My Rant about Gladys Kravitz

[hch]

I could not stand that woman.

She had nothing better to do than to spy on Samantha and Darrin. In every episode, she's always peeking in their windows or creeping over to their place. Doesn;t this woman have a life? Nowadays, Gladys would be arrested for trespassing. If ever darrin needed to put a restraining order on someone, it should have been Gladys, not Endora.

I was just looking at the 3rd season DVd on the episode "Soap Box Derby", she made me so mad when she dropped that heinous charge on that poor boy for recieving "illegal" help from Samantha when in fact Samantha did nothing, expect to magically fix his wobbly wheel and to magically get his father to come see him race. She just cannot face the fact that Jimmy won fair and square against her precious nephew and just needed an excuse to cry "cheater". She wasn't watching the big race at all, she was watching Samantha!

The first Gladys (Alice Pearce) was bad in the fact that she always popped in at unopportune moments (remember the "Abner Kadabra" episode) and she was always asking "Why was this happening?"
The second Gladys was dead hateful of Samantha and always tried to catch her doing something out of the ordinary, even if that meant creeping around the Stephen's place. I mean, that's just plain wrong. If that was my neighbor I would have had a restraining order on her so fast it would make her head swim.

Gladys, Gladys, Gladys, Get a Freaking life and stop bothering the Stephens.

[queenFrostine278]

i agree. she's like a peeping tom...well, peeping gladys. i do not enjoy watching gladys moments, but i am a fan of abner. i think he's great.

[frankenmyrrh]

I don't think you're being fair to the original Gladys. She wasn't a bad person and Samantha and Darrin actually seemed to like her. She was right that something strange was going on, but she wasn't trying to hurt Samantha, she just wanted to find out what was actually going on.

After Pearce died and the new Gladys came in with the new writers, they rewrote the character as a villain. Compare the way Gladys acts in the Soapbox Derby episode to the way she acts in the episode it's a remake of (the Little League episode). In the original, Gladys is just a normal but suspicious person. In the remake, Gladys is just malicious and mean.

So yeah, the Sandra Gould Gladys sucks, but the original Gladys was great and the show really missed her.

[comedyfreak]

Not only that, but the first Mrs. Kravitz also babysat little Tabitha for Samantha. So they did like each other. But I do agree with your rant about the second Gladys hch.

[queenFrostine278]

personally, i'm not a fan of either, though i do like the first one a lot more.

[baronzzz]

Alice Pearce was truly funny as Gladys Kravitz. She seemed more confused than malicious. Sandra Gould version seemed to kind of dislike the Stephens. And the high-pitched shrieking of her lines got on my nerves. Alice Pearce would get into the shrieking a bit but it seemed more natural.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...because Abner gets to balance off her "wild hallucinations" perfectly. He just sits on the living room couch, reading a paper and all that, and he really doesn't care WHAT she tells him just so long as she leaves him in peace. How they stayed married all those years is beyond me! I still like his oft-repeated line, "Gladys, if you had any respect for the neighbors, you'd move".

[EmpressDR]

I recently read a biography on the author of "Auntie Mame," "Guestward Ho!" and the book which 'The Pruitts of Southampton" was based on. Patrick ( Tanner ) Dennis. Alice Pearce was in one of his plays, or perhaps she was one of the actors who posed for a story/picture book entitled "Little Me," [ later turned into a Neil Simon play, which Pat Tanner did not like ].
Tanner says that one day, his elderly dad visited the set, and proceeded to chase Alice around, as he thought she was very sexy!

[CHERISLAND]

I too loved the original Gladys (Alice Pearce)...her Gladys character was far more realistic and easy to like and very sympathetic...I often felt sorry for her at some of the things that happened...do you remember the garage door opener eps when she is so proud about getting one installed in her garage and calls over to the Stephen's just as she drives the car thru the door when it doesn't open and screams! (hilarious) She was always having these unfortunate incidents...or the time that while babysitting at the Stephens she ponders how all the kids could be tied up at the same time (who would have tied up the last child?)- it was Endora of course....And yes, she was actually friends of the Stephens' but just happened often by unfortunate chance to stumble upon magic that her reactions to were hilarious. She was never ever malicious or mean....more confused and I guess "bewitched" by the circumstances she found herself in at times.

