Actress Mary Alice has died at the age of 85
At the age of 85, actress Mary Alice passed away. The actress was well-known for her roles as Effie Williams in the musical film Sparkle and Leticia “Lettie” Bostic on NBC’s A Different World. She took over as the Oracle in The Matrix Revolutions after Gloria Foster passed away in 2001, which will also be recalled by many of our readers. The Hollywood Reporter claims that Alice passed away on Wednesday in her residence in Manhattan. Her death was confirmed by the NYPD, but no explanation was given. Mary Alice had several illustrious playing roles, but she stopped acting in 2005 and has since disappeared from the public eye.
The movie Sparkle, which chronicled the rise to prominence of a black girl group, features Alice in one of her most memorable acting roles. The plot was motivated by The Supremes’ real-life story. According to People Magazine, Alice also appeared in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, Penny Marshall’s Awakenings, Clint Eastwood’s A Perfect World, and Maya Angelou are Down in the Delta. Her final movie role was in The Matrix Revolutions. Alice has played notable TV parts as well. In addition to her part in A Different World, Alice also made appearances in Law & Order, Oz, and All My Children. She was awarded an Emmy in 1993 for her supporting performance as Marguerite Peck in the NBC drama I’ll Fly Away. An A Kojak episode served as her last acting gig before she retired.
In addition to her numerous theater performances, Alice also received a Tony Award for creating the role of Rose in August Wilson’s play Fences. In 2016, this play was made into a movie, and Viola Davis played the same character and won an Oscar. Alice was honored by Davis on Twitter, who referred to her as “one of the finest actors of all time!!” In 1995, Alice was nominated for another Tony Award for having our say. Tony Dow, from Leave it to Beaver, died on the same day as Alice.