Mary Alice as The Oracle
Mary Alice is known for playing women of quiet dignity and strength. Television viewers have known her as Fred Sanford’s nemesis sister-in-law on episodes of Sanford and Son and also as the housemother with a past on A Different World. Anyone who has seen her playing wife of James Earl Jones and mother to Courtney Vance in her Tony-winning role in Fences or as the sassy sister in Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters’ First 100 Years on Broadway is aware of the depth of her talent.
Alice has also graced the stage with roles in Trials of Jero, The Strong Breed and No Place to Be Somebody. Her feature film credits began with her debut in The Education of Sonny Carson, and she went on to appear in Beat Street, Teachers, The Inkwell, To Sleep With Anger starring Danny Glover, Awakenings starring Robin Williams, Bed of Roses starring Christian Slater and Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington.
Alice entertained audiences on the small screen by appearing in series such as Oz, L.A. Law, Laurel Avenue, Providence, Touched by an Angel, Cosby, and I’ll Fly Away, for which she earned an Emmy.
Born in Chicago, Alice began her working life as a teacher and began her acting career on stage in her hometown. Eventually, she moved to New York where she studied with Lloyd Richards, who would later direct her in her Tony-winning role in Fences.
Filmography
The Matrix: Revolutions (2003) ... The Oracle
Sunshine State (2002) ... Eunice Stokes
The Life (2002/II) ... Emiline Crane
The Photographer (2000) ... Violet
The Wishing Tree (1999) ... Mattie
Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999) ... Dolores Williams
Down in the Delta (1998) ... Grandma Rosa Lynn Sinclair
Bed of Roses (1996) ... Alice
Heading Home (1995)
The Inkwell (1994) ... Evelyn
A Perfect World (1993) ... Lottie, Mack's Wife
Life with Mikey (1993) ... Mrs. Gordon
Malcolm X (1992) ... Schoolteacher
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) ... Annie Lamb
Awakenings (1990) ... Nurse Margaret
To Sleep with Anger (1990) ... Suzie
Teachers (1984) ... Linda Ganz
Beat Street (1984) ... Cora
Sparkle (1976) ... Effie
The Education of Sonny Carson (1974) ... Moms
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