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.
