Mary Alice

Acting

Mary Alice

Born 1936-12-03 · Indianola, Mississippi, USA

Mary Alice was born on December 3, 1936 in Indianola, Mississippi, USA to parents Ozelar Jurnakin (Smith) and Sam Smith. She was an actress, known for The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Awakenings (1990) and Malcolm X (1992). She taught in Elementary School before her acting career took off. When she was still a struggling actress doing stage plays, she made a living doing her castmate's laundry for a salary of $200 a week. She was a lifelong liberal Democrat, feminist, and civil rights activist. Was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2000. She retired from acting in 2005. She died of natural causes on July 27, 2022 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Upon her death, she was buried with her siblings at Oak Wood Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, in regard for her last wishes.

Acting credits

The Matrix Revolutions poster
6.8

The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.

The Matrix Revolutions

2003

A Perfect World poster
7.5

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

A Perfect World

1993

Awakenings poster
7.8

Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

Awakenings

1990

Malcolm X poster
7.6

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

Malcolm X

1992

Teachers poster
5.7

A teacher reconnects with an old student who is now an attorney representing a family who is suing the school for graduating their son who still cannot read or write. Amid the daily chaos of teaching in an inner city school, Alex Jurel tries to decide if he will lie at his deposition to protect the school or tell the truth and risk throwing away his career.

Teachers

1984

The Bonfire of the Vanities poster
5.6

After his mistress runs over a black teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight; A down-and-out reporter breaks the story and opportunists clamber to use it to their advantage.

The Bonfire of the Vanities

1990

To Sleep with Anger poster
6.8

An enigmatic drifter from the South comes to visit an old acquaintance who now lives in South-Central LA.

To Sleep with Anger

1990

Life with Mikey poster
5.7

Michael Chapman, a former child TV star, runs a struggling talent agency specilizing in child acts. When a young girl off the street puts on a real performance after he catches her picking his pocket, he may have just found the next big thing.

Life with Mikey

1993

Bed of Roses poster
5.9

The seeds of love are planted when Lisa, a high-powered investment banker, receives flowers from a secret admirer. But when his fairy-tale fantasies clash with her workaholic ways, they soon find out that sometimes, it's harder than it seems for love to conquer all.

Bed of Roses

1996

Beat Street poster
6.9

An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.

Beat Street

1984

Sunshine State poster
6.4

A woman and her new husband returns to her hometown roots in coastal northern Florida, and must deal with family, business, and encroaching real estate development.

Sunshine State

2002

A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion poster
7.0

Story of Denmark Vesey, who was raised as a slave but bought his freedom. He organized a plot to seize the city and free the black slaves, but this failed and he and others were hanged. Set in Charleston in 1822.

A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion

1982

The Matrix Recalibrated poster
7.0

The making of Matrix Revolutions, The (2003) is briefly touched on here in this documentary. Interviews with various cast and crew members inform us how they were affected by the deaths of Gloria Foster and Aaliyah, and also delve into the making of the visual effects that takes up a lot of screen time. Written by Rhyl Donnelly

The Matrix Recalibrated

2004

Heading Home poster
10.0

A Vietnam War–era drama chronicling the emotional journey of two unlikely friends who form a bond en route to Washington, D.C.

Heading Home

1995

Sparkle poster
7.3

Three sisters start out singing in their church choir in Harlem in the late 1950s and become a successful girl group in the 1960s.

Sparkle

1976

The Women of Brewster Place poster
6.8

A multigenerational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.

The Women of Brewster Place

1989

The Photographer poster
4.8

A year after becoming the toast of New York City's art scene, photographer Max Martin has lost his ability to take a decent picture. On the night before his make-or-break gallery opening, surrounded by the trappings of success but devoid of inspiration, Max embarks on a bizarre trek through the city in search of ten mysterious photographs that could save his career. Shot in brilliant color and dramatic black and white, first-time director Jeremy Stein's industrial New York City is a wonderland, roamed by witches and magical creatures, where survival hinges on the completion of a simple quest. Accompanied by an unlikely crew of strangers he meets along the way, Max trips through a modern-day Oz and rediscovers the easily forgotten value of seeing magic reflected in everyday life.

The Photographer

2000

Down in the Delta poster
6.3

A single mother plagued by alcohol and drug addictions is sent with her children from Chicago to her ancestral home in the Mississippi Delta, to live with her uncle and aunt for the summer.

Down in the Delta

1998

The Killing Floor poster
8.0

During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement.

The Killing Floor

1984

The Mother poster
NR

Paddy Chayefsky's 1954 play set in the Bronx tells the story of a recently widowed 66-year-old woman who seeks a job after 40 years of being a homemaker.

The Mother

1994

Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder poster
7.0

Ray investigates the murder of a judge.

Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder

1995

The Wishing Tree poster
7.5

When her storyteller mother (Mary Alice) dies, attorney Clara Collier (Alfre Woodard) returns to her Georgia hometown and is soon captivated by a local legend of the "Magic Man" (Blair Underwood). While looking for the source of the tale, Clara uncovers suprising family secrets. Czech filmmaker Ivan Passer directs this family drama that delves into the storytelling tradition of the Deep South. Blair Underwood and Helen Shaver co-star.

The Wishing Tree

1999

The Inkwell poster
5.6

The Inkwell is about a 16-year-old boy coming of age on Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 1976.

The Inkwell

1994

The Education of Sonny Carson poster
5.7

A 1974 film based on the best-selling autobiography of Sonny Carson who joined a gang and committed petty crime before being sent to prison. After his release from prison he changes his life.

The Education of Sonny Carson

1974