Alice
Alice title card
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Robert Getchell
Starring	Linda Lavin Philip McKeon Vic Tayback Polly Holliday (1976-1980) Beth Howland Diane Ladd (1980-1981) Celia Weston (1981-1985) Charles Levin (1984-1985) Marvin Kaplan (1978-1985)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	202 (List of Alice episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Thomas Kuhn David Susskind
Producer(s)	Warner Bros. Television
Running time	approx. 0:30 (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	August 31, 1976 – July 2, 1985
External links
IMDb profile

Alice is a top-rated American television sitcom series which ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Alice logo. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Robert Getchell is a BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter who was born in Kansas City, Missouri. ... Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt on Alice. ... Philip McKeon (born November 11, 1964 in Westbury, New York) is an American actor, best known for his role as Tommy Hyatt on the sitcom Alice, from 1976 to 1985. ... Victor Vic Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was a New York City-born American actor of Syrian descent. ... Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937 in Jasper, Alabama) is an American actress, best known for her role as Florence Jean Castleberry (Flo) on the television series Alice, and later on her own show, Flo. ... Elizabeth Beth Howland (born May 28, 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actress, best known as Vera on the TV show Alice. ... Diane Ladd (b. ... Celia Weston (b. ... For the actor, see Charles Levin (actor). ... Marvin Kaplan (born January 24, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York) is a character actor and voice artist. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Thomas Samuel Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American intellectual who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the philosophy of science. ... David Susskind (December 19, 1920, New York City - February 22, 1987, New York City, heart attack) was best known as a pioneer TV talk show host. ... Warner Bros. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about a genre of comedy. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Alice is a 1974 film which tells the story of a widow who moves with her young son to Tucson, Arizona to start her life over again, and finds a job working at a diner. ...

Plot

Finding herself an unemployed widow after her husband, Donald, is killed in a truck accident, Alice Hyatt and her young son, Tommy, move out of their home in New Jersey and travel across the country to Los Angeles so that she can pursue a singing career. Her car breaks down in Phoenix, Arizona and she takes a job as a waitress at Mel's Diner. Alice works alongside Mel Sharples (the grouchy, stingy owner/cook) and fellow waitresses (and friends) sassy, man-hungry Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry and neurotic Vera Gorman. This article is about the U.S. state. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Nickname: Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country State County Maricopa Incorporated February 25, 1881 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Phil Gordon (D) Area  - City  515. ...

Principal character Alice Hyatt, played by Linda Lavin.

In the middle of the 1979-1980 season, Polly Holliday left the show to star in her own spin-off series, Flo. In the storyline of Alice, Flo left to take a hostess job in Houston, but then decided to run her own restaurant. Diane Ladd, who received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Flo in the film version (she lost to Ingrid Bergman), joined the cast as Isabelle "Belle" Dupree, a hard-edged but kind-hearted woman who had a past with Mel. In spite of Ladd's Golden Globe-winning performance as Belle, the character never gelled with most fans. It has also been said that Ladd clashed with her co-stars. In early 1981, Ladd exited the series. In the storyline of the show, Belle left to take a job as a backup singer in Nashville. Theater actress Celia Weston then joined the cast as good-natured, boisterous truck driver Jolene Hunnicutt. Linda Lavin from Alice. ... Linda Lavin from Alice. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Media spin-off is the process of deriving new radio or television programs from existing ones (see list of television spin-offs). ... Flo was an American television sitcom series which ran from 1980 to 1981 on CBS. The series was a spinoff for Polly Holliday, whose portrayal of the sassy and street-smart waitress Florence Jean Castleberry (Flo) on Alice struck a chord with viewers. ... Houston redirects here. ... Diane Ladd (b. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA notation) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning Swedish actress. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Celia Weston (b. ...

