I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I love watching television. I grew up in a time before cable, before video-on-demand, before streaming services. When I was a kid there were three networks and you watched programs even though you didn’t like them. If you didn’t watch shows you didn’t like, you’d have to do chores, or homework or… God forbid … read a book. One without pictures!
I remember watching Alice from the time it premiered in 1976. I sort-of remembered series star Linda Lavin from a handful of episodes of Barney Miller, a show I watched with my mom and really liked. However, Alice…. I did not like. I had never seen Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the 1974 film on which the sitcom was based. I watched the TV series, but I did not like it.
In hindsight, I liked Linda Lavin. It was the rest of the cast I didn’t like. Everyone, except for Linda Lavin, was a one-dimensional cartoon character spewing the same stupid one-liners week after week after week. The supporting cast was annoying and certainly not funny. There was Flo, the brassy, outspoken redheaded waitress who barked her catchphrase “Kiss My Grits” on every single episode! That was a “thing” in 70s sitcoms. Every show had a character catchphrase that had to be heard on every episode and had to receive thunderous applause for the studio audience. (Think of “Dyn-O-Mite!,” “Sit on it!,” “Na-Nu Na-Nu!” and countless others.) There was Vera, the dimwitted other waitress, whose over the top stupidity would prohibit her from a waitressing job in the real world. There was Mel, the overbearing, angry, sexist owner of the diner, who berated his staff, made lousy food and scowled through every scene.
The storylines were contrived and thin. It was typical 70s sitcom fare, featuring outrageous situations, more outrageous resolutions and terrible acting. But I watched… because I liked Linda Lavin. I kind of felt sorry for her. She was obviously talented, but she appeared to be stuck in a situation that suppressed her talent. At the height of Alice‘s popularity, Linda Lavin hosted a couple of holiday specials and appeared in a few made-for-TV movies. Without the distractions of her sitcom co-stars, Linda’s talents sparkled (after all, she was a star on Broadway prior to he foray into television).
There was another show I felt the same way about — I Love Lucy. Except my feelings were sort-of inverted. I loved everyone in the cast except for Lucy. Coincidentally, Linda Lavin played I Love Lucy writer Madelyn Pugh in the 2021 film Being the Ricardos.
After Alice ended its nine-season run, Linda moved on to other series, though not as successful. She made guest appearances and took small roles in theatrical films. At the time of her death, she had just wrapped up filming on a Golden Girls-like series for Hulu.
Linda passed away in December 2024 at the age of 87.