Gloria Foster
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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 An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
in ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
'' (1999) and its first sequel, ''
The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...
'' (2003). She played the role of the mother of Yusef Bell in the miniseries '' The Atlanta Child Murders'' which aired in 1985.


Biography


Early life and education

Foster was born on November 15, 1933, in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. As a young child, Foster was put into the custody of her maternal grandparents. Foster never knew who her father was and she moved to
Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...
after her mother was hospitalized for a mental illness.Actress Gloria Foster article after her death
''
Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...
''
Foster attended the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
at Chicago, where she participated in plays, but did not focus on acting.Shafer, Yvonne. "Gloria Foster." Performing O'Neil: Conversations with Actors and Directors. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. 215-231. Print] "Performing O'Neil". Foster decided to be a professional actor when her godmother introduced her to the
Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Foster became one of the few African Americans at the
Goodman School of Drama The Theatre School at DePaul University, previously the Goodman School of Drama (also known as TTS and GSD, respectively) is the drama school of DePaul University. Originally associated with the Goodman Theatre, its first class was conducted at ...
at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
(now at
DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...
). During her studying at the Goodman School she also, "learned professional acting skills in the Court Theater at the University of Chicago".Gloria Foster Biography
'' Kosmix''.
One of her most influential instructors was Bella Itkin, who cast Gloria in many classical roles.


Career

Foster began acting on Broadway in 1963. Her first role was Ruth in the show of ''
A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Ch ...
''. Her first professional performance was '' In White America''. Foster, "play a 13-year-old Arkansas girl who tries to enter her Little Rock school". She won an
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
or Off-Broadway Theater Award. People started to create parts for her, and rather than expecting her to audition for roles. Foster was known for her work with Joe Papp, and appeared in his productions of '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', Chekhov's '' Cherry Orchard'', Brecht's '' Mother Courage'' (adapted by Ntozake Shange), and Shakespeare's ''
Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...
''. Foster searched for roles in which she could perform to the best of her ability. She once said, "Young people today, I think, are thinking in terms of stepping stones.…I don't know that I ever thought that way. It sounds ridiculous, but I was always thinking in terms of a more difficult role".


Highlights

Moving from the New York stage, Gloria Foster started to do roles on the big screen. She was in many theatrical performances and also performed some roles on television. '' The Cool World'' (1964) – This was Gloria Foster's first appearance in a full-length feature film. She played Mrs. Custis. It was on the set of this film that she starred next to her future husband, Clarence Williams III. '' Nothing But a Man'' (1964) – Gloria Foster plays a woman named Lee, who lives with the main character's (Duff Anderson) father. She was also active in
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, appearing in such programs as '' I Spy'', two episodes of ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' and ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'' (1987). Her character in both ''Law and Order'' episodes, named Satima Tate, was based on the widow of
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
, Betty Shabazz. The first episode, titled ''Conspiracy'' (1992), was based on Malcolm X's assassination. Malcolm X was played by Hal Miller. The second episode, titled ''Entrapment'' (1997), focused on her character's children's acts of revenge against the people they believed were really responsible. She returned to theatre again in 1995, acting alongside Mary Alice (who was later to replace her in ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
'' films following her death), appearing as 103-year-old Sadie Delany, in ''Having Our Say'', on Broadway at the Booth Theatre, for which she received rave reviews.Gloria Foster bio: The Matrix Actor
/ref> She played the Oracle in ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
'' (1999) and ''
The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...
'' (2003); however, she died during filming and was thus unable to portray her role in the third film. As a result, Mary Alice replaced her in ''
The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. The direct sequel to ''The Matrix Reloaded,'' it is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months foll ...
'' and ''
Enter the Matrix ''Enter the Matrix'' is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Infogrames under the Atari brand name. The first game based on ''The Matrix'' film series, its story is concurrent with that of the ...
''.


Personal life and death

Foster married the actor
Clarence Williams III Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series ''The Mod Squad'' from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such as '' Purple Rain'', '' 52 P ...
in 1967. They appeared on an episode of Williams's television show ''
The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, Pegg ...
'' that ran from 1968 to 1973; Foster made two guest appearances. The two acted together in a 1964 film, '' The Cool World''. Williams was the one to announce her death in 2001. While Foster did not have many close relatives, she stayed in contact with her
Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...
sorority sister,
Cicely Tyson Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (; December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, she is known for her portrayals of complex and strong-willed African American women. She received sev ...
. Tyson stated that, although they did not see each other often, their telephone conversations would often last for hours. Gloria Foster died on September 29, 2001, at age 67. The cause of her death was
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
. A memorial was held at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on October 15, 2001. Martin Duberman, the author of ''In White America'', told the audience about her 1963 performance that, "she embodied it. At the end of the scene each night, there were tears streaming down her face, her body was trembling, but her dignity was intact ... Foster had to be covered with blankets in order to calm her shaking". Foster was a lifelong Democrat and a practicing
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
.''An Interview with Gloria Foster'', Skip E. Lowe, 1997


Filmography


Film

* '' The Cool World'' (1964) as Mrs. Custis * '' Nothing But a Man'' (1964) as Lee * '' The Comedians'' (1967) as Mrs. Philipot * '' The Angel Levine'' (1970) as Sally * '' Man and Boy'' (1972) as Ivy Revers * '' Leonard Part 6'' (1987) as Medusa * '' City of Hope'' (1991) as Jeanette * ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
'' (1999) as The Oracle * ''
The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...
'' (2003) as The Oracle (released posthumously) * '' The Matrix Resurrections'' (2021) as The Oracle (archive footage)


Television

* '' I Spy'' (1968) as Shana * '' The Outcasts'' (1968), "Take Your Lover in The Ring", Episode #5, as Sabina * '' Mod Squad'' (1969) as Jenny * '' The Bill Cosby Show'' (1970) as Dolores Winters * '' To All My Friends on Shore'' (1972) as Serena * ''
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'' (1978) as Judith * '' The Files on Jill Hatch'' (1983) as Mrs. Hatch * '' House of Dies Drear'' (1984) as Sheila Small * '' The Atlanta Child Murders'' (1985) (miniseries) as Camille Bell * ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'' (1987) as Dr. Barbara Bracy * ''
Separate but Equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protectio ...
'' (1991) as Buster * ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' (1992 and 1997) as Mrs. Tate * '' Percy & Thunder'' (1993) as Sugar Brown


References


External links

* *
Gloria Foster Biography
'' UMass''.
Gloria Foster Biography
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.
Gloria Is The Glory
''New York Times'', March 26, 1972. {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Gloria 1933 births 2001 deaths Burials at Kensico Cemetery Deaths from diabetes in New York (state) Actresses from Chicago Actresses from Wisconsin Obie Award recipients University of Illinois alumni DePaul University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Delta Sigma Theta members People from Janesville, Wisconsin 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses American Methodists California Democrats Wisconsin Democrats Illinois Democrats