# Mary Alice

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. 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.

## Early life and education

Born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola, 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 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.

## 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 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. 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 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 the role of Cora in Stan Lathan'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 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 for I'll Fly Away. 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. She replaced Gloria Foster as the Oracle in the sequel The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the video game tie-in Enter the Matrix (2003) after Foster, who originated the role, died in 2001. Alice reprised the role one last time in The Matrix Online prior to retiring from acting in 2005.

## Personal life and death

Alice died on July 27, 2022, at her residence in Manhattan at the age of 85 due to natural causes.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | The Education of Sonny Carson | Moms | |
| 1976 | Sparkle | Effie Williams | |
| 1981 | The Color of Friendship | Mrs. Garth | |
| 1984 | Beat Street | Cora Kirkland | |
| 1984 | Concealed Enemies | Edith Murray | |
| 1984 | Teachers | Linda Ganz | |
| 1990 | To Sleep with Anger | Suzie | Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead |
| 1990 | The Bonfire of the Vanities | Annie Lamb | |
| 1990 | Awakenings | Nurse Margaret | |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | School Teacher | |
| 1993 | A Perfect World | Dottie | |
| 1993 | Life with Mikey | Mrs. Gordon | |
| 1994 | The Inkwell | Evelyn | |
| 1996 | Bed of Roses | Alice | |
| 1998 | Down in the Delta | Rosa Lynn Sinclair | |
| 1999 | Catfish in Black Bean Sauce | Dolores Williams | |
| 1999 | The Wishing Tree | Mattie Collier | |
| 2000 | The Photographer | Violet | |
| 2002 | Sunshine State | Mrs. Eunice Stokes | |
| 2003 | The Matrix Revolutions | The Oracle | Nominated — Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Police Woman | Marnie | 1 episode |
| 1975 | Sanford and Son | Frances Victor | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Good Times | Loretta Simpson | 1 episode |
| 1975 | The Family Holvak | Samantha Wilson | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Insight | Karen Fuller | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Just an Old Sweet Song | Helen Mayfield | Television movie |
| 1976 | Serpico | Angel | 1 episode |
| 1976 | Visions | Evelyn Burrell | 1 episode |
| 1979 | Lawman Without a Gun | Minnie Hayward | Television film |
| 1980 | All My Children | Ellie Grant Hubbard | unknown episode(s) |
| 1987–1989 | A Different World | Leticia "Lettie" Bostic | Main role, 25 episodes |
| 1989 | The Women of Brewster Place | Fannie Michael | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Maxine Manley | 1 episode |
| 1992 | I'll Fly Away | Marguerite Peck | Recurring role, 7 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
| 1993 | Laurel Avenue | Maggie Arnett | Television film Nominated — CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries |
| 1993 | Law & Order | Virginia Bryan | 1 episode |
| 1994 | Great Performances | | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Orleans | Ella Clark | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Cosby | Loretta | 4 episodes |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Georgia Bishop | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Providence | Abby Franklin | 1 episode |
| 2001 | Soul Food | Mrs. Pettaway | 1 episode |
| 2002 | Oz | Eugenia Hill | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Line of Fire | Jackie Simon | 1 episode |
| 2004 | The Jury | Elaine Nebatoff | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Kojak | Joyce | 1 episode |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969–1971 | No Place to Be Somebody | Cora Beasley | |
| 1981 | A Full-Length Portrait of America | Emma | |
| 1987–1988 | Fences | Rose | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play; Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1994–1995 | The Shadow Box | Maggie | |
| 1995 | Having Our Say | Dr. Bessie Delaney | Nominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play; Nominated — Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | The Oracle | |
| 2005 | The Matrix Online | The Oracle | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 1987 | Tony Awards | Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play | Fences | Won |
| 1987 | Drama Desk Award | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Fences | Won |
| 1990 | Independent Spirit Awards | Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead | To Sleep with Anger | Nominated |
| 1992 | Emmy Awards | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | I'll Fly Away | Nominated |
| 1993 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | I'll Fly Away | Won |
| 1994 | CableACE Award | Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Laurel Avenue | Nominated |
| 1995 | Tony Awards | Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play | Having Our Say | Nominated |
| 1995 | Drama Desk Awards | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play | Having Our Say | Nominated |
| 2004 | Black Reel Awards | Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress | The Matrix Revolutions | Nominated |