Linda Lavin, while appearing wholesome & very friendly on the show, seems to have been a narcissistic primadonna in real life! It seems both Flo and Belle left because Linda felt like they were getting too much attention.

So Linda ALWAYS felt she had to be the center of attention?? The show was called ALICE so she didn't have to worry about anyone upstaging her because she already had TOP billing!

So Linda probably wanted Vera to be a total dork so Alice would always look superior to her you see??

Linda Lavin was definitely a primadonna, and her tantrums led to multiple cast members leaving the show, but I'm not sure Lavin had anything to do with Vera being so dumb.

Linda Lavin was definitely a primadonna, and her tantrums led to multiple cast members leaving the show, but I'm not sure Lavin had anything to do with Vera being so dumb.

Who else left the show besides Belle & Flo?

Who else left the show besides Belle & Flo?

Weren't those two enough? :eek:

Weren't those two enough? :eek:

True. Some of those cast should spill the beans on Lavin's true nature before they pass.

I don't see why Lavin got too billing anyway. They could've just as easily called the show "Mel's Diner".

True. Some of those cast should spill the beans on Lavin's true nature before they pass.

I think Polly Holliday is too much of a class act to say anything. Even at the time that she left Alice, she'd only says things like, "What's done is done", "It's all in the past", etc.


I don't see why Lavin got too billing anyway. They could've just as easily called the show "Mel's Diner".

The way Linda Lavin handled things wasn't good, IMO. She acted like a diva, and didn't treat her co-stars very well.

I contrast this to Courteney Cox on Friends: going into the show, she was the biggest name, with the other actors being unknowns. She could have acted like a diva. But according to Lisa Kudrow, Courteney insisted that the show had an ensemble cast, and refused to be paid more than the other five main cast members, after that first season. That team spirit helped the show retain its cast over ten years, with no abrupt departures.

Had Linda Lavin been a little more magnanimous, Alice might have lasted longer.

I think Polly Holliday is too much of a class act to say anything. Even at the time that she left Alice, she'd only says things like, "What's done is done", "It's all in the past", etc.



The way Linda Lavin handled things wasn't good, IMO. She acted like a diva, and didn't treat her co-stars very well.

I contrast this to Courteney Cox on Friends: going into the show, she was the biggest name, with the other actors being unknowns. She could have acted like a diva. But according to Lisa Kudrow, Courteney insisted that the show had an ensemble cast, and refused to be paid more than the other five main cast members, after that first season. That team spirit helped the show retain its cast over ten years, with no abrupt departures.

Had Linda Lavin been a little more magnanimous, Alice might have lasted longer.

Last sentence, Alice was on for NINE SEASONS from 1976 to 1985. Nine seasons is a great run for a show. I think the viewing public got tired of the show.

I watched it as a kid, but find the show unwatchable today. Wasn't very realistic. Usually waitresses don't work in the same hash house for nine years. The diner was never that busy where there was a need for three waitresses (watch the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore about what a real diner work looked like, hard, tough work). Celebrities would come and go for some strange reason.

Polly Holliday and Vic Tayback made the show.

The Vera that Beth Howland played was a tad bit different than the Vera that Valerie Curtin played in the movie.

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Movie Vera is more of a slow-witted hippie biker chick who reads a lot of disturbing pulp novels. TV Vera is ditzy, manic, and childlike. In a nutshell, Valerie Curtin's Vera is more of an odd biker chick than a ditzy airhead like Beth Howland's.