Known for movies
Short Info
Fact | In May of 1964 Alice had surgery and was already diagnosed with terminal cancer by the time she began the "Bewitched" sitcom in September of that year. She managed to keep it a secret and passed away 1 1/2 years into the series. |
Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Gladys Kravitz on the ABC television series Bewitched.
Pearce was born in New York City, the daughter of Margaret (née McNulty) and Joseph Francis Pearce. She had two brothers, Edward and Joseph Jr. Pearce attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan.
Pearce began her career as a chorus girl on Broadway in the 1930s. She made her film debut in the 1941 musical comedy Too Many Girls. She appeared in a number of other musicals in the 1940s, including Best Foot Forward (1943), Something for the Boys (1944), and Up in Central Park (1948).
In 1964, Pearce was cast as Gladys Kravitz, the nosy neighbor of Samantha Stephens (played by Elizabeth Montgomery) on the ABC television series Bewitched. Pearce appeared in all 164 episodes of the series, which aired until 1972.
Pearce was married to actor Oliver Thorndike from 1940 until his death in 1964. The couple had two children, Timothy and Barbara.
Pearce died of cancer on March 3, 1966, at the age of 48.
Social profile links
Quotes
# | Quote |
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1 | I feel the progress of the disease in my case is unusual because of my mental attitude. I am a supremely happy woman. I have never been beautiful, but I have been blessed with a rich career and the love of two fine men. The strength I have found in the devotion of my dear Paul is beyond measure. |
Facts
# | Fact |
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1 | Biography in "Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties" by Axel Nissen. |
2 | Alice portrayed blind date Lucy Schmeeler in the original Broadway stage version of "On the Town" and reprised her role in the classic movie musical On the Town (1949). |
3 | The network (ABC) broke into the prime-time broadcast of Bewitched (1964) to announce her death. |
4 | In May of 1964 Alice had surgery and was already diagnosed with terminal cancer by the time she began the "Bewitched" sitcom in September of that year. She managed to keep it a secret and passed away 1 1/2 years into the series. |
5 | Met second husband Paul Davis in 1957 when she was appearing in the Broadway musical "Bells Are Ringing" starring Judy Holliday. Alice replaced Jean Stapleton in the show and Paul was the stage manager. |
6 | Star Elizabeth Montgomery and husband/director William Asher helped Alice's husband after her death by giving him a job as a director on the "Bewitched" series. Davis, once a Broadway director, had given up his career to nurse Alice through her final illness. |
7 | First husband, composer John Rox, was a songwriter and stage and film composer who wrote such hits as "It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World." They put together Alice's nightclub acts for such venues as the Blue Angel in New York during the 40s. |
8 | Educated in schools in Europe (Belgium, France, Italy, etc.), she returned to the States at age 15 and eventually attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, graduating in 1940. |
9 | She won a posthumous comedy supporting actress Emmy for her side-splitting work as neighborhood snoop Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched (1964). Her award was accepted by her husband, Paul Davis. Only two years later, Marion Lorne, as delightfully dithery Aunt Clara, also won a posthumous Emmy in the very same acting category. Elizabeth Montgomery accepted the award for Ms. Lorne. |
Pictures
Movies
Actress
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Jamie | 1953-1954 | TV Series | Annie Moakum |
The Motorola Television Hour | 1953 | TV Series | Hagga |
Broadway Television Theatre | 1952-1953 | TV Series | Miss Dale Ogden / Lady Emily Lyons |
