bonfire of the VanitiesAnnie Lamb
1990AwakeningsNurse Margaret
1992Malcolm XSchool Teacher
1993A Perfect WorldLottie
1993Laurel AvenueMaggie ArnettTelevision movie; Nominated — CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1993Life with MikeyMrs. Gordon
1994The InkwellEvelyn
1994The Vernon Johns StoryAltonaTelevision movie
1994Heading HomeMary Jones
1995Ray Alexander: A Menu for MurderAdele ThompsonTelevision movie
1996Bed of RosesAlice
1998Down in the DeltaRosa Lynn Sinclair
1999Catfish in Black Bean SauceDolores Williams
1999The Wishing TreeMattie
2000The PhotographerViolet
2001The Last Brickmaker in AmericaDorothy CobbTelevision movie
2002Sunshine StateMrs. Eunice Stokes
2002The LifeEmiline CraneShort film
2003The Matrix RevolutionsThe OracleNominated — Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1975Police WomanMarnieEpisode: "Target Black"
1975Sanford and SonFrances Victor2 episodes
1975Good TimesLoretta SimpsonEpisode: "The Baby"
1975The Family HolvakSamantha WilsonEpisode: "The Tribute"
1976InsightKaren FullerEpisode: "Juvie"
1976SerpicoAngelEpisode: "The Traitor in Our Midst"
1976VisionsEvelyn BurrellEpisode: "Scenes from the Middle Class"
1980All My ChildrenEllie Grant Hubbardunknown episode(s)
1987–1989A Different WorldLeticia "Lettie" Bostic25 episodes
1989The Women of Brewster PlaceFannie Michael2 episodes
1990L.A. LawMaxine ManleyEpisode: "Watts a Matter?"
1992I'll Fly AwayMarguerite Peck7 episodes; Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1993Law & OrderVirginia BryanEpisode: "Mother Love"
1994Great PerformancesEpisode: "Paddy Chayefsky's 'The Mother'"
1997OrleansElla ClarkEpisode: "Baby-Sitting"
1999CosbyLoretta4 episodes
2000Touched by an AngelGeorgia BishopEpisode: "God Bless the Child"
2000ProvidenceAbby FranklinEpisode: "The Gift"
2001Soul FoodMrs. PettawayEpisode: "Sex and Money"
2002OzEugenia HillEpisode: "Visitation"
2004Line of FireJackie SimonEpisode: "The Senator"
2004The JuryElaine NebatoffEpisode: "Memories"
2005KojakJoyceEpisode: "All That Glitters"

Theatre
YearTitleRoleNotes
1969–1971No Place to Be SomebodyCora Beasley
1981 A Full-Length Portrait of America Emma
1987–1988FencesRoseDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play;
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
1994–1995The Shadow BoxMaggie
1995Having Our SayDr. Bessie DelaneyNominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play;
Nominated — Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play

Awards
gollark: Apparently people often end up with weird nonsensical beliefs after psychedelic use.
gollark: My very handwavey model of this sort of thing is that it temporarily increases your brain's "learning rate" (in the ML sense).
gollark: Memetics.
gollark: I believe so, based on experience.
gollark: There are no* safety issues.

References
  1. TV.com. "Mary Alice". TV.com.
  2. "Mary Alice - Playbill". Playbill.
  3. "Hollywood - Mary Alice".
  4. "Mary Alice". The Broadway League. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  5. Company, Johnson Publishing (22 June 1987). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  6. "Mary Alice Biography (1941-)". www.filmreference.com.
  7. "Mary Alice- Biography". Yahoo!. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  8. "Alice, Mary 1941– - Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  9. McCann, Bob (2007). "Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television". Google Books. McFarland. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  10. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: A Rat's Mass (1969a)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
  11. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: A Rat's Mass (1969b)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
  12. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: A Rat's Mass (1971)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
  13. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Street Sounds (1970)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
  14. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Thoughts (1972)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
  15. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Thoughts (1973)". Accessed May 14, 2018.
  16. "Theater family comes together to celebrate Hall of Fame honorees". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  17. Scott, A. O. (November 5, 2003). "The Matrix Revolutions (2003) FILM REVIEW; The Game Concludes With Light And Noise". The New York Times.
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