Life and career

Alice was born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola, Mississippi, the daughter of Ozelar (née Jurnakin) and Sam Smith. She had a yen to act and began her career on stage in her hometown.

Alice has appeared in over 50 television shows and feature films during her career. She made her screen debut in 1974 film The Education of Sonny Carson, and later guest-starred in Police Woman and Sanford and Son. She played Ellie Grant Hubbard on soap opera All My Children in the early 1980s, and co-starred in A Different World as Leticia 'Lettie' Bostic from 1988 to 1989.

In 1987 she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in Fences. She also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 for I'll Fly Away (1991-1993). Alice's other film credits include Malcolm X (1992), The Inkwell (1994) and Down in the Delta with Alfre Woodard.

In 2000, Alice was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Alice replaced Gloria Foster in the film The Matrix Revolutions and video game Enter The Matrix as the Oracle, after Foster died in 2001.

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
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
1995	Heading Home	N/A
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 Best Supporting Actress

"A Different World" Lettue Bostic

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Police Woman	Marnie	Episode: "Target Black"
1975	Sanford and Son	Frances Victor	2 episodes
1975	Good Times	Loretta	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 episodes
1988-1989	A Different World	Leticia "Lettie" Bostic	19 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 Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1993	Law & Order	Virginia Bryan	Episode: "Mother Love"
1994	Great Performances	N/A	Episode: "Paddy Chayefsky's 'The Mother'"
1997	Orleans	Ella Clark	Episode: "Baby-Sitting"
1999	Cosby	Loretta	3 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
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

Awards

Tony Awards 1987 Best Featured Actress in a Play - Fences Nominations 1995 Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play - Having Our Say Emmy Awards 1993 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - I'll Fly Away Nominations 1992 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - I'll Fly Away

Drama Desk Award 1987 - Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - Fences Nominations 1995 Outstanding Actress in a Play - Having Our Say Independent Spirit Award Nomination 1991 - Best Female Lead - To Sleep with Anger Black Reel Award Nomination 2004 - Best Supporting Actress - The Matrix Revolutions CableACE Award 1994 - Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries - Laurel Avenue

[ Source: Wikipedia ]