Jolene's character arrives as she and her male truck-driving partner are in the midst of a disagreement over her partner's unwelcome advances while on the job. Before the episode ended, Mel agreed to hire Jolene "temporarily" to pay for damages she had created, and the character lasted until the end of the series more than four years later. Jolene often mentioned that she was a distant relative of Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg, which was Sorrell Booke's role on The Dukes of Hazzard. Sorrell Booke, portraying the character that made him famous, Boss Hogg. Spoiler warning: J.D. (Jefferson Davis) Hogg (better known as Boss Hogg) is a fictional character featured in the United States television series, The Dukes of Hazzard. ... Sorrell Booke, portryaing the character that made him famous, Boss Hogg. Sorrell Booke (January 4, 1930 – February 11, 1994 in Buffalo, New York) was a Jewish-American actor best known for his role as the heavyset, corrupt politician Jefferson Davis Boss Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard. ... The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985. ...

As the series progressed, it began to focus more on character development, such as the courtship and marriage of Vera and lovable cop Elliot. By the 1984-1985 season, many of the more plausible situations imaginable had been exhausted and Lavin seemed uninterested in continuing the character of Alice (Alice was absent several times in the last year due to Lavin directing a number of episodes or playing another role as Mrs. Walden, Vera's wizened landlady). The storyline began its end in the early summer of 1985, when a country singer Travis, discovering that he's falling for Alice, "kidnaps" her to take her to Nashville, telling her its time to follow her dream and she can do it there. Bewildered at the thought of her dream finally becoming true, Alice agrees, but not without extracting a promise from Travis to drive her back to Phoenix so she can get her affairs in order. This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ...

The series concluded on July 2, 1985. In the last episode of the series, Mel sold the diner and (surprisingly) gave each of his waitresses a $5,000 farewell bonus; Jolene opened a beauty parlor; Vera had become pregnant and planned to be a full-time mother and Alice finally got a recording contract (after nine years of trying to get it) and moved to Nashville.

Mel's mother was played by Martha Raye: she was featured in many episodes, as was Mel's girlfriend Marie. A number of other characters appeared on a semi-regular basis, including Alice's meddlesome mother Mona Spivak (played by Doris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond fame). Several guest stars appeared as well including George Burns, Desi Arnaz, Jerry Reed, Dinah Shore, Art Carney, Eve Arden, and a young Jay Leno who played a motorcycle rider. Martha Raye (August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994) was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. ... Doris May Roberts (b. ... Everybody Loves Raymond is an American sitcom originally broadcast on CBS from 1996 to 2005. ... George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ... Desi Arnaz (born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III) (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban musician, actor, comedian and television producer. ... Jerry Reed Hubbard (born March 20, 1937) is an American country music singer, country guitarist, songwriter, and actor. ... Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994) was an American singer and actress. ... Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an Academy Award-winning American actor in film, stage, television, and radio. ... Eve Arden (April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning American actress, who established a lengthy career as a supporting and character actor rather than as a lead actress due, in large part, to the fact, that while tall and slim, she was not... James Douglas Muir Jay Leno (April 28, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian and television host, who succeeded Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. ...

The diner also had its share of customers, the most frequent was Henry, who was the telephone man and who always talked about his wife Chloe, played by Ruth Buzzi in one episode. Ruth Buzzi (July 24, 1936—) is an American actress and comedienne of theatre, film, and television. ...

As an ongoing gag, the front of Mel's diner was often destroyed, notably by Flo crashing a truck through it, and the girls landing a hot air balloon in the diner, among other gimmicks. Mel was always horrified to see his diner destroyed. Upon crashing through the roof at Mel's in a hot air balloon, Jolene cries, "We went to the bad place and it looks just like Mel's!"

Mel was also a stickler for tardiness. In one episode, Mel installs a time clock and the waitresses outsmarted the time clock with time sheets showing them working long hours and with huge checks to boot, Mel threw the time clock into the trash and didn't fuss about their tardiness again. Another stickler for Mel was the waitresses taking on other jobs, leading to one, or in some cases, all 3 getting fired, but Mel always rehired the waitresses before the end of each episode.

