Does anyone else sort of feel sorry for the first Gladys more than the second? #1 made the character seem almost pitiful, compared to Sandra Gould, who at times got irritating and you sort of felt like 'served her right.' Maybe it's just me, but the second Gladys seemed a little more over the top.

Does anyone else feel this way?

not so much over the top but that she was more of a b**ch--always trying to out poor Sam, all that obnoxious evesdropping, those intrusive none-of-your-business questions. Alice Pearce (God rest her soul) was a much nicer Mrs. K--she just got flustered and confused by the strange goings on--she didn't try to do anything malicious like the 2nd Mrs. K.

I've always said Gladys #1 was more of a friend to Sam and she even babysat Tabitha. Gladys #2 had too much of a high pitched voice, she was annoying and too much of a nosey person. Gladys #1 would have made a great Mom, just look at A Vision of Sugar Plumbs it's one of my favorite Bewitched episodes.

I've always said Gladys #1 was more of a friend to Sam and she even babysat Tabitha. Gladys #2 had too much of a high pitched voice, she was annoying and too much of a nosey person. Gladys #1 would have made a great Mom, just look at A Vision of Sugar Plumbs it's one of my favorite Bewitched episodes.

.....you just gave me an idea for a thread....Thx! :thumbsup:

Glad I could help, LOL.

I also prefered Gladys #1. The second one seemed kind of spiteful to me.

I also prefered Gladys #1. The second one seemed kind of spiteful to me.
I agree. Gladys #2 is especially annoying in the fifth season ep "Weep No More, My Willow". It makes one wish Abner had committed Gladys to the funny farm, after all. Now THAT would've been a great episode!! :rofl: That said, I loved Gladys #1. She was much more confused than malicious, and so endearing. :D

I was just about to start a topic on this but I found this when using the search engine.

I have to say Alice Pearce's Galdys was way better, no question about it. She is just a nosy, confused, and nutty woman, lol. She was downright hilarious. Sandra Gould, on the other hand, wasn't funny at all. She was nosy, but I never perceived her as being nutty and confused. To me, she was an obnoxious woman who looked like she hated Samantha's guts. At least Alice's Gladys never showed hatred towards Samantha. She just thought she was strange because of all the odd things she sees from snooping. It was a shame Alice only lasted 2 seasons, but at least the Kravitz' play a bigger role in the first two seasons. So fortunately, she was in a lot of episodes.

I wonder how Gladys would've been like from Season 3 onward had Alice Pearce lived. She called Gladys her favorite role (and she'd had plenty of roles by that point!). :D

Definitely Gladys #1.The Late Alice Pearce was lovable as Gladys.Gladys #2 was ,to say the least,annoying,and not funny.In third season's "Soapbox Derby",Gladys(Sandra Gould)was REALLY annoying.I don't think if the late Alice Pearce HAD still been alive,her Gladys would have been far more sympathetic and not as snotty.And in third season's "Samantha for the Defense",that snotty DA Hawkins said "That Kravitz woman".If it had been made earlier,he would have referred to her as"Mrs.Kravitz".So my choice is Gladys #1.

The ONLY episode in which the late Sandra Gould as Gladys #2 really was good,was in the really good third season episode "Trick or Treat".In the others,she was very annoying.

Definitely Gladys #1.The Late Alice Pearce was lovable as Gladys.Gladys #2 was ,to say the least,annoying,and not funny.In third season's "Soapbox Derby",Gladys(Sandra Gould)was REALLY annoying.I don't think if the late Alice Pearce HAD still been alive,her Gladys would have been far more sympathetic and not as snotty.And in third season's "Samantha for the Defense",that snotty DA Hawkins said "That Kravitz woman".If it had been made earlier,he would have referred to her as"Mrs.Kravitz".So my choice is Gladys #1.

Oh yeah! She acted like an evil b**ch in that episode. In fact, I was ticked off at her. Alice Pearce never ticked me off. She was lovable and hilarious!!

Alice Pearce never ticked me off. She was lovable and hilarious!!

That she was!! From everything I've read, she was beloved by the cast and crew alike. The articles below prove what a brave and strong woman she was, even battling a terminal illness:

http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/sunshine.htm

http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/lizsaved.htm

And in the episode "I Confess",Gladys #2 said something Gladys #1 NEVER would have said:"I don't believe you",when Samantha and Darrin(Dick York)told her and Abner about Samantha being a witch.Gladys #1 NEVER would have said that.She probably would have said to Abner,"See?I told you!".As I said before,Gladys #2 was just plain annoying,and you could tell she DIDN'T like Samantha at all.Gladys #1,however,DID like Samantha .

