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 ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) a ...

'' (1987–1989) and Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama ''

Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Sparkle Plenty, a character in the ''Dick Tracy'' c ...

'', 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 The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Th ...

for her appearance in the 1987 production of

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

'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, 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 = List of sovereign states, Count ...

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 ...

in Manhattan's East Village between 1969 and 1973. Her first production at La MaMa was

Adrienne Kennedy Adrienne Kennedy (born September 13, 1931) is an American playwright.Peterson, Jane T., and Suzanne Bennett. "Adrienne Kennedy". ''Women Playwrights of Diversity''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. 201–205. She is best known for '' Funnyhous ...

'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 chil ...

'' 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 Edward Artie Bullins (July 2, 1935November 13, 2021), sometimes publishing as Kingsley B. Bass Jr, was an American playwright. He won awards including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and several Obie Awards. Bullins was associated with ...

' ''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 ''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 Unit ...

''. She played Ellie Grant Hubbard on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'' 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 ...

's 1984 cult-classic

Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American drama dance film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to ...

, as well as co–starred in ''

'' 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 Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

'' (1992), ''

The Inkwell ''The Inkwell'' is a 1994 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Matty Rich. The film stars Larenz Tate, Joe Morton, Suzzanne Douglass, Glynn Turman, Jada Pinkett and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Plot Set in the summer of 1976, the film follows th ...

'' (1994), and ''

Down in the Delta ''Down in the Delta'' is a 1998 American-Canadian drama film, directed by Maya Angelou in her sole film directorial effort and starring Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr., Esther Rolle (in her final film appearance before her death), Loretta Devine, ...

'' (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 Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001) was an American actress. She had acclaimed roles in plays ''In White America'' and '' Having Our Say,'' winning three Obie Awards during her career. Foster played the Oracle in ''The Matrix ...

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 feedba ...

tie-in ''

Enter the Matrix ''Enter the Matrix'' is a 2003 action-adventure 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 ...

'' (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 distin ...

.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