MARY ALICE

MARY ALICE SMITH

 

American Actress
Born December 3, 1936, in Indianola, Mississippi.
Died July 27, 2022, in New York City.
The daughter of Ozelar and Sam Smith, she was born Mary Alice Smith. The daughter of Ozelar and Sam Smith, she was born Mary Alice Smith. Her family moved from Mississippi to Chicago when she was two years of age. She had a passion for theatre and began acting on stage.

Mary Alice started as a Chicago teacher but turned to Acting in the 1960s. She got her education and training at Chicago State University. By the 1960s, she had returned to her childhood love of acting and started performing in community theatre before moving to New York City and appearing in a number of plays at La MaMa, including Adrienne Kennedy’s A Rat’s Mass. She received training at the Negro Ensemble Company. Most of her career took place on the professional stage.

In 1977 she appeared in “Cockfight” with Morgan Freeman directed by Woodle King Jr. In 1987 she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in August Wilson’s “Fences” with James Earl Jones In 1995 she received a Tony nomination for best actress for the play “Having Our Say” with Gloria Foster.

Television and Movies
She appeared in “Good Times”, “Sanford and Son”, “A Different World, and Law & Order. For her role in the drama, “I’ll Fly Away”, and won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
Mary Alice also had roles in a few popular movies such as “Awakenings” and “The Bonfires of the Vanities”. She also appeared in “The Matrix: Revolutions” as the Oracle, replacing Gloria Foster who originated the role.

Alice appeared in over 50 television shows and feature films during her career. She made her screen debut in the 1974 film “The Education of Sonny Carson”, and “Sparkle” the 1976 American musical drama film with Irene Cara, she later guest-starred in “Police Woman” and “Sanford and Son”. She played Ellie Grant Hubbard on the soap opera “All My Children” in the early 1980s and “A Different World” as Leticia ‘Lettie’ Bostic from 1988 to 1989. Her other film credits include “Malcolm X” (1992), “The Inkwell” (1994), and “Down in the Delta” with Alfre Woodard. She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2000.

She retired from showbusiness in 2005.
Awards
1995
Nomination:
Tony Award: Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Having Our Say — Dr. Bessie Delany
1987
Winner:
Tony Award: Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Fences — Rose
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 for “I’ll Fly Away” (1991–1993).
BIO by Dale Ricardo Shields
https://youtu.be/EseueHfpoqo

Mary Alice
Mary Alice Smith
[Performance credits]
The Amen Corner
Long Wharf Theatre
The Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage Theatre
New Haven, CT
January – February 7, 1996
Sister Margaret Alexander
*
Having Our Say
Booth Theatre
New York, NY
March 16 – December 31, 1995
Dr. Bessie Delany
*
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years
world premiere
McCarter Theatre Center
McCarter Theatre Center
Princeton, NJ
1995
Dr. Bessie Delany
*
The Shadow Box
Circle in the Square
Circle in the Square Theatre
New York, NY
November 4, 1994 – January 1, 1995
Maggie
*
A Sumbeam
Pittsburgh Public Theater
Hazlett Theater
Pittsburgh, PA
May 30 – July 7, 1991
*
The Tragedy of Richard III
The Public Theater
Delacorte Theatre
New York, NY
August 3 – September 2, 1990
Queen Margaret
*
Fences
46th Street Theatre
New York, NY
March 26, 1987 – June 26, 1988
Rose
*
Under Statements
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Loretto-Hilton Center Browning Mainstage
Webster Groves, MO
October 9 – November 8, 1985
Marian
*
Fences
world premiere
Yale Repertory Theatre
Yale Repertory Theatre
New Haven, CT
April 30 – May 1985
Rose
*
You’re Too Tall, But Come Back In Two Weeks
Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre
New Haven, CT
February 28 – March 28, 1975
Dee
*
No Place to Be Somebody
Morosco Theatre
New York, NY
September 9 – October 10, 1971
Cora Beasley
*
A Rat’s Mass
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa E.T.C.
New York, NY
September 17 – October 26, 1969
Sister Rat
*
King Lear
Arena Stage
Arena Stage Fichandler Stage
Washington, DC
March – April 1969
Cordelia

Mary Alice » Filmography
The Color of Friendship 1981 Episode
Mrs. Garth
*
Concealed Enemies, Part I: Suspicion 1984 Episode
Edith Murray
*
The 45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards TV Show
*
The Life 2002 Short Film
Emiline Crane
*
Enter the Matrix 2003 Video Game
The Oracle
*
The Burly Man Chronicles 2004 Video
*
Insight TV Show
Karen Fuller
*
The Doctors TV Show
*
All My Children TV Show
Ellie Grant Hubbard
*
Great Performances TV Show
*
ABC Afterschool Specials TV Show
Mrs. Garth
*
The Education of Sonny Carson 1974
Moms
*
Police Woman TV Show
Marnie 1 episode, 1975
*
The Sty of the Blind Pig 1974 TV Movie
Alberta Warren
*
The Family Holvak TV Show
*
Sparkle 1976
Effie
*
Working in the Theatre TV Show
Self
*
Visions TV Show
*
Serpico TV Show
*
Just an Old Sweet Song 1976 TV Movie
Helen Mayfield
*
American Playhouse TV Show
Blind Lily
*
The Brass Ring 1983 TV Movie
Mrs. Hauser
*
Beat Street 1984
Cora
*
Teachers 1984
Linda Ganz
*
L.A. Law TV Show
Maxine Manley
*
A Different World TV Show
Lettie Bostic