From the time Bewitched went into syndication until the advent of Nick-at-Nite, they mostly showed seasons 3-8-----so Sandra Gould was the first Mrs. Kravitz I was aware of. What a joy it was later to see the B&W eps. and see Alice Pearce! :lol:

From everything I've heard, SG was a really sweet lady, but 1) she had a tough act to follow, and 2) she really did play it too obnoxious and spiteful! :(

SG was competent, but AP was one of those incredible character actors that are few and far between!

Another thing was.....I was able to "believe" that Abner and Gladys #1 were a couple, but somehow never could with Gladys #2.

SG looked way too young to be George Tobias' (Abner) wife, and AP didn't. AP & GT really did seem like an old, bickering married couple. :lol: Interestingly enough, Sandra worked as a child actress in some projects with the quite older George and said in the book Bewitched Forever that he and several of the other adult male actors were very protective of her. So there was a past history - it just got lost in the translation once SG took over the role of Gladys.

First, no doubt - something about her acting was great. She really acted the role well and I actually felt sympathetic to her sometimes. She didn't seem quite as "nosey" - she seemed to just fall in to strange situations more often than look for them.

First, no doubt - something about her acting was great. She really acted the role well and I actually felt sympathetic to her sometimes. She didn't seem quite as "nosey" - she seemed to just fall in to strange situations more often than look for them.

She always did seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - to see flying gowns, traffic lights/signs and a British bobby in Sam and Darrin's living room, plus Sam, Darrin and the little boy Michael flying on the broomstick to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. :rofl:

Yes, I find the 2nd one just plan annoying and *extremely* nosey.
Almost at times (or more) that she is at the Stephens' house to just WITNESS some magic.

And I mean that differently then when AP's character would have a cup for sugar and run over when a relative or strange person appeared at the Stephens' household.

Who doesn't love AP's Gladys coming over to ask Sam for a "snoop, er, SCOOP" of sugar? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hmm. I actually thought Alice Pearce’s Gladys was nosier, but she wasn’t malicious about it. She snooped because she thought that there’s something strange going on at the Stephens’ household. She was a harmless snooper. But Sandra Gould’s Gladys, on the other, hand was also nosy, but she did it in a malicious way. She seemed to snoop because she wanted to find a way to get the Stephens in trouble.

Agreed. I felt sorry for poor Abner - he never could take a nap or read his newspaper in peace! :eek: :lol:

I agree with all the posters so far that AP's Gladys was much nicer & less malicious than SG's. A great comparison, IMO, is the 2 eps that recycled the Kravitz' separation, "Illegal Separation" from S1 with AP & "Splitsville" from S4 with SG. In the S1 ep, I felt genuinely sorry for Gladys as she's almost in tears looking at Abner's picture & missing him. This ep also had a nice flashback to when Abner & Gladys met back in college. In the S4 ep, Gladys had become an annoying health nut and was forcing a change in Abner's diet. This ep has no flashback, just some conjured (by Sam) attraction by the local butcher, which makes Abner jealous. I think that Gladys was much more sympathetic in the earlier show and obnoxious in the later show.

^ Agreed!!! :yeahthat

Who doesn't love AP's Gladys coming over to ask Sam for a "snoop, er, SCOOP" of sugar? :lol: :lol: :lol:


love it - OR A "Peek" er, peck of sugar?

Seriously, this is one of the few times that I think a change of actress for the same character has still worked. Actually both actresses were good - and creating very hilarious Gladyses - but I liked the orig. Gladys better - she was nicer. Poor Alice Pearce - God Rest Her Soul - the poor woman was riddled with cancer for much of time she was making Bewitched - I always get sad when I think of her. I especially cherish the eps she was in, knowing how dedicated she was to her craft and to the show.

^ Yes, and she kept her illness a secret from the cast and crew of Bewitched as long as she could. But from what I've read, her co-workers noticed that she was losing weight rapidly and was often fatigued. Yet, she kept working almost until the end. God bless her!!

And,in third season's episode with Dick York as Darrin,when she went over to the Stephens' to show Abner that the "Crone of Cawdor"(the name of the episode,by the way),was an old woman,(she wasn't,but she WAS a 20-year old woman-its sorta complicated-you'd have to see the episode to know what I mean),Gladys #2 barged in,elbowing Samantha in the chest.Gladys #1 would have NEVER done that.As has been said before,Gladys #1 was nice toward Samantha .Gladys #2 was just plain rude with a capital R.

And you could tell that Samantha did NOT like Gladys #2,whereas she DID like Gladys #1,because she said,in third season's "Endora Moves In For a spell",when Gladys #2 called the cops and in the Halloween third season gem"Trick or Treat",when Gladys #2 called the councilman and his aide,"Some more of Gladys Kravitz' handiwork,no doubt!"

All i know is that to have a nosy neighbour like gladys the producers/writers made some excellent scripts for Abner such as chasing Glady's around holding a spoon and bottle of medicine and constantly putting her down for tormenting samantha/darrin :talk:

I agree with all the posts! I wrote about this on another web site when the question was asked 'Who is your least favorite character?"

