New Book Released About ALICE TV Show

[Ronny G]

I noticed that a new book about Alice was released earlier this month. It's called, "Alice: Life Behind the Counter in Mel’s Greasy Spoon (A Guide to the Feature Film, the TV Series, and More)" by Barry Putt Jr.
It's available through Bear Manor Media and Amazon.
So far no reviews on Amazon.
Anyone have it or read it, yet, that would like to comment? Is it worth it?
Here's the link:https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Behind-...9&sr=1-2-fkmr0

[Kasey]

I just ordered this. Thanks for the link Ron. Big ALICE fan here and I never even knew this was released. Will post a review once it arrives.

[TVFactFan]

Thanks for the link

[Ronny G]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I just ordered this. Thanks for the link Ron. Big ALICE fan here and I never even knew this was released. Will post a review once it arrives.

That's great! Please let us know how it is. I did read a sample chapter on amazon using the "look inside" feature but it was a chapter about the movie which I never saw.

[rcbrad]

I wonder how comprehensive this book will be? I may buy it, depending on the content. I have read some other TV books from BMM and the books were very detailed and well done.

[TV Guy]

I got the Kindle version. Can’t say I’m impressed. There are no quotes from any of the cast members, nor are there any interesting anecdotes from behind the scenes. It doesn’t touch on any behind-the-scenes stories, like the supposed tension between Linda Lavin and Polly Holliday (and later, Diane Ladd). At one point, it says that Phil McKeon was dropped from the show prior to season two when a new producer came in, but doesn’t say how he was rehired when producers changed again. There’s a pretty dull episode guide and a bunch of quizzes.

[Ronny G]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I got the Kindle version. Can’t say I’m impressed. There are no quotes from any of the cast members, nor are there any interesting anecdotes from behind the scenes. It doesn’t touch on any behind-the-scenes stories, like the supposed tension between Linda Lavin and Polly Holliday (and later, Diane Ladd). At one point, it says that Phil McKeon was dropped from the show prior to season two when a new producer came in, but doesn’t say how he was rehired when producers changed again. There’s a pretty dull episode guide and a bunch of quizzes.

Thanks for the review, TV Guy! I must admit I was a little wary when I saw that the author didn't interview any of the main cast members. That's one of the reasons why I haven't purchased the book. We recently lost Beth Howland and Charles Levin. It would be nice to hear what Linda, Polly, Diane, Celia, and Philip have to say while they're still around. Should be pretty easy to contact them with the internet in this day and age. Who knows? Maybe he did try to contact them, and they just don't want to talk about it! lol
But I really don't want to spend $25 for an episode guide or trivia. I've already printed those from the web.
Does it at least have a lot of nice photos?

[TV Guy]

There aren’t many photos, and the ones that are there are almost all stills from the episodes or the movie (or from the Flo spinoff). The others are publicity shots. No snapshots from behind the scenes.

[Kasey]

My copy arrived this morning and I finished it in about two hours.

If this book had been published 25 years ago I would have been over the moon about it! At the time, retro TV books were all the rage and it seemed like every time I browsed the bookstore, a new one was staring me in the face. Get Smart, Bewitched, The Munsters, Green Acres, Three's Company, etc. all had wonderful tribute books released in the '90s that provided fans with lots of backstage info on their favorite shows, as well as cast biographies and the much-sought-after episode guides. But in 2019, much of this information is easily found on IMDB and detailed fan sites so these types of books have become somewhat obsolete.