MARY ALICE – Performance (cont) The 41st Annual Tony Awards TV Show
Herself – Winner: Best Featured Actress in a Play
*
The Women of Brewster Place TV Show
Fannie Michael
*
Law & Order TV Show
Virginia Bryan
*
The Bonfire of the Vanities 1990
Annie Lamb
*
Awakenings 1990
Nurse Margaret
*
I’ll Fly Away TV Show
Marguerite Peck
*
Performance TV Show
*
Malcolm X 1992
School Teacher
*
HBO First Look TV Show
Herself
*
A Perfect World 1993
Lottie, Mack’s Wife
*
Life with Mikey 1993
Mrs. Gordon
*
Laurel Avenue TV Show
Maggie Arnett
*
Touched by an Angel TV Show
Georgia Bishop
*
The Vernon Johns Story 1994 TV Movie
Altona
*
The 49th Annual Tony Awards TV Show
Herself – Nominee: Best Leading Actress in a Play
*
Heading Home 1995
Mary Jones
*
Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder 1995 TV Movie
Adele Thompson
*
Cosby TV Show
Loretta
*
Bed of Roses 1996
Alice

The 50th Annual Tony Awards TV Show
*
Oz TV Show
Eugenia Hill
*
Orleans TV Show
*
The Wishing Tree 1999
Mattie
*
Providence TV Show
Abby Franklin
*
Soul Food TV Show
Mrs. Pettaway
*
The Photographer 2000
Violet
*
The Last Brickmaker in America 2001 TV Movie
Dorothy Cobb
*
What I Want My Words to Do to You: Voices from Inside a Women’s Maximum Security Prison 2003
Herself
*
Line of Fire TV Show
*
The Jury TV Show
Elaine Nebatoff
*
The Matrix Recalibrated 2004 Video
Herself
*
Kojak TV Show
Joyce
*
The Matrix Online 2005 Video Game
The Oracle
*
The Matrix: Path of Neo 2005 Video Game
Oracle
*
Whitney 2015 TV Movie
*
Giving Voice 2020
*
Sanford and Son TV Show
Frances Victor
*
Good Times TV Show
Loretta Simpson
*
Lawman Without a Gun
1978 TV Movie
Minnie Hayward
*
To Sleep with Anger 1990
Suzie
*
The Inkwell 1994
Evelyn
*
Down in the Delta 1998
Rosa Lynn Sinclair
*
Catfish in Black Bean Sauce 1999
Dolores Williams
*
Sunshine State 2002
Eunice Stokes
*
The Matrix Revolutions 2003
The Oracle

 

 

iforcolor

ARCHIVIST, EDUCATOR, HISTORIAN, and ARTiST
Dale Ricardo Shields is highly accomplished African American actor, director, producer, and educator with a distinguished career in theatre and academia.

Here's a summary of his background and achievements:

Early Life and Family:
Born on November 4, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio.
His family has a strong musical background; his grandfather and father were founding members of the Shields Brothers Gospel Quartet of Ohio, and his mother was part of the Turner Gospel Singers.
He is a cousin of boxing promoter Don King.
Education:
Graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 1970.
Holds both a BFA (1975) and MFA (1995) from Ohio University.

Career and Contributions
Theatre Professional:
Actor: Has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and in regional productions. His television credits include The Cosby Show, Another World, Guiding Light, Saturday Night Live, and the ITV series Special Needs. He has also appeared in commercials and films.
Director and Stage Manager: Has extensive professional credits in these roles, including projects at Lincoln Center, The Henry Street Settlement House (New Federal Theatre), The Negro Ensemble Company, and The Joseph Papp Public Theatre.
Assistant Director: Served as assistant to Lloyd Richards and assistant director for the New Federal Theatre premiere of Ossie Davis's play A Last Dance With Sybil starring Ruby Dee and Earl Hyman.

Educator:
Professor: He is a Professor of Acting, Directing, Black Theatre, Black Studies, and Stage Management. He has taught at various institutions, including Ohio University, The College of Wooster, Denison University, Macalester College, Susquehanna University (as artist-in-residence), and SUNY Potsdam.
Workshops and Programs: Conducted workshops for Joseph Papp's Playwriting in the Schools Program (PITS) at The Public Theatre for six seasons and represented the United States at the ASSITEJ Theatre Festival in London, England, in 1988.
Artistic Activist and Historian:

Iforcolor.org: Creator and archivist for the Black History website Iforcolor.org, dedicated to preserving and sharing information about African Americans and artists of color. He also maintains the "Black Theatre/African American Voices" website on Facebook.
Project1VOICE Liaison: Serves as the Project1VOICE Liaison for the state of Ohio, directing "One Play One Day" events in Cleveland since 2011.

Awards and Recognition:
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award: Recipient in 2017.
Paul Robeson Award: Recipient in 2021 (jointly presented by the Actors' Equity Association and Actors' Equity Foundation).
AUDELCO/"VIV" Special Achievement Award: Received in 2017.
Tony Award Nominee: Nominated for the "Excellence in Theatre Education Award" in 2015 and 2017.
Ebony Bobcat Network (EBN) Legend Award: Received from Ohio University in 2022.
ENCORE AWARD / The Actors Fund: Received in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024.
Outstanding Professor Awards: Has received two of these and three "Educational Program of the Year" awards as a university professor.
The HistoryMakers archives: Interviewed and included in The HistoryMakers archives, permanently housed in the Library of Congress.
Dale Ricardo Shields is recognized for his profound impact on the lives of his students and his unwavering dedication to preserving and promoting Black theatre history and culture.