Gladys #1 was sweet and a bit daffy. She seemed like she had a lot of time on her hands and so she snooped. I think if she had her own kids, she would've been too busy to be snooping.

The way Sandra Gould played her version of Gladys always rubbed me the wrong way. She seemed mean spirited and catty. I love the scene when Serena let her have it. Gladys came to the door ostensibly to borrow a cup of sugar, but it was really to snoop. Serena asked her where her shoes were. Of course they were gone. Gladys screamed and ran away. Loved it.

I agree with all the posts! I wrote about this on another web site when the question was asked 'Who is your least favorite character?"

Gladys #1 was sweet and a bit daffy. She seemed like she had a lot of time on her hands and so she snooped. I think if she had her own kids, she would've been too busy to be snooping.

The way Sandra Gould played her version of Gladys always rubbed me the wrong way. She seemed mean spirited and catty. I love the scene when Serena let her have it. Gladys came to the door ostensibly to borrow a cup of sugar, but it was really to snoop. Serena asked her where her shoes were. Of course they were gone. Gladys screamed and ran away. Loved it.
I also think that Alice Pearce was the best Gladys. She was superb in episodes such as "Abnerkadabra", which really allowed her to shine. Also, the writing in the first two seasons was, in my opinion, superior to the cartoonish later seasons. Sandra Gould to me just didn't have the great scripts of the earlier series.

I also think that Alice Pearce was the best Gladys. She was superb in episodes such as "Abnerkadabra", which really allowed her to shine. Also, the writing in the first two seasons was, in my opinion, superior to the cartoonish later seasons. Sandra Gould to me just didn't have the great scripts of the earlier series.

Great points all around. I totally agree that the writing in the first two seasons was classier, more sophisticated, and wittier than the last six - where it just became more and more cartoonish.

I also give Sandra Gould credit for wanting to play Gladys differently than Alice Pearce did, but she never did get very good scripts. She DID have a great scream, though. One of my favorite moments by her is when she came in, saw Aunt Clara on the stairs with the oversized toy piano, screamed, and threw the cup of sugar all over herself. :lol:

I love the scene when Serena let her have it. Gladys came to the door ostensibly to borrow a cup of sugar, but it was really to snoop. Serena asked her where her shoes were. Of course they were gone. Gladys screamed and ran away. Loved it.

That was indeed a great moment - it never fails to crack me up. :lol:

Yes--I agree with everyone. I'm also trying to picture Sandra Gould's Gladys running across the street screaming in fright. Not gonna happen. She'd be yelling, "Come quick, Abner!"

Gladys #1 was my favorite. Alice made that character her own. She was in several episodes in just those first two years of that show.

Sandra Gould's Gladys was more like a cartoon character of a nosy neighbor. She had sporadic appearances and wasn't even in the final season.

Gladys #1 was my favorite. Alice made that character her own. She was in several episodes in just those first two years of that show.

Sandra Gould's Gladys was more like a cartoon character of a nosy neighbor. She had sporadic appearances and wasn't even in the final season.

According to Herbie J. Pilato's Bewitched Book, Alice Pearce appeared 28 times as Gladys Kravitz in 2 seasons, while Sandra Gould appeared 29 times, only 1 more, over 5 seasons (not at all in Season 8, as you mentioned), so maybe the writers had run out of new things for Gladys to do in later years.

According to Herbie J. Pilato's Bewitched Book, Alice Pearce appeared 28 times as Gladys Kravitz in 2 seasons, while Sandra Gould appeared 29 times, only 1 more, over 5 seasons (not at all in Season 8, as you mentioned), so maybe the writers had run out of new things for Gladys to do in later years.


Thank you for the info. I haven't read his book yet. Gladys is my favorite character on the show. I wasn't sure how many eps each of the two actresses did it just seemed to me Alice's Gladys was making lots of appearances in those early years.... like for every 4 episodes a month Gladys was in two :lol: I was always pleased to see an appearance by Mrs. Kravitz.

I always wondered why the Gladys character became more of a background character after season 2. From season 3 onward the show got wackier and more magical.

She had sporadic appearances and wasn't even in the final season.

Neither was Abner, so it was nice to see them on Tabitha (as well as Dr. Bombay).

And in the episode "I Confess",Gladys #2 said something Gladys #1 NEVER would have said:"I don't believe you",when Samantha and Darrin(Dick York)told her and Abner about Samantha being a witch.Gladys #1 NEVER would have said that.She probably would have said to Abner,"See?I told you!".As I said before,Gladys #2 was just plain annoying,and you could tell she DIDN'T like Samantha at all.Gladys #1,however,DID like Samantha .
But that was just a dream, so it really wasn't Gladys saying that.