The Jean Carroll Show | 1953 | TV Series | The Neighbor (uncredited) |
The Belle of New York | 1952 | Elsie Wilkins | |
Goodyear Playhouse | 1951 | TV Series | |
Lux Video Theatre | 1951 | TV Series | Nina |
On the Town | 1949 | Lucy Shmeeler | |
Alice Pearce | 1949 | TV Series | Host (1949) |
Vacation Playhouse | 1967 | TV Series | Music Teacher |
Bewitched | 1964-1966 | TV Series | Gladys Kravitz |
The Glass Bottom Boat | 1966 | Mrs. Fenimore | |
Bus Riley's Back in Town | 1965 | Housewife | |
Dear Brigitte | 1965 | Unemployment Office Clerk | |
Kiss Me, Stupid | 1964 | Mrs. Mulligan | |
The Disorderly Orderly | 1964 | Mrs. Fuzzibee | |
Dear Heart | 1964 | Miss Moore | |
The New Phil Silvers Show | 1964 | TV Series | Aunt Millie |
Hazel | 1964 | TV Series | Miss Elsie |
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | 1963 | TV Series | Haila French |
The Donna Reed Show | 1963 | TV Series | Adele Collins |
The Thrill of It All | 1963 | Irving's Wife | |
Tammy and the Doctor | 1963 | Millie Baxter, Nurse | |
My Six Loves | 1963 | Bus Driver | |
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | 1963 | TV Series | Ma Baker |
Dennis the Menace | 1962 | TV Series | Lucy Tarbell |
Lad: A Dog | 1962 | Hilda, the Nurse | |
General Electric Theater | 1962 | TV Series | Mrs. Ledbetter |
Look Up and Live | 1961 | TV Series | Miss Flip |
The Ann Sothern Show | 1961 | TV Series | Lahona St Cyr / Ethel |
Shirley Temple's Storybook | 1960-1961 | TV Series | Goblin Queen / Rebecca |
The Twilight Zone | 1961 | TV Series | Mrs. Nielson |
A Christmas Festival | 1959 | TV Movie | Miss Talmay |
The Real McCoys | 1959 | TV Series | Emmy |
The Opposite Sex | 1956 | Olga | |
Kraft Theatre | 1955 | TV Series | |
Alice in Wonderland | 1955 | TV Movie | Dormouse |
How to Be Very, Very Popular | 1955 | Miss 'Syl' Sylvester | |
Studio One in Hollywood | 1955 | TV Series | Regina |
The Goldbergs | 1955 | TV Series | Beatrice |
The Man Behind the Badge | 1954 | TV Series |
Soundtrack
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Up All Night | 2015/II | Short performer: "Close the Door" | |
Bewitched | 1964-1965 | TV Series performer - 2 episodes | |
The Belle of New York | 1952 | performer: "Let a Little Love Come In", "Naughty but Nice" - uncredited | |
On the Town | 1949 | performer: "Count on Me" - uncredited |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Girl Talk | 1966 | TV Series | Herself |
The Jack Paar Tonight Show | 1957-1960 | TV Series | Herself |
Startime | 1960 | TV Series | Herself |
The Patrice Munsel Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself |
The Frank Sinatra Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself |
The Ed Sullivan Show | 1950-1955 | TV Series | Herself |
One Minute Please | 1954 | TV Series | Herself / panelist |
Wonderful Town, U.S.A. | 1951 | TV Series | Herself |
Texaco Star Theatre | 1950 | TV Series | Herself / Herself - Comic Actress |
Van Camp's Little Show | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
Cavalcade of Stars | 1949 | TV Series | Herself |
The Meredith Willson Show | 1949 | TV Series | Herself - Comedian |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
TV's All-Time Funniest: A Paley Center for Media Special | 2008 | TV Special | Herself |
Bewitched: The Magic Unveiled | 2005 | Video short | Gladys Kravitz |
The Fifties | 1997 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself (in girdle ad) (uncredited) |
Bewitched | 1965 | TV Series | Gladys Kravitz |
Awards
Won Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | TV Land Award | TV Land Awards | Neighbor You Try to Avoid | Bewitched (1964) |
2005 | TV Land Award | TV Land Awards | Favorite Nosy Neighbor | Bewitched (1964) |
2003 | TV Land Award | TV Land Awards | Nosiest Neighbor | Bewitched (1964) |
1966 | Primetime Emmy | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy | Bewitched (1964) |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia