Beth Howland (Vera Louise Gorman) 1941-2015 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 05-24-2016, 11:59 PM

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Beth Howland, who made high anxiety an art form as the ditsy, accident-prone waitress Vera Louise Gorman on the 1970s and ’80s sitcom “Alice,” died on Dec. 31, 2015, in Santa Monica, Calif., her husband said on Tuesday. He had refrained from announcing her death earlier in keeping with her wishes. She was 74.

The cause was lung cancer, her husband, the actor Charles Kimbrough, said, adding that she had not wanted a funeral or a memorial service.

“It was the Boston side of her personality coming out,” Mr. Kimbrough said. “She didn’t want to make a fuss.”

Ms. Howland was a modestly successful television actress, with a handful of Broadway credits on her résumé, when Alan Shayne, the president of Warner Bros. Television, began casting roles for “Alice.” The CBS series, based on the 1974 Martin Scorsese film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” required three waitresses for Mel’s Diner, the locus of the action, one of them the high-strung Vera, played in the film by Valerie Curtin.

Mr. Shayne had seen Ms. Howland on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Company,” where, as a nervous prospective bride named Amy, she sang a lightning-fast patter song, “Getting Married Today.”

“Vera was written as a taut wire, ready to go to pieces at any minute,” he wrote in “Double Life: A Love Story From Broadway to Hollywood” (2011), a memoir written with Norman Sunshine. He recalled Ms. Howland, in the musical, “going to pieces in front of the audience’s eyes.”

Ms. Howland won the role, and for nine seasons, from 1976 to 1985, she kept television audiences amused with her wide-eyed, jumpy performances. Asked to describe her character, she told Knight Newspapers in 1979: “Insecure and vulnerable. Probably works the hardest of anybody in the diner. Very gullible, very innocent.”

Elizabeth Howland was born on May 28, 1941, in Boston. She studied dance at the Hazel Boone Studio and, after graduating from high school at 16, headed to New York, where she landed a replacement role as Lady Beth in “Once Upon a Mattress” and a role as a dancer in “Bye Bye Birdie.” She also appeared, alongside Valerie Harper and Donna Douglas, the future Elly May Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” as a dancer in the 1959 film “Li’l Abner.”

At 19 she married Michael J. Pollard, one of the lead actors in “Bye Bye Birdie.” The marriage ended in divorce. In addition to her husband, who played the anchorman Jim Dial on the television series “Murphy Brown,” she is survived by a daughter from her first marriage, Holly Howland.

Small parts on Broadway and in the Off Broadway hit “Your Own Thing,” a musical version of “Twelfth Night,” led to her breakthrough role in “Company” and her tour-de-force rendition of “Getting Married Today.”

“It was a perfect song for me,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 2004. “I’m not a singer, and it has maybe four notes.”

She performed it again when most of the original cast reassembled in 1993 for concert performances at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, Calif., and the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center.

After being cast as the wife of a character played by Bert Convy on an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” she moved to Los Angeles to work in television. She appeared on “Love, American Style,” “Cannon,” “The Rookies” and other shows before taking the role of Vera on “Alice.”

Unlike many actors, Ms. Howland had never worked as a waitress. “But I just kept sitting around coffee shops and watching how it’s done, and now I can carry four dinners,” she told Knight Newspapers.

One of Vera’s most memorable moments on the show occurred a scant few seconds after the beginning of the first episode. A customer’s cheery “Hi, Vera,” caused her to throw a boxful of drinking straws into the air. The freak-out became part of the show’s opening credit sequence.

For nine years, Vera remained overwrought, but changes did occur. Toward the end of the series, she married a police officer, Elliot Novak, played by Charles Levin. In the final episode, she announced that she was pregnant.

Ms. Howland acted sporadically after “Alice” went off the air. She had small guest roles on “Eight Is Enough,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and “The Tick.”

She and the actress Jennifer Warren were the executive producers of the documentary “You Don’t Have to Die,” about a 6-year-old boy’s successful battle against cancer. It won an Academy Award in 1989 for best short-subject documentary.

opus · 05-25-2016, 12:22 AM

RIP

In this day and age, the family managed to keep it a secret for 5 months?

Zoneboy · 05-25-2016, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

In this day and age, the family managed to keep it a secret for 5 months?

That is surprising when you consider the many different ways news can obtained these days especially with social media.

