THE ORIGINAL” EFFIE” IN SPARKLE’S EXPERIENCE WITH RACISM — A STORY NEVER TOLD.
With the world-wide premiere of the “Sparkle” remake (the last movie featuring Whitney Houston – coming one week from today), I have tapped into the family tree to introduce you to my cousin, Actress Mary Alice.
Mary Alice (most recently known for her role as the Oracle in the ‘Matrix’ trilogy) has had a long and distinguished career. She has won a Tony, an Emmy, and several other distinguished awards. She played “Effie” – Whitney Houston’s character – in the original production of Sparkle!
She has a very interesting story to tell about how Effie’s character was originally going to be shaped in a very different manner from the character you will see in the movie this weekend. THIS IS AN INTERVIEW YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS! Click the player below to listen.
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Mary Alice’s Filmography
| The Education of Sonny Carson (1974) | The Sty of the Blind Pig (1974) |
| Sanford and Son (1974–1975) | Good Times (1975) |
| Just an Old Sweet Song (1976) | Lawman Without a Gun (1979) |
| All My Children (1980) | The Color of Friendship (1981) |
| The Brass Ring (1983) | Beat Street (1984) as Cora Kirkland |
| Concealed Enemies (1984) | Teachers (1984) |
| Charlotte Forten’s Mission: Experiment in Freedom (1985) | A Different World (TV, 1987) |
| The Women of Brewster Place (1989) as Fannie Michael | Awakenings (1990) |
| The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) as Suzie | To Sleep with Anger (1990) |
| I’ll Fly Away (1991) as Marguerite Peck | Malcolm X (1992) |
| A Perfect World (1993) | Laurel Avenue (1993) as Maggie Arnett |
| Life with Mikey (1993) as Mrs. Gordon | Law & Order (TV,1993) |
| The Mother (1994) | The Inkwell (1994) as Evelyn |
| The Vernon Johns Story (1994) | Heading Home (1995) |
| Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995) | Bed of Roses (1996) |
| Down in the Delta (1998) as Rosa Lynn Sinclair | Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999) as Dolores Williams |
| The Wishing Tree (1999) | The Photographer (2000) as Violet |
| The Last Brickmaker in America (2001) | Sunshine State (2002) as Mrs. Eunice Stokes |
| The Life (2002) | Enter the Matrix (2003) |
| The Matrix Revolutions (2003) as The Oracle | What I Want My Words to Do to You: Voices From Inside a Women’s Maximum Security Prison (2003) |
| The Burly Man Chronicles (2004) | The Matrix Recalibrated (2004) |
| The Matrix Online (2005) | Narrator, Crime Scene USA (2000–2009) |
