Mary Alice Smith (December 3, 1936 – July 27, 2022), known professionally as Mary Alice, was an American television, film, and stage actress. Alice was known for her roles as Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on the sitcom '' A Different World'' (1987–1989) and Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama '' Sparkle'', and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her recurring role on the series ''

I'll Fly Away "I'll Fly Away" is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled ''Wonderful Message''.Richard Matteson, Jr.''The Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book'' Mel Bay Publications, 2006 ...

''. Alice 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 A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

''.

Early life and education

Born Mary Alice Smith in

Indianola Indianola may refer to: Places in the United States * Indianola, California (disambiguation) ** Indianola (Eureka), California * Indianola, Florida * Indianola, Georgia * Indianola, Illinois * Indianola, Iowa * Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...

, Mississippi, Alice was the daughter of Ozelar (née Jurnakin/Journakin) and Sam Smith. She showed an early and natural ability for acting, and began her stage career in her hometown. Her family moved from Mississippi to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

when she was two years old. She graduated from Chicago Teacher's College (now known as Chicago State University), and taught at an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

Career

Mary Alice 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. She did some acting in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during the late 1960s and early 1970s, performing in multiple productions at

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

Manhattan's East Village The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street on the north and ...

between 1969 and 1973. Her first production at La MaMa was Adrienne Kennedy's ''

A Rat's Mass ''A Rat's Mass'' is a poetic, magical-realist one-act play by Adrienne Kennedy, a 20th-century African-American playwright. The play portrays the negative aspects of the black experience in the United States by depicting two African-American child ...

'' in September 1969. She reprised her role as Sister Rat in the October 1969 production, and again in the January 1971 production. All three productions were directed by Seth Allen. In 1970, Mary Alice performed in Ed Bullins' ''Street Sounds'', directed by Hugh Gittens. She later performed in Lamar Alford's ''Thoughts'' in December 1972 and January 1973. Mary Alice made her screen début in the 1974 film ''

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'', and later appeared in the television shows ''

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'' and ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the United ...

''. She played Ellie Grant Hubbard on the

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'' during the mid-1980s, and the role of Cora in

Stan Lathan Stan Lathan (born July 8, 1945) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is executive producer and director of BET's ''Real Husbands of Hollywood''. He has produced and directed numerous stand-up comedy specials st ...

's 1984 cult-classic Beat Street, as well as 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. She won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 for ''

''. Her other film credits include '' Malcolm X'' (1992), '' The Inkwell'' (1994), and '' Down in the Delta'' (1998). In 2000, she was inducted into the

American Theatre Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

. She replaced Gloria Foster as the

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

in the sequel ''

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...

'' (2003) and the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

tie-in '' Enter the Matrix'' (2003) after Foster, who originated the role, died in 2001. She retired from acting in 2005.

Personal life and death

Alice never married nor had children. Alice died on July 27, 2022, at her residence in Manhattan at the age of 85 due to

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

.People – Mary Alice, A Different World and Sparkle Actress, Dead at 85: 'A Shoulder We All Stood On'; Mary Alice, who was best known for her roles in A Different World and Sparkle, died on Wednesday at her home in Manhattan – 28 July 2022
/ref>BET – Mary Alice, 'Different World', 'Sparkle' Actress Dies – July 27, 2022
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Mary Alice's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alice, Mary 1936 births 2022 deaths American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Tony Award winners Drama Desk Award winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Actresses from Chicago Actresses from Mississippi Chicago State University alumni 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women People from Indianola, Mississippi