Zoneboy · 05-25-2016, 12:55 AM

Beth Howland

Natalie Cole

Wayne Rogers

Mr. Television · 05-25-2016, 06:35 AM

R.I.P. Beth. Loved her on Alice.

OH Nuts! · 05-25-2016, 08:49 AM

She was great as Vera. R.I.P. Beth

Svenfan1234 · 05-25-2016, 09:02 AM

Unbelievable. May she

I will remember by watching "Alice".

jayman75 · 05-25-2016, 09:08 AM

I always enjoyed her on "Alice" - I was a young kid when that show was on the air, but her wide-eyes and laugh still stick in my mind.

Take a look at this video of Beth from 1970 as she rehearses for the cast recording of "Company" - she sings the fast-paced "Not Getting Married."

Here is a reunion from 1993...

She was a talent!

Retro4Life · 05-25-2016, 02:26 PM

RIP Vera, always enjoyed her on "Alice".

Mr. Television · 05-25-2016, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

RIP Vera, always enjoyed her on "Alice".

I loved it when Mel called her a dingy. lol I sure hope Alice returns to TV soon.

Marvo301 · 05-25-2016, 02:50 PM

I really enjoyed her work as Vera on Alice. In fact Vera quickly became my favorite character.

Beth Howland

AB · 05-25-2016, 04:34 PM

Rest in peace.

Chocolate Moose · 05-25-2016, 04:44 PM

Enjoyed her work. Sorry she's gone ....

biffbronson · 05-25-2016, 10:32 PM

I remember Beth (and her spouses) very well. I hope she's resting in peace.

Yong Fang · 05-26-2016, 01:53 AM

A good thread for general discussion is "Which actor/actress was totally opposite of their most famous character." Beth Howland would rank up there. Very educated, urbane, Northeastern. Nothing like the scatterbrained, dumb woman played by Vera.

In the opening credits, the exploding straw clip is the only one that was used in all of the seasons (like nine seasons) of the show.

My grandmother was named Vera and I only know two characters named Vera, Beth Howland's character and Norm's wife which we never saw.

05-24-2016, 11:59 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,406	Beth Howland (Vera Louise Gorman) 1941-2015 Link Beth Howland, who made high anxiety an art form as the ditsy, accident-prone waitress Vera Louise Gorman on the 1970s and ’80s sitcom “Alice,” died on Dec. 31, 2015, in Santa Monica, Calif., her husband said on Tuesday. He had refrained from announcing her death earlier in keeping with her wishes. She was 74. The cause was lung cancer, her husband, the actor Charles Kimbrough, said, adding that she had not wanted a funeral or a memorial service. “It was the Boston side of her personality coming out,” Mr. Kimbrough said. “She didn’t want to make a fuss.” Ms. Howland was a modestly successful television actress, with a handful of Broadway credits on her résumé, when Alan Shayne, the president of Warner Bros. Television, began casting roles for “Alice.” The CBS series, based on the 1974 Martin Scorsese film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” required three waitresses for Mel’s Diner, the locus of the action, one of them the high-strung Vera, played in the film by Valerie Curtin. Mr. Shayne had seen Ms. Howland on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Company,” where, as a nervous prospective bride named Amy, she sang a lightning-fast patter song, “Getting Married Today.” “Vera was written as a taut wire, ready to go to pieces at any minute,” he wrote in “Double Life: A Love Story From Broadway to Hollywood” (2011), a memoir written with Norman Sunshine. He recalled Ms. Howland, in the musical, “going to pieces in front of the audience’s eyes.” Ms. Howland won the role, and for nine seasons, from 1976 to 1985, she kept television audiences amused with her wide-eyed, jumpy performances. Asked to describe her character, she told Knight Newspapers in 1979: “Insecure and vulnerable. Probably works the hardest of anybody in the diner. Very gullible, very innocent.” Elizabeth Howland was born on May 28, 1941, in Boston. She studied dance at the Hazel Boone Studio and, after graduating from high school at 16, headed to New York, where she landed a replacement role as Lady Beth in “Once Upon a Mattress” and a role as a dancer in “Bye Bye Birdie.” She also appeared, alongside Valerie Harper and Donna Douglas, the future Elly May Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” as a dancer in the 1959 film “Li’l Abner.” At 19 she married Michael J. Pollard, one of the lead actors in “Bye Bye Birdie.” The marriage ended in divorce. In addition to her husband, who played the anchorman Jim Dial on the television series “Murphy Brown,” she is survived by a daughter from her first marriage, Holly Howland. Small parts on Broadway and in the Off Broadway hit “Your Own Thing,” a musical version of “Twelfth Night,” led to her breakthrough role in “Company” and her tour-de-force rendition of “Getting Married Today.” “It was a perfect song for me,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 2004. “I’m not a singer, and it has maybe four notes.” She performed it again when most of the original cast reassembled in 1993 for concert performances at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, Calif., and the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center. After being cast as the wife of a character played by Bert Convy on an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” she moved to Los Angeles to work in television. She appeared on “Love, American Style,” “Cannon,” “The Rookies” and other shows before taking the role of Vera on “Alice.” Unlike many actors, Ms. Howland had never worked as a waitress. “But I just kept sitting around coffee shops and watching how it’s done, and now I can carry four dinners,” she told Knight Newspapers. One of Vera’s most memorable moments on the show occurred a scant few seconds after the beginning of the first episode. A customer’s cheery “Hi, Vera,” caused her to throw a boxful of drinking straws into the air. The freak-out became part of the show’s opening credit sequence. For nine years, Vera remained overwrought, but changes did occur. Toward the end of the series, she married a police officer, Elliot Novak, played by Charles Levin. In the final episode, she announced that she was pregnant. Ms. Howland acted sporadically after “Alice” went off the air. She had small guest roles on “Eight Is Enough,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and “The Tick.” She and the actress Jennifer Warren were the executive producers of the documentary “You Don’t Have to Die,” about a 6-year-old boy’s successful battle against cancer. It won an Academy Award in 1989 for best short-subject documentary.
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