Another early running feature in the show was the popularity of "Mel's World Famous Chili". In a first season episode, a food critic from the newspaper came to visit the diner, but when he ate the chili, he dropped dead. The waitresses and Mel thought at first it was the chili, but actually it was Peking Duck that he ate at a Chinese restaurant. Later on, guest star Art Carney tried to get Mel to give him the recipe but to no avail. The popularity of Mel's Chili ultimately led to an appearance on the Dinah Shore show where Dinah was doing her show from Phoenix, but it led to some bickering among Alice, Flo, and Vera because Mel had to take only one person to help him out with the preparations of the chili, but Mel decided to take everyone along much to everyone's delight. A Quanjude chef slicing roasted Peking Duck Peking Duck, or more accurately, Peking Roast Duck (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), is a famous duck dish from northeastern China. ... Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an Academy Award-winning American actor in film, stage, television, and radio. ... Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994) was an American singer and actress. ...

Flo's catch phrase, "Kiss my grits" was popular at the time her character appeared on the show. According to Polly Holliday, the line was originally written as "Kiss my honeydew", but did not get any laughs. Another catch phrase of Flo's was "When donkeys fly". Mel took on a catch phrase of his own, often directed towards his waitstaff at times of insolence, when he would say "You stow it". Whenever Vera would make one of her dumb remarks, someone was bound to say, "Good Vera." Belle had a catchphrase in "my little voice." A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ...

Ratings

Alice was a modest hit during its 9-year run: here's a list of the show's ratings:

Cast

The door to Mel's Diner. The waitress void was filled by the introduction of Alice Hyatt in the first episode.

• Linda Lavin - Alice Hyatt
• Philip McKeon - Tommy Hyatt (Alfred Lutter briefly reprised his role from the movie but was replaced after the pilot episode)
• Vic Tayback - Mel Sharples (Tayback reprised his role from the movie)
• Beth Howland - Vera Louise Gorman
• Polly Holliday - Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry (1976-1980)
• Diane Ladd - Isabelle "Belle" Dupree (1980-1981) (Ladd played the role of Flo in the movie)
• Celia Weston - Jolene Hunnicutt (1981-1985)
• Martha Raye - Carrie Sharples (Mel's mother) (1978-1985)
• Charles Levin - Elliot Novak (1983-1985)
• Marvin Kaplan - Henry Beesmeyer (1977-1985)
• Victoria Carroll - Marie Massey (1978-1984)

Mels Diner, from Alice. ... Mels Diner, from Alice. ... Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt on Alice. ... Alice Hyatt is a fictional character in the movie Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore and in the subsequent television remake Alice. ... Philip McKeon (born November 11, 1964 in Westbury, New York) is an American actor, best known for his role as Tommy Hyatt on the sitcom Alice, from 1976 to 1985. ... Tommy Hyatt is a fictional chracter in the film Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore and the television sitcom Alice. ... Alfred Lutter (born 21 March 1962) is an American child actor who starred along with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese film Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore. ... Victor Vic Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was a New York City-born American actor of Syrian descent. ... Mel Sharples is a fictional character in the movie Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore and the subsequent television show based on the movie Alice. ... Elizabeth Beth Howland (born May 28, 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actress, best known as Vera on the TV show Alice. ... Vera Louise Gorman-Novak was a fictional character in the long-running television series Alice. ... Polly Dean Holliday (born July 2, 1937 in Jasper, Alabama) is an American actress, best known for her role as Florence Jean Castleberry (Flo) on the television series Alice, and later on her own show, Flo. ... Florence Jean Castleberry , better known Flo, is a fictional character in the movie Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore, the subsequent television series, Alice, and that shows spinoff, Flo. ... Diane Ladd (b. ... Belle Dupree was a fictional character in the television series Alice. ... Celia Weston (b. ... Jolene Hunnicutt was a fictional character in the television series Alice. ... Martha Raye (August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994) was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. ... Carrie Sharples was a fictional character in the television series Alice. ... Charles Levin is an American actor who has appeared in television and movies and on stage. ... Marvin Kaplan (born January 24, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York) is a character actor and voice artist. ... Henry Beesmeyer was a fictional character in the television series Alice. ... Marie Massey was a fictional character in the television series Alice. ...

Theme song

"There's a New Girl in Town", music by David Shire, lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman; performed by Linda Lavin.

