Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Mary Alice obit

Mary Alice, who was best known for her roles in A Different World and Sparkle, died on Wednesday at her home in Manhattan

 

She was not on the list.


Mary Alice, the actress best known for her roles in A Different World and Sparkle, has died. She was 85.

Alice died on Wednesday at her home in Manhattan, a spokesperson for the NYPD confirms to PEOPLE. A cause of death was not provided.

The actress's death was also confirmed by "one of her close friends," according to Philip Lewis of HuffPost, who announced the news on his Twitter Thursday.

"Mary Alice, known for her roles as 'Lettie' on A Different World and Effie Williams in Sparkle, has died, one of her close friends tells me," Lewis wrote.

"'We are all very sad at the loss,'" he shared from the source's statement.

Lewis also posted two photos of Alice — the first of her at the 45th Emmy Award Governor's Ball in 1993 with her award in hand, and the second of her in character.

Jasmine Guy as Whitley Marion Gilbert, Mary Alice as Leticia 'Lettie' Bostic in A Different World.

Alice is best known for portraying Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on NBC's A Different World and Effie Williams in the 1976 original version of Sparkle, which told the story of how The Supremes achieved fame.

She also played The Oracle in The Matrix Revolutions and Marguerite Peck in I'll Fly Away, for which she received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In 1987, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in August Wilson's Fences.

Her other film credits include Spike Lee's Malcolm X, Awakenings opposite Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood's A Perfect World and Maya Angelou's Down in the Delta.

Along with television appearances in shows like Oz and Law & Order, she also starred in a production of The Tragedy of Richard III beside Denzel Washington at Central Park's Delacorte Theater.

Alice began acting as a child in her hometown of Indianola, Mississippi, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She picked up the trade again after working as a Social Security secretary and teaching at an elementary school in Chicago, where she was raised.

 

She returned to the stage in community theater productions until she made her way into Manhattan's East Village theater scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Variety reported.

 

The actress's first paying job came in 1966 performing with the New York Negro Ensemble Company when the were in Chicago touring, per THR.

"Equity required the group to use one local actor, and I was hired to do a couple of roles and the laundry," she said in 1979, according to The New York Times. "I loved it. I really loved it, and I didn't mind doing the washing and ironing twice a week."

In 2000, Alice was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. She eventually retired from acting in 2005, per her IMDb page. Her final onscreen credit was recorded that year for an episode of the rebooted drama series Kojak.

Following news of her death, several members of the Hollywood community took to social media to pay their respects. Among them were actors Viola Davis and Colman Domingo.

"RIP Mary Alice…the original Rose Maxson. You were one of the greatest actresses of all time!! Thank you for the work, inspiration and thank you for Rose. Godspeed Queen," Davis, 56, tweeted beside a photo of Alice.

"A shoulder we all stood on. A round of applause for Mary Alice. Thank you legend. Rest Easy," added Domingo, 52, in a separate tweet.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1974      The Education of Sonny Carson Moms  

1974      The Sty of the Blind Pig Alberta Warren                 Television movie

1976      Just an Old Sweet Song Helen Mayfield Television movie

1976      Sparkle Effie Williams    

1979      Lawman Without a Gun                 Minnie Hayward               Television movie

1981      The Color of Friendship Mrs. Garth         

1983      The Brass Ring   Mrs. Hauser        Television movie

1984      Beat Street         Cora Kirkland    

1984      Concealed Enemies         Edith Murray     

1984      Teachers              Linda Ganz         

1985      Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom          Blind Lily             

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                Lottie   

1993      Laurel Avenue   Maggie Arnett   Television movie; Nominated — CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries

1993      Life with Mikey Mrs. Gordon      

1994      The Inkwell         Evelyn  

1994      The Vernon Johns Story                 Altona   Television movie

1994      Heading Home Mary Jones        

1995      Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder          Adele Thompson              Television movie

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  

2000      The Photographer           Violet   

2001      The Last Brickmaker in America Dorothy Cobb    Television movie

2002      Sunshine State Mrs. Eunice Stokes         

2002      The Life                Emiline Crane    Short film

2003      The Matrix Revolutions The Oracle          Nominated — Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1975      Police Woman   Marnie Episode: "Target Black"

1975      Sanford and Son               Frances Victor    2 episodes

1975      Good Times        Loretta Simpson               Episode: "The Baby"

1975      The Family Holvak            Samantha Wilson             Episode: "The Tribute"

1976      Insight   Karen Fuller        Episode: "Juvie"

1976      Serpico Angel     Episode: "The Traitor in Our Midst"

1976      Visions Evelyn Burrell    Episode: "Scenes from the Middle Class"

1980      All My Children Ellie Grant Hubbard         unknown episode(s)

1987–1989          A Different World             Leticia "Lettie" Bostic      25 episodes

1989      The Women of Brewster Place    Fannie Michael 2 episodes

1990      L.A. Law                Maxine Manley Episode: "Watts a Matter?"

1992      I'll Fly Away         Marguerite Peck               7 episodes; Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

1993      Law & Order       Virginia Bryan    Episode: "Mother Love"

1994      Great Performances                       Episode: "Paddy Chayefsky's 'The Mother'"

1997      Orleans                 Ella Clark              Episode: "Baby-Sitting"

1999      Cosby    Loretta 4 episodes

2000      Touched by an Angel      Georgia Bishop Episode: "God Bless the Child"

2000      Providence         Abby Franklin     Episode: "The Gift"

2001      Soul Food            Mrs. Pettaway   Episode: "Sex and Money"

2002      Oz           Eugenia Hill         Episode: "Visitation"

2004      Line of Fire          Jackie Simon       Episode: "The Senator"

2004      The Jury               Elaine Nebatoff Episode: "Memories"

2005      Kojak     Joyce     Episode: "All That Glitters"

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

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