Alice Pearce was an amazing actress and did an incredible job of playing Gladys....just to hear her perplexed vocal reaction's or to see her expressions are priceless. I never felt that Samantha at any time had any ill feelings towards her..in fact quite the contrary..many times you could tell how sorry she felt for Gladys when things worked themselves out as it always left Gladys confused.

The 2nd Gladys was like a totally different character who was indeed mean and very nosy and to me, not at all likeable...it seemed often that her sole purpose was to try and catch Samantha doing "something". I understand how it was impossible to replace Alice in the role, but to change the character so drastically...if it weren't for the familiarity of Abner you would think she was a totally new character.

Growing up as a kid , I used to watch Bewitched after school at supper time every day and was only exposed to the color episodes at the time thus the 2nd Gladys first. When I was finally able to see the B&W earlier episodes as a young adult I was amazed at just how different the Gladys characters were and I loved the original one. It's so sad that Alice Pearce was ill and passed away at the end of season two as it would have been wonderful to see her character carry on thru the color episodes as well.

[mstewart]

I did like the first Gladys a lot better. My heart went out to her when she was dying and kept working to nearly the end of the second season.

The second Gladys rubbed me the wrong way. If I had been Darrin and Samantha I would had the police on her tail especially snooping around the property. The worst was the episode #187, Season 6, Tabitha's Very Own Samantha. Samantha should had gone off on Gladys for her snooping and forcing herself on her and Darrin. In School Days, School Daze, Episode #249 Season 8, when Tabitha's teacher wanted her to enter into a special class due to her advancement because of a spell Endora put on her Samantha got pissed off at Tabitha's teacher for barging in. I love her line, "Coming into someone's house uninvited is a thing more courageous than you think." Samantha was livid. I wish she was like that with the second Gladys and teach her a lesson like she did with Tabitha's teacher.

[EmpressDR]

I really like what you have to say, Cherisland. It is well-written, and I agree. I really loved the first Mrs Kravitz. When I was kid watching, I didn't like the second one at all, and you said it perfectly.
It's sad for Alice Pearce that she died, but also sad that Mrs Kraviz had to turn into a meanie. It would've been interesting to see where her character would've gone had Alice lived to continue the role.
I liked the ep where Samantha had to "make" fabulous evening gowns for Mrs Tate and Gladys, and had to snatch designs from a designer who fainted when he saw what his designs looked like on "real" women's bodies, so he ended up designing clothes to fit a "pear shaped" body--that pic of her with the blue dress and parasol you used was the colorized version of the result. It was nice to see Gladys dressed so nicely.

[Jack77]

Have you all gone MAD??? The first Gladys was a freaking paranoid lunatic who clearly had a sickness. She reminded me of Edith Bunker's twin sister! And that's why Abner always made the first Gladys take her medicine. Not only was she annoying but she was stupid & weak!
Now when the lovely & brilliant Sandra Gould took over the role in Season 3, not only did she become that role, but she stole every scene she was in. Yes, she was kind of a threat for the Stephens, but that was the beauty of her, she played the role for what it was, a nosey bitch!
In fact years later, the late Jackie Kennedy would spot Sandra in a department store in New York City & tell her that she was their children's favorite character on Bewitched & they only watched it because of her.

Only Sandra Gould could belt out: "ABNERRRRRRRRRRR!!!! ABNERRRRRRRRRR!!! CUM QUICK!!!" And have you laughing for days! Or how about when she screamed: "TOMMYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" When she sees her nephew's head come off in the 4th season's Halloween episode! PRICELESS...
Sandra was a lovely lady and she is truly missed!

[catlover79]

I agree that Alice Pearce was far and away the better Gladys. She and George Tobias (Abner) were a great team. She was much more confused than mean. Sandra Gould was in a no-win situation. Not only was she taking over from an extremely popular actress who had just passed away (and won an Emmy for the role!) , the character had been rewritten as a vengeful shrew. Plus, she seemed a bit too young to be playing GT's wife. I don't fault SG for any of that, though, and I think she did a good job regardless.

[Tap Dancer]

Like (almost) everyone else, I liked the first Mrs. Kravitz. She was funny. I'm surprised Sam didn't go crazy between Gladys snooping, her mother trying to break up her marriage, and Larry always imposing on her.

[AB]

I liked the first Gladys too and you have to admit she was pretty entertaining to watch.