Gloria Foster
Gloria Foster | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | September 29, 2001 | (aged 67)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1963–2001 |
Spouse |
Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001)
Biography
Early life and education
Foster was born on November 15, 1933, in
Foster attended the
Career
Foster began acting on Broadway in 1963.
Highlights
Moving from the New York stage, Gloria Foster started to do roles on the big screen. She was in many theatrical performances and also performed some roles on television.
Her character in both Law and Order episodes, named Satima Tate, was based on the widow of Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz. The first episode, titled Conspiracy (1992), was based on Malcolm X's assassination. Malcolm X was played by Hal Miller. The second episode, titled Entrapment (1997), focused on her character's children's acts of revenge against the people they believed were really responsible. She returned to theatre again in 1995, acting alongside Mary Alice (who was later to replace her in The Matrix films following her death), appearing as 103-year-old Sadie Delany, in Having Our Say, on Broadway at the Booth Theatre, for which she received rave reviews.[10][11] She played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003);[2] however, she died during filming and was thus unable to portray her role in the third film. As a result, Mary Alice replaced her in The Matrix Revolutions and Enter the Matrix.
Personal life and death
Foster married the actor Clarence Williams III in 1967. They appeared on an episode of Williams's television show The Mod Squad that ran from 1968 to 1973; Foster made two guest appearances. The two acted together in a 1964 film, The Cool World. Williams was the one to announce her death in 2001. While Foster did not have many close relatives, she stayed in contact with her Delta Sigma Theta sorority sister, Cicely Tyson. Tyson stated that, although they did not see each other often, their telephone conversations would often last for hours.[4]
Gloria Foster died on September 29, 2001, at age 67. The cause of her death was diabetes. A memorial was held at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on October 15, 2001.[2] Martin Duberman, the author of In White America, told the audience about her 1963 performance that, "she embodied it. At the end of the scene each night, there were tears streaming down her face, her body was trembling, but her dignity was intact ... Foster had to be covered with blankets in order to calm her shaking".[4]
Foster was a lifelong
Filmography
Film
- The Cool World (1964) as Mrs. Custis
- Nothing But a Man(1964) as Lee
- The Comedians (1967) as Mrs. Philipot
- The Angel Levine (1970) as Sally
- Man and Boy(1972) as Ivy Revers
- Leonard Part 6 (1987) as Medusa
- City of Hope (1991) as Jeanette
- The Matrix (1999) as The Oracle
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003) as The Oracle (posthumous release)
- The Matrix Resurrections (2021) as The Oracle (archive footage)
Television
- I Spy (1968) as Shana
- The Outcasts(1968), "Take Your Lover in The Ring", Episode #5, as Sabina
- Mod Squad(1969) as Jenny
- The Bill Cosby Show (1970) as Dolores Winters
- To All My Friends on Shore (1972) as Serena
- Top Secret (1978) as Judith
- The Files on Jill Hatch (1983) as Mrs. Hatch
- House of Dies Drear (1984) as Sheila Small
- The Atlanta Child Murders (1985) (miniseries) as Camille Bell
- The Cosby Show (1987) as Dr. Barbara Bracy
- Separate but Equal (1991) as Buster
- Law & Order (1992 and 1997) as Mrs. Tate
- Percy & Thunder (1993) as Sugar Brown
References
- ^ "Gloria Foster". Social Security Death Index. New England Historic Genealogical Society. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d McKinley, Jesse (October 5, 2001). "Gloria Foster, Stage Actress, Is Dead at 64". The New York Times.
- ^ Gloria Foster as The Oracle - Profile Blackfilm.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Actress Gloria Foster article after her death Archived 2011-05-28 at the Wayback Machine Playbill
- ^ a b Shafer, Yvonne. "Gloria Foster." Performing O'Neil: Conversations with Actors and Directors. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. 215-231. Print] "Performing O'Neil".
- ^ Kosmix.
- ^ Tributemovies.com Tribute Movies
- ^ "Foster, Gloria". Facts On File History Database. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
- ^ Tcm.com[permanent dead link] Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ Gloria Foster bio: The Matrix Actor
- ^ Gloria Foster (1936–2001) Archived 2009-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, Villagevoice.com, Robert Simonson, October 9, 2001.
- ^ An Interview with Gloria Foster, Skip E. Lowe, 1997
External links
- Gloria Foster at IMDb
- Gloria Foster at Find a Grave
- Gloria Foster Biography, UMass.
- Gloria Foster Biography, New York Times.
- Gloria Is The Glory, New York Times, March 26, 1972.