Linda Lavin Talks About 'Alice' (2021) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JR1 · 08-30-2021, 11:05 AM

Posted to Linda's YouTube account. Looks like it's from some sort of documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17afvOBl1WQ

RetroGuy2000 · 08-31-2021, 01:44 AM

So cool that she wore her waitress uniform while protesting for equal pay!

tvvideotrader · 08-31-2021, 01:07 PM

It's her part from the recent CNN limited series "History of the Sitcom".

JR1 · 09-01-2021, 09:42 AM

^Thanks for the tidbit.

Alice may not have been a big critical smash (compared to other shows), though I feel it's importance is underestimated. And kudos to Antenna TV for airing it as it does, and for the Labor Day marathons.

TVFactFan · 09-02-2021, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR1

^Thanks for the tidbit.

Alice may not have been a big critical smash (compared to other shows), though I feel it's importance is underestimated. And kudos to Antenna TV for airing it as it does, and for the Labor Day marathons.

Im surprised at the long run on Antenna TV which has been in primetime even before the pandemic and still having marathons

JR1 · 09-26-2021, 09:39 PM

Rather than start a new thread...

Linda L. did an interview with Closer Weekly:

https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/l...ment-on-alice/

The Alice bits:
“Alice represented 80 percent of all the women who work in this country who are single mothers and fighting for equal pay and benefits like health care and childcare,” Linda tells Closer. “My favorite thing about it was that it inspired women to go after a better life for themselves. And over the years, it reached five generations of kids, families and women.”

You starred on Alice for nine seasons. Do you have a favorite episode?
One of the first episodes we did in 1976, which was our first year on the air, was a show where Alice was going to do a commercial for Mel. She thought she’d be all glamorous and singing a fabulous sexy song to sell Mel’s Diner, but instead he put her in a hamburger suit. The source of comedy is thinking you’re going to be on some glamorous train and then finding out you’re the caboose! That was one of my favorites.

How did the cast get along?
We were a family, and a family gets along as it finds out how to balance personalities, needs, desires and egos. A workplace is really all about the production, not about individuals. But we got along very, very well because we lasted for nine years. That’s an unusually long time for a series.

RetroGuy2000 · 09-27-2021, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR1

Rather than start a new thread...

Linda L. did an interview with Closer Weekly:

https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/l...ment-on-alice/

The Alice bits:
“Alice represented 80 percent of all the women who work in this country who are single mothers and fighting for equal pay and benefits like health care and childcare,” Linda tells Closer. “My favorite thing about it was that it inspired women to go after a better life for themselves. And over the years, it reached five generations of kids, families and women.”

You starred on Alice for nine seasons. Do you have a favorite episode?
One of the first episodes we did in 1976, which was our first year on the air, was a show where Alice was going to do a commercial for Mel. She thought she’d be all glamorous and singing a fabulous sexy song to sell Mel’s Diner, but instead he put her in a hamburger suit. The source of comedy is thinking you’re going to be on some glamorous train and then finding out you’re the caboose! That was one of my favorites.

How did the cast get along?
We were a family, and a family gets along as it finds out how to balance personalities, needs, desires and egos. A workplace is really all about the production, not about individuals. But we got along very, very well because we lasted for nine years. That’s an unusually long time for a series.

Thanks, JR1!

The final question/answer is interesting because it's so different from the perspectives of other cast members, and really reminds me of some of Lisa Whelchel's answers about the line counts on The Facts of Life (Lisa said there's "wasn't any counting of lines", but other actors/actresses said the exact opposite). It just goes to show how varied people's perspectives are.

JR1 · 09-27-2021, 07:50 PM

None of the surviving stars were interviewed for the book, though. What were some of the perspectives of other cast members?

RetroGuy2000 · 09-27-2021, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR1

None of the surviving stars were interviewed for the book, though. What were some of the perspectives of other cast members?

Just what's been reported for many years: that there was tension on the set between Linda Lavin and Polly Holliday, and later Linda Lavin and Diane Ladd.

Quote:

Holliday's success on Alice from 1976 to 1980 caused tensions between her and Linda Lavin, the show's star, who bristled at the attention and acclaim given to Holliday. Earning Emmy nominations in 1978, 1979, and 1980, she won successive Golden Globes for best supporting actress in 1979 and 1980.

JR1 · 09-29-2021, 07:27 PM

^Ahh, I thought you meant something other than those pesky rumors.

Didn't the Alice book- which didn't touch on the rumors - sorta-kinda show that, at the least, Lavin didn't force Holliday off the show? (Holliday having a series option since the first season, talks of a spin-off happening as early as the end of season 2, etc.) And then there are the testimonials from Flo co-stars about problems with Holliday (Joyce Bulifant talking about her own experiences, and Lucy Lee Flippin about Holiday not getting along with Sudie Bond.)

With Diane Ladd, given her brief stint, I wouldn't be surprised if there were issues. When getting the gig, Ladd had talked about wanting to have a lengthy run on the show for security, or something to that effect.

RetroGuy2000 · 09-30-2021, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR1

^Ahh, I thought you meant something other than those pesky rumors.

Didn't the Alice book- which didn't touch on the rumors - sorta-kinda show that, at the least, Lavin forced Holliday off the show? (Holliday having a series option since the first season, talks of a spin-off happening as early as the end of season 2, etc.) And then there are the testimonials from Flo co-stars about problems with Holliday (Joyce Bulifant talking about her own experiences, and Lucy Lee Flippin about Holiday not getting along with Sudie Bond.)

