Mary Alice, award-winning actor from ‘A Different World’ and ‘Sparkle,’ dies at 85

Mary Alice, the Tony- and Emmy-winning actor known for memorable roles in “Fences,” “Sparkle” and “A Different World,” has died at age 85.

The celebrated performer died Wednesday in her New York City apartment, the NYPD confirmed Thursday to the Los Angeles Times. B. Scott of the blog LoveBScott.com first reported Alice’s death. (NYPD said Alice was 85, but some outlets said she was 84.) No cause of death was given.

In the hit NBC sitcom “A Different World” (1987-1993), Alice played Leticia “Lettie” Bostic, a dorm director at a fictional historically Black college in Virginia. In the musical drama “Sparkle” (1976), Alice portrayed Effie Williams, the single mother of the primary trio of sisters modeled after the Supremes.

Other notable film and TV credits on Alice’s resume include “The Matrix Resurrections” (2003), “Awakenings” (1990), “To Sleep With Anger” (1990), “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990), “The Women of Brewster Place” (1988), “Oz” (2002) and “I’ll Fly Away,” a ‘90s TV drama set in Atlanta during the civil rights movement.

Alice was nominated for supporting actress in a drama series for her turn as Marguerite Peck in the TV series “I’ll Fly Away” at the 1992 Emmys before winning the award for the same part in 1993.

Onstage, Alice appeared in several Broadway productions, including “Having Our Say” (1995), “The Shadow Box” (1994), “Fences” (1987) and “No Place to Be Somebody” (1971). She won a Tony for featured actress in a play for her portrayal of Rose Maxson opposite James Earl Jones’ Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s “Fences.”

Years later, Alice landed another Tony nomination — this time for best actress in a play, for her performance as Dr. Bessie Delaney in “Having Our Say.” She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2000.

Tributes to Alice began to stream in on social media as news of her death spread Thursday.

“RIP Mary Alice…the original Rose Maxson,” tweeted Viola Davis, who later portrayed the same character in the 2016 film adaptation of “Fences.” “You were one of the greatest actresses of all time!! Thank you for the work, inspiration and thank you for Rose. Godspeed Queen.”

Fellow actor Colman Domingo also paid his respects.

“A shoulder we all stood on. A round of applause for Mary Alice,” he tweeted. “Thank you legend. Rest Easy.”

“We celebrate the life of a truly inspirational talent,” tweeted the official account of the NAACP. “The legacy will live on as new doors for Black actors and actresses are unlocked and new experiences are revealed for generations to come because of the example that was set by one. Take your bow, Mary Alice.”