05-25-2016, 12:55 AM	#4
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,406	All died on Dec 31, 2015 Beth Howland Natalie Cole Wayne Rogers

05-25-2016, 06:35 AM	#5
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	R.I.P. Beth. Loved her on Alice.
	__________________ Sonny

05-25-2016, 09:02 AM	#7
Svenfan1234 Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 12, 2015 Posts: 11,200	Unbelievable. May she I will remember by watching "Alice".
	__________________ [

05-25-2016, 09:08 AM	#8
jayman75 I Love the 80s! Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 27, 2000 Location: THE GREAT UNITED STATES Posts: 3,809	I always enjoyed her on "Alice" - I was a young kid when that show was on the air, but her wide-eyes and laugh still stick in my mind. Take a look at this video of Beth from 1970 as she rehearses for the cast recording of "Company" - she sings the fast-paced "Not Getting Married." Here is a reunion from 1993... She was a talent!
	__________________ A fan of quality, classic television comedies and holiday specials... The Wonder Years,The Golden Girls,Burns and Allen, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Are You Being Served?, Family Guy, South Park, Designing Women, Dallas, The Facts of Life, Roseanne, Will and Grace, The Twilight Zone, Original Scooby-Doo, Murphy Brown, The Big Bang Theory... Talk to me about one of these shows, and I'm all yours...

05-25-2016, 12:22 AM	#2
opus VB Forum Superstar Join Date: May 16, 2015 Location: VB Galaxy Posts: 32,542	RIP In this day and age, the family managed to keep it a secret for 5 months?

05-25-2016, 08:49 AM	#6
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	She was great as Vera. R.I.P. Beth

05-25-2016, 02:26 PM	#9
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	RIP Vera, always enjoyed her on "Alice".
	__________________ Alex Reiger :[Trying to convince Louie not to antagonize Bobby] "It's not hard to make people feel bad about their lives. What's hard is making people feel good about their lives."

05-25-2016, 02:50 PM	#11
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,456	I really enjoyed her work as Vera on Alice. In fact Vera quickly became my favorite character. Beth Howland
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

05-25-2016, 04:34 PM	#12
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,428	Rest in peace.

05-25-2016, 04:44 PM	#13
Chocolate Moose Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 21, 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 4,900	Enjoyed her work. Sorry she's gone ....
	__________________ How long a minute is, depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.

05-25-2016, 10:32 PM	#14
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,503	I remember Beth (and her spouses) very well. I hope she's resting in peace.

05-26-2016, 01:53 AM	#15
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	A good thread for general discussion is "Which actor/actress was totally opposite of their most famous character." Beth Howland would rank up there. Very educated, urbane, Northeastern. Nothing like the scatterbrained, dumb woman played by Vera. In the opening credits, the exploding straw clip is the only one that was used in all of the seasons (like nine seasons) of the show. My grandmother was named Vera and I only know two characters named Vera, Beth Howland's character and Norm's wife which we never saw.