Mary Alice Smith known professionally as Mary Alice, was an American film, television, and stage actress. Alice was known for her roles as Leticia “Lettie” Bostic on the NBC sitcom A Different World and Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama Sparkle.
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What happened to Mary Alice in a Different World?
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Emmy and Tony-winning actress Mary Alice has died. A spokesperson for the NYPD confirms to NPR that she died of natural causes at her home in New York. She was 85.
She was born Mary Alice Smith in 1936 in Indianola, Miss., and spent several years as a schoolteacher in Chicago before moving to New York to pursue acting full time. In a career that spanned more than three decades, Alice performed on stage and screen, in comedies and dramas.
She won an Obie Award in 1979 for her performance as Portia in Joseph Papp’s Off-Broadway production of Julius Caesar. Her TV credits included Police Woman, Cosby, and Sanford & Son.
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