Original version

Early to rise, early to bed,
And in between, I cooked and cleaned and went outta my head.
Goin' through life with blinders on,
It's tough to see.
I had to get up, get out from under,
And look for me.

There's a new girl in town and she's looking good!
There's a fresh, freckled face in the neighborhood.
There's a new girl in town with a brand new style,
She was just passin' through,
But if things work out, she's gonna stay,
A while.

(Fum fum fum fum)

Later version

Used to be sad, used to be shy,
Funniest thing, the saddest part is I never knew why.
Kickin' myself for nothing was my favorite sport,
I had to take off and start enjoyin', 'cause life's too short.

There's a new girl in town, 'cause I'm feelin' good!
Got a smile, got a song for the neighborhood.
There's a grace when you stand on you own two feet,
And this girl's here to say with some luck and love, life's gonna be...
So swee-eet!

Syndication

Reruns of the show also ran from June 1980 to September 1982 in daytime on CBS; in syndication on local stations, in the late 1980s on the cable TV network TBS; from the mid-1990s until early 1998 on E! Entertainment Television, and on TNN from late June 1999 to January 2001. The show returned to television on April 2, 2007, airing on ION Television network weekdays at 7:30pm until June 22, 2007. The show will return to ION Television, November 24, 2007, at the same time. For other uses, see June (disambiguation). ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see September (disambiguation). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... TBS also stands for Tokyo Broadcasting System, a Japanese television network. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... E! (Entertainment Television) is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite network. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see June (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... For other uses, see January (disambiguation). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... ION Television is a broadcast and cable television network first broadcast on August 31, 1998 under the name PAX TV (early on in its development, it was called PaxNet). ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... ION Television is a broadcast and cable television network first broadcast on August 31, 1998 under the name PAX TV (early on in its development, it was called PaxNet). ...

The show currently airs for free on the internet on AOL's In2TV service.link In2TV is a joint-service offered by AOL and Warner Bros. ...

DVD

Cover of the six-episode Alice DVD

On June 27, 2006, 6 episodes of Alice were released on DVD as part of the Warner Brothers' Television Favorites Compilation. The episodes were hand picked by fans at SitcomsOnline.com and are as follows: Image File history File links Alice_dvd. ... Image File history File links Alice_dvd. ...

• Alice Gets a Pass, 09/29/76 - First non-pilot episode.
• The Odd Couple, 02/26/77 - When Flo's trailer is stolen, Alice allows Flo to move in with her. Alice finds Flo's habits difficult to deal with.
• Close Encounters of the Worst Kind, 01/22/78 - Alice's use of psychology causes tension among her coworkers.
• Block Those Kicks, 10/22/78 - The waitresses decide to give up their bad habits in order to encourage Mel to give up his gambling habit.
• Cabin Fever, 12/02/79 - The waitresses, Mel and his girlfriend unknowingly book the same cabin during the same weekend.
• Flo's Farewell, 02/24/80 - Flo leaves Mel's diner for a hosting job at a restaurant in Texas.

The Alice sets

The Mel's Diner set made changes over the years; in the pilot the diner contained a blue refrigerator, but in the series the refrigerator was a dirty stainless steel, then later was changed to clean and shiny stainless steel in 1979-81 and much later an even shinier stainless steel refrigerator and better appliances. However, the rest of the sets remained the same.

The men's and ladies' restrooms were confined to one room in 1976-1977. From 1977-1985, there were separate restrooms with "Ladies" and "Men" written on them.

The storeroom was inside the diner where the Men's restroom would later be and said "Private" on it during the 1976-1977 season. The storeroom from 1977 to 1985 was confined to the back of the diner. Here, the waitresses took their breaks, had their lockers, and stored their uniforms. Mel also conducted his business from this space.

In the 1st season the diner was decorated in an Aztec and Cowboy motif to accommodate the feel of Arizona. The diner had a makeover from 1977-85.

The pilot episode was taped at CBS Television City in Hollywood, CA. After that the series was taped at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, CA.

External links

• Alice at the Internet Movie Database