Yeah, I was really surprised about Joyce Bulifant's/Lucy Lee Flippin's comments. You'd think after Polly Holliday's experience on Alice she would want a less hostile set for her own co-stars.

Quote:

With Diane Ladd, given her brief stint, I wouldn't be surprised if there were issues. When getting the gig, Ladd had talked about wanting to have a lengthy run on the show for security, or something to that effect.

I never saw any of Ladd's interviews, but her brief run does indicate IMO there were serious problems on that set.

JR1 · 09-30-2021, 08:00 PM

I had a duplicate post; correct one is still here.

(one that says, didn't force)

As I don't think anyone has spoke out publicly about the rumors since the show was on the air- actors or otherwise- we don't really know what the deal was with Lavin and Holliday.

Below is the interview with Ladd when she came on to the show in 1980 and indicated she was looking for a gig that was going to last for a while.

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS198002...-txIN--------1

RetroGuy2000 · 10-01-2021, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR1

I had a duplicate post; correct one is still here.

(one that says, didn't force)

As I don't think anyone has spoke out publicly about the rumors since the show was on the air- actors or otherwise- we don't really know what the deal was with Lavin and Holliday.

I think we may never know.

Quote:

Below is the interview with Ladd when she came on to the show in 1980 and indicated she was looking for a gig that was going to last for a while.

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS198002...-txIN--------1

Oh, wow! Thanks for the link; that's awesome. So the gig really was supposed to last for a while. Instead, she was only there from episode 4-19 to episode 5-17.

JR1 · 10-03-2021, 10:17 PM

No problem.

Yes- something must have soured on Ladd for her to exit the show. Not sure if she ever spoke publicly about the experience, or if there's just "I read somewhere" or "I heard..." instances. The Alice book mentions lack of character development as a reason for her leaving, though there may have been more to it.

As for the other situation, Polly H.'s brief comments in early 1980 addressing the set tensions may be all we ever have on record in terms of the "feud."

08-30-2021, 11:05 AM	#1
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	Linda Lavin Talks About 'Alice' (2021) Posted to Linda's YouTube account. Looks like it's from some sort of documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17afvOBl1WQ

08-31-2021, 01:44 AM	#2
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	So cool that she wore her waitress uniform while protesting for equal pay!
	__________________ The Facts of Life's "Lost Girls" Tribute to Julie Piekarski, Eastland Girl Join "The Group", Sitcoms Online's Facts of Life group!

08-31-2021, 01:07 PM	#3
tvvideotrader Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 23, 2008 Location: Los Angeles,CA Posts: 69	It's her part from the recent CNN limited series "History of the Sitcom".

09-01-2021, 09:42 AM	#4
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	^Thanks for the tidbit. Alice may not have been a big critical smash (compared to other shows), though I feel it's importance is underestimated. And kudos to Antenna TV for airing it as it does, and for the Labor Day marathons.

09-26-2021, 09:39 PM	#6
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	Rather than start a new thread... Linda L. did an interview with Closer Weekly: https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/l...ment-on-alice/ The Alice bits: “Alice represented 80 percent of all the women who work in this country who are single mothers and fighting for equal pay and benefits like health care and childcare,” Linda tells Closer. “My favorite thing about it was that it inspired women to go after a better life for themselves. And over the years, it reached five generations of kids, families and women.” You starred on Alice for nine seasons. Do you have a favorite episode? One of the first episodes we did in 1976, which was our first year on the air, was a show where Alice was going to do a commercial for Mel. She thought she’d be all glamorous and singing a fabulous sexy song to sell Mel’s Diner, but instead he put her in a hamburger suit. The source of comedy is thinking you’re going to be on some glamorous train and then finding out you’re the caboose! That was one of my favorites. How did the cast get along? We were a family, and a family gets along as it finds out how to balance personalities, needs, desires and egos. A workplace is really all about the production, not about individuals. But we got along very, very well because we lasted for nine years. That’s an unusually long time for a series.

09-27-2021, 07:50 PM	#8
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	None of the surviving stars were interviewed for the book, though. What were some of the perspectives of other cast members?

09-29-2021, 07:27 PM	#10
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	^Ahh, I thought you meant something other than those pesky rumors. Didn't the Alice book- which didn't touch on the rumors - sorta-kinda show that, at the least, Lavin didn't force Holliday off the show? (Holliday having a series option since the first season, talks of a spin-off happening as early as the end of season 2, etc.) And then there are the testimonials from Flo co-stars about problems with Holliday (Joyce Bulifant talking about her own experiences, and Lucy Lee Flippin about Holiday not getting along with Sudie Bond.) With Diane Ladd, given her brief stint, I wouldn't be surprised if there were issues. When getting the gig, Ladd had talked about wanting to have a lengthy run on the show for security, or something to that effect.

09-30-2021, 08:00 PM	#12
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	I had a duplicate post; correct one is still here. (one that says, didn't force) As I don't think anyone has spoke out publicly about the rumors since the show was on the air- actors or otherwise- we don't really know what the deal was with Lavin and Holliday. Below is the interview with Ladd when she came on to the show in 1980 and indicated she was looking for a gig that was going to last for a while. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS198002...-txIN--------1

10-03-2021, 10:17 PM	#14
JR1 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 07, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 742	No problem. Yes- something must have soured on Ladd for her to exit the show. Not sure if she ever spoke publicly about the experience, or if there's just "I read somewhere" or "I heard..." instances. The Alice book mentions lack of character development as a reason for her leaving, though there may have been more to it. As for the other situation, Polly H.'s brief comments in early 1980 addressing the set tensions may be all we ever have on record in terms of the "feud."