Mary Alice passed away. After the death of Gloria Foster in 2001, Alice took over the role of the oracle in The Matrix Revolutions, a role she has reprised many times. A veteran of the stage, Alice originated the role of Rose in August Wilson's Fences, scoring the Tony for Best Supporting Actress in 1987. The NYPD stated today that she died in her New York City home at the age of 85. Alice was born in Mississippi as Mary Alice Smith and spent the rest of her life on the stage. She received two nominations and a win for her work in I'll Fly Away.
In 1976, Alice co-stars in the musical drama Sparkle, playing the mother of rising musicians, and she also had small roles in other films. The Matrix Revolutions, which Alice resisted the urge to impersonate, is one of the credits.
In a 2002 interview with blackfilm.com, Alice talked about her decision to take a break from work in the 2000s. Alice talked about Hollywood's tendency to place Black women in roles of "wise and nurturing" mother figures in an interview she gave from Australia where she was filming Revolutions.
When you know how to do something well, nobody can take that away from you. They may not give you a job, but they cannot take away from you what you can do. And that is something that can see you through the bad times as well as the good times and keep you going because this is a business that is full of discouragement. So you need something within you that no one else can give you and no one else can take away from you to keep you going.
In 2005, Alice stopped acting.
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