I heard that the First Gladys died suddenly. Does anyone know how and when? Thnks

Originally posted by 60sSitcomFan
I heard that the First Gladys died suddenly. Does anyone know how and when? Thnks

Alice Pearce died in March 1966. I'm afraid I don't have the exact date. There was a rather extensive 2-hour "True Hollywood Stories" about Bewitched in the E! Channel; unfortunately I don't seem to be able to recall Alice's cause of death. (Heart attack, perhaps?)

Alice Pearce died on March 3, 1966 at the very young age of 48. She had been ill with cancer the entire two years that she played Gladys Kravitz.

Info from The Bewitched Book by Herbie J. Pilato.

Thank you for your answers.:wave: :wave:

She had ovarian cancer.

She had ovarian cancer.

You could tell in Alice Pearce's final episodes how the cancer was taking its toll on her. Her physical appearance changed considerably.

Wow, I always assumed she was much older.

This was a perfect example of the power of casting. Alice Pearce on paper was a nosy busybody who always caused problems for the Stephens family. Yet AP made the character lovable and sympathetic as well. Even when she was totally in the wrong, you couldn't help but root for her. Her replacement (Sandra Gould) was fine in other roles I've seen her in, but she was all wrong for Gladys. She was shrill and annoying. Bewitched was wonderful in many ways, but re-casting was not one of them.

Many of us grew up knowing the second Mrs. Kravitz, first. Reason being the b&w episodes were never shown until TVLand came along.

Loved the first Gladys. Her facial expressions were priceless. She was not mean spirited like the 2nd Gladys. She was a great actress.

I read somewhere that Caroline and JFK Jr. were fans of the 2nd Mrs. Kravitz (Gould).

Many of us grew up knowing the second Mrs. Kravitz, first. Reason being the b&w episodes were never shown until TVLand came along.


Actually, it was Nick At Nite in 1989 that brought the Black and White eps of "Bewitched". That is how I discovered the episodes. As an 11 year old, I was excited and would compare the first two seasons with the third. I remember that NAN would only air the lost Black and White shows until October 1991. Then in 1994, the show came back along with the addition of "I Dream Of Jeannie". Bewitched continued to air and then in the late 90's (I think) NAN began airing the later seasons and took break from airing the first two seasons. I recall calling MTV/Nickelodeon and asking if the black and white eps would be in rotation with the color episodes. They did call back and told me the entire series would be in rotation. There were a couple of rotation airings with the color shows and then the Black and White eps were mixed in the later seasons and then in 2000, the show went on a hiatus from NAN but never returned in regular airings but eventually found its way to "Nick At Nite's TV Land" as it ran with all seasons intact. I think it probably had the hiatus is because Hallmark Channel started airing the series beginning in 2000 or 2001 with the first two season being colorized. I thought the colorization was so cool. So, there you have it. My analysis. ;)

Many of us grew up knowing the second Mrs. Kravitz, first. Reason being the b&w episodes were never shown until TVLand came along.
wrong, Nick at Nite showed the b/w ones in the 90s. I remember that was the first time I ever knew there were b/w episodes.

wrong, Nick at Nite showed the b/w ones in the 90s. I remember that was the first time I ever knew there were b/w episodes.


Exactly! NAN began airing the eps in the fall of 89' thru fall of 91' and then again in 94'.

I remember watching in the late 70's/early 80's the b/w episodes. I liked the first Gladys from the first time I saw her. AP made her so funny.

Loved the first Gladys. Her facial expressions were priceless. She was not mean spirited like the 2nd Gladys. She was a great actress.
My thoughts exactly.

I like both ladies but the first Gladys was priceless---a real gem.

I'm in the minority I guess but I like the second Gladys better. I got more used to her I guess. No offence to the original Gladys, she was good too. But the second one was more snoopy and crazy and I thought funnier !

After seeing both versions I grew to like the first Gladys Kravitz better. She wasn't mean spirited and babysat Tabitha. Now, as for Louise Tate I liked the second one better played by Casey Rogers. My favorite Gladys episode is season one's A Vision of Sugar Plumbs. Gladys and Abner take in an orphan for Christmas, it showed that they would have been good parents.

I remember watching in the late 70's/early 80's the b/w episodes. I liked the first Gladys from the first time I saw her. AP made her so funny.


Yep, black & white episodes of Bewitched were definitely in syndication during the mid 70s. I wasn't aware of them having to be be "brought back" from a period of not airing until Nick @ Nite began airing only the b&w episodes ca. 1990.

And yes, Alice Pearce's Gladys is charming while Sandra Gould's is, as somebody once said somewhere on the net, a "shrill shrew".

They were both different-yet I liked both Gladys's a lot. True the Sandra Gould version was a real shrew, but she always got her comuppence in the end-which in a wierd way made the shrewdness kind of comical; you kind of just sat there giggling inwardly knowing she was gonna get slammed somehow--and you were going to ENJOY watching it happen.

Would have loved to see her end up in a funny farm by accident, which would have been true poetic justice- or have Endora or Serena turn Gladys into a cuckoo bird. That would have been a hoot.