I don't remember if he left the show or not before 1985.

His screentime was less than what it once was but he was still in the opening credits and appeared in the final episode.

When it premiered in August 1976 for one time only in the pilot, Tommy was played by a boy who wore glasses. I liked Philip better than I did the boy in the pilot.

Originally posted by BravesFan2004
When it premiered in August 1976 for one time only in the pilot, Tommy was played by a boy who wore glasses. I liked Philip better than I did the boy in the pilot.


I never knew that, now i'm on the hunt for the pilot episode

Originally posted by BravesFan2004
When it premiered in August 1976 for one time only in the pilot, Tommy was played by a boy who wore glasses. I liked Philip better than I did the boy in the pilot. He was played by the actor who played Tommy in the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More.

I remember the actor from the movie playing the boy in the first episode. I wonder why they didn't keep him. He was great in the movie.

The movie is awesome in case you haven't yet seen it. One of my favorites. The opening shots where you see the station wagon drifting towards the edge of the road and then back are actual shots from the film. They are funny shots in the context of the film, but not in the opening of the TV show.

As far as your original question, IMDB (Internet Movie Database) has all the info regarding when an actor started and left a series.

Originally posted by rich2
I remember the actor from the movie playing the boy in the first episode. I wonder why they didn't keep him. He was great in the movie.

The movie is awesome in case you haven't yet seen it. One of my favorites. The opening shots where you see the station wagon drifting towards the edge of the road and then back are actual shots from the film. They are funny shots in the context of the film, but not in the opening of the TV show.

As far as your original question, IMDB (Internet Movie Database) has all the info regarding when an actor started and left a series.


I think what i was really asking was how often was Tommy seen in the later seasons instead of when he started and left the series.

In later seasons he was featured a lot less. I think he was going away to school, but I still remember seeing him occasionally.

Maybe they realized he was not a good enough actor when he got older, or maybe he lost interest in acting. I haven't seen McKeon in anything since the show.

i only remember seeing him twice in the final season one was an ep about tommy having a dirinkng problem and he was in the last ep . as for seasons 7 and 8 he seemed to be on about every 4th or 5th ep. but im not 100 percent sure.

From what I heard before in Nancy McKeon's (His sister) interviews..im a very big Nancy McKeon fan by the way lol..she siad he wasn't really that interested in acting anymore and really didn't enjoy it anymore but had a good time on Alice. He also had a talent for directing but Nancy had more than him mainly because she was interested in more things than him..he directed stuff after Alice and was like guest starring a little..but that's it so far..haven't heard from him since like the mid-late 1990's..:wave:

Seeing Alfred Lutter (from the movie) play Tommy in the pilot episode is kind of a shock. His Tommy is gawky and awkward and, frankly, weird. Sure, there are plenty of real-life kids who are like that, but you don't often see them on TV, especially in sitcoms. Lutter's Tommy was an oddball who fit right in with the Martin Scorcese movie. But "Alice" the TV show was a pretty standard sitcom, and the producers made the correct choice, IMHO, in going with Philip McKeon, who was more of an all-American type.