Alice Pearce

Alice Pearce
As Gladys Kravitz in a 1966 publicity still for the Bewitched episode "Samantha, the Dressmaker"
Born	(1917-10-16)October 16, 1917 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1966(1966-03-03) (aged 48) Hollywood, California
Alma mater	Sarah Lawrence College
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1943–1966
Spouses	John Rox ​ ​ (m. 1948;died 1957)​ Paul Davis ​ (m. 1964)​
Awards	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She was brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town (1949). Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films before being cast as nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in the television sitcom Bewitched in 1964. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series posthumously after the second season of the series. She died from ovarian cancer in 1966.

Early life and career

Pearce was born in New York City, the only child of Margaret Clark and Robert E. Pearce. ^[1] Her father was a foreign banking specialist, and her family moved to Europe when she was 18 months old. ^[2] They lived in Brussels, Antwerp, Rome, and Paris. ^[3] At age nine, she fell off a swing after losing her grip and landed on her chin. This left her with an undeveloped chin. She returned to the United States as a teenager and boarded at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. ^[4] She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1940 with a degree in drama. ^{[1] [5]}

She began working in nightclubs as a comedienne and was cast in the original Broadway production of On the Town (1944–1946). Gene Kelly was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the film version in 1949. ^{[2] [6]} Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike. She was given her own television variety show, The Alice Pearce Show. ^[7] More movie roles followed, and she made appearances on Broadway where she met her husband, director Paul Davis, during a production of Bells Are Ringing . ^[2]

During the 1953–1954 television season, Pearce was seen regularly on ABC's Jamie , which starred Brandon deWilde. ^[7] In 1964, Pearce was originally approached to play the part of Grandmama in the ABC television comedy series The Addams Family . She turned down the part, which went to veteran actress Blossom Rock. Later that year, Pearce joined the cast of Bewitched as the nagging and nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz. Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to the witchcraft she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias) provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. She played the role until her death in 1966 and was replaced by Sandra Gould. ^[8] Pearce was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award for this role. Her husband accepted the award on her behalf. ^[9]

Personal life

Pearce was married twice. Her 1948 marriage to composer John Rox lasted until his death in 1957. ^[4] In 1964, she married stage manager Paul Davis, with whom she remained until her death. ^[3]

Death

Pearce was diagnosed with terminal cancer before Bewitched began. She kept her illness a secret, although her rapid weight loss was quite evident during the second season of the sitcom. She filmed her last episode, "Baby's First Paragraph," on January 21, 1966. Pearce died from ovarian cancer less than two months later on March 3, 1966, at age 48. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea. ^{[10] [11]}

The episode entitled "Prodigy" was filmed June 24, 1965, but it had never aired before Pearce's death. It was chosen to air as the last episode of Season 2.^{[ citation needed ]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949	On the Town	Lucy Schmeeler
	The Alice Pearce Show	Host	Unknown episodes
1951	Lux Video Theatre	Nina	Season 2 Episode 14: "Dames Are Poison"
1952	The Belle of New York	Elsie Wilkins
1953	The Motorola Television Hour	Hagga	Season 1 Episode 5: "The Thirteen Clocks"
	Broadway Television Theater	Miss Dale Ogden Lady Emily Lyons	Episode: The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood Episode: The Bishop Misbehaves by Frederick J. Jackson
1953–1954	Jamie	Annie Moakum	6 episodes
	Take It from Me	Neighbor	Also known as The Jean Carroll Show [12]
1955	How to Be Very, Very Popular	Miss "Syl" Sylvester
	Alice in Wonderland	Dormouse	TV movie
1956	The Opposite Sex	Olga
1959	The Real McCoys	Emmy	Season 3 Episode 4: "Work No More, My Lady"
1961	The Twilight Zone	Mrs. Nielsen	Season 2 Episode 20: "Static"
	The Ann Sothern Show	Ethel	Season 3 Episode 14: "Operation Pudney"
	The Ann Sothern Show	Lahona St. Cyr	Season 3 Episode 25: "The Beginning"
1962	Lad: A Dog	Hilda, the Nurse
	Dennis the Menace	Lucy Tarbell [7]	Season 4 Episode 2: "You Go Your Way"
	Dennis the Menace	Lucy Tarbell [7]	Season 4 Episode 12: "Jane Butterfield Says"
1963	My Six Loves	Bus Driver
	Tammy and the Doctor	Millie Baxter, Nurse
	The Thrill of It All	Irving's wife
	The Donna Reed Show	Adele Collins	Season 6 Episode 12: "A Touch of Glamour"
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Haila French	Season 2 Episode 10: "Good-Bye, George"
1964	Hazel	Miss Elsie	Season 3 Episode 17: "Hot Potato a la Hazel"
	Dear Heart	Miss Moore
	The Disorderly Orderly	Mrs. Fuzzibee, Talkative Patient
	Kiss Me, Stupid	Mrs. Mulligan
1964–1966	Bewitched	Gladys Kravitz	27 episodes
1965	Dear Brigitte	Unemployment Office Clerk
	Bus Riley's Back in Town	Woman Customer / Housewife
1966	The Glass Bottom Boat	Mabel Fenimore	Alternative title: The Spy in Lace Panties
1967	Vacation Playhouse	Music Teacher	Season 5 Episode 2: "My Boy Googie" Aired posthumously (final appearance)

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1966	Emmy Award	Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy	Bewitched	Won
2003	TV Land Award	Nosiest Neighbor

References

1. "Alice Pearce". TV Land. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
2. Misurell, Ed (May 29, 1965). "Her Life Is Filled with Sorcery". Daily American . p. 13. Retrieved July 6, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Finally the Center of Attention". TV Guide . 13 (52): 13–14. December 25–31, 1965. ISSN   0039-8543.
4. Shearer, Lloyd (October 11, 1964). "Alice Pearce: The Chinless Wonder". Reading Eagle . Retrieved September 27, 2014.
5. "Alice Pearce". Daytona Beach Morning Journal . Associated Press. March 4, 1966. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
6. Green, Stanley (1999). Hollywood Musicals Year by Year. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 156. ISBN   978-0-634-00765-1 . Retrieved October 3, 2015.
7. Terrace, Vincent (November 6, 2008). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. pp. 25, 252, 525. ISBN   978-0-7864-8641-0 . Retrieved October 3, 2015.
8. "Sandra Gould Played Gladys Kravitz". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . July 28, 1999. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
9. Handsaker, Gene (May 23, 1966). "Miss Stanwyck, Cosby Are Top Performers". Nashua Telegraph . Associated Press. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
10. "Terminal Illness". The Gettysburg Times . March 19, 1966. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
11. Manners, Dorothy (March 9, 1966). "Alice Pearce Chose Happiness". The Indianapolis Star . p. 23. Retrieved June 21, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
12. Leszczak, Bob (November 2, 2012). Single Season Sitcoms, 1948–1979: A Complete Guide. McFarland & Company. p. 179. ISBN   978-0-7864-9305-0 . Retrieved October 3, 2015.

External links

• Biography portal

• Alice Pearce at the Internet Broadway Database
• Alice Pearce at the TCM Movie Database
• Alice Pearce at IMDb