Mary Alice Smith (born December , ), known professionally as Mary
Alice, is an American film, television, and stage actress. Alice is
known for her roles as Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on NBC's A Different
World (â€") and Effie Williams in the musical drama Sparkle. Alice
has also performed on the stage, and received a Tony Award for Best
Featured Actress in a Play for her appearance in the production of
August Wilson's Fences.Born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola,
Mississippi, Alice is the daughter of Ozelar (née Jurnakin) and Sam
Smith. Alice 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. Mary Alice graduated from Chicago
Teacher's College, now known as Chicago State University, and taught
at an elementary school. She returned to acting in the mid-s, 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 $ a week.She did some acting in New
York City during the late s and early s, performing in multiple
productions at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in Manhattan's East
Village between and . Her first production at La MaMa was Adrienne
Kennedy's A Rat's Mass in September . She reprised her role as Sister
Rat in the October production, and again in the January production.
All three productions were directed by Seth Allen. In , Mary Alice
performed in Ed Bullins' Street Sounds, directed by Hugh Gittens. She
later performed in Lamar Alford's Thoughts in December and January
.Mary Alice made her screen début in the 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-s, and coâ€"starred in A Different World as
Leticia 'Lettie' Bostic from the series' start in until the end of
the second season in . Mary Alice won an Emmy Award for Outstanding
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in for I'll Fly Away. Her other
film credits include Malcolm X (), The Inkwell (), and Down in the
Delta ().
Alice, is an American film, television, and stage actress. Alice is
known for her roles as Leticia "Lettie" Bostic on NBC's A Different
World (â€") and Effie Williams in the musical drama Sparkle. Alice
has also performed on the stage, and received a Tony Award for Best
Featured Actress in a Play for her appearance in the production of
August Wilson's Fences.Born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola,
Mississippi, Alice is the daughter of Ozelar (née Jurnakin) and Sam
Smith. Alice 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. Mary Alice graduated from Chicago
Teacher's College, now known as Chicago State University, and taught
at an elementary school. She returned to acting in the mid-s, 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 $ a week.She did some acting in New
York City during the late s and early s, performing in multiple
productions at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in Manhattan's East
Village between and . Her first production at La MaMa was Adrienne
Kennedy's A Rat's Mass in September . She reprised her role as Sister
Rat in the October production, and again in the January production.
All three productions were directed by Seth Allen. In , Mary Alice
performed in Ed Bullins' Street Sounds, directed by Hugh Gittens. She
later performed in Lamar Alford's Thoughts in December and January
.Mary Alice made her screen début in the 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-s, and coâ€"starred in A Different World as
Leticia 'Lettie' Bostic from the series' start in until the end of
the second season in . Mary Alice won an Emmy Award for Outstanding
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in for I'll Fly Away. Her other
film credits include Malcolm X (), The Inkwell (), and Down in the
Delta ().
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