I am a big ALICE fan since the CBS daytime reruns of the early 1980s so had to buy this but it really doesn't offer much in the way of interesting anecdotes or new info. The first few chapters focus on the 1974 film ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, which I've seen a few times. I am not a huge fan of the movie so I read this section quickly and wasn't really interested. I was disappointed that only twenty pages or so are dedicated to the "good stuff" i.e. new interesting tidbits of backstage info. **Note: there is NOTHING here about the long-rumored Lavin/Holliday feud or the problems Diane Ladd had on the set, either. So don't expect the airing of "dirty laundry" like in the Three's Company book. There is very little though in the way of backstage gossip. Linda Lavin apparently did not want to participate in the elaborate stunt in "Good Buddy Flo" where the truck crashes into the diner, so Madelyn Davis offered to stand in (wouldn't there be Union rules about this?) but Linda changed her mind at the last minute. Also, Vic Tayback had trouble remembering his lines, so he wrote them on the fruit and the hamburger buns (Estelle Getty adopted this sneaky practice later in The Golden Girls). The German shepherd used in one episode was originally supposed to be a Doberman with false teeth inserted to make it look more vicious.


Not much else in the way of backstage info, and the book devotes 50 pages instead to actor and character bios. The episode guide is very basic with production and cast credits, airdates and very brief synopses. There are small notes here and there but most of them just mention every time the boom mic was visible in that given episode. I wish the episode guide had featured more commentary and a critical rating and commentary on each, like in The Lucy Book or Charlie's Angels Casebook. Noting which episodes were classics, average, or duds, and why.


The lack of participation from Linda Lavin, Polly Holliday, Diane Ladd, Celia Weston and Philip McKeon is especially disappointing. The author does not state whether they were approached and declined, but it would have been so much better with their input. Lots of black-and-white CBS press photos are shown throughout, but there aren't any candids included. A book like this needed more input from those who were there to give it more "oomph". Alice had tons of guest stars, from the already-famous to the up-and-coming, like Jay Leno. It would have been nice to hear what some of them were like on the set, like Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. divulged in The Lucy Book.


The book does contain some minor factual errors. Barney Miller (Lavin's first steady TV gig) was on ABC, not CBS like the author states. There are a few other minor typos as well. Otherwise, the layout is attractive, the cover looks great and the type is not so small that aging eyes will have a lot of difficulty reading it. If this were 1994 I likely would have rated this higher, but the lack of cast participation and behind-the-scenes info drag my rating down to Three Stars. The E True Hollywood Story painted a more detailed picture of what really went on at Mel's Diner.

[Ronny G]

Thanks so much for the review, Kasey! I also own the books about Bewitched, Three's Company, and Charlie's Angels, so I know what you mean. They really set the bar high for TV books for the reasons you mentioned.
What about the fan who attended the TV show tapings. Did he contribute any interesting memories?
Also, I've heard that Madelyn Davis story from her own book, Laughing with Lucy: My Life with America's Leading Lady of Comedy. He probably got it from her book.
Looks like I need to seek out the E! True Hollywood Story instead if I want some real information!
Here's an exerpt from Madelyn's book:

[Kasey]

Unfortunately that fan did not have any great stories, except how some of the cast were very polite when they saw the scrapbook he had brought with him to the tapings, and signed it.

[Ronny G]

Originally Posted by Kasey

Unfortunately that fan did not have any great stories, except how some of the cast were very polite when they saw the scrapbook he had brought with him to the tapings, and signed it.

Thanks! I was searching Google, and I think I found the fan's blog page. He talks about attending tapings and showing the cast his scrapbook.
http://alicesitcom.blogspot.com/2012...aped-live.html

Alice Wiki offers some nice info and character biographies:

https://alice-tv-series.fandom.com/w...ce_(TV_series)

[Ronny G]

Originally Posted by Ronny G

Looks like I need to seek out the E! True Hollywood Story instead if I want some real information!

Well, according to this:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E!_Tru..._Reality_Shows, the E! True Hollywood Story never did an episode about Alice, so it must be something else.

[Kasey]

It was either that or True Hollywood Tales--one of those expose type shows. I remember seeing it in the late 1990s and I think I still have it on an old VHS tape somewhere. It was on that show that Diane Ladd first made reference to Polly's sarcastic "Good luck" comment when they passed each other.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I got the Kindle version. Can’t say I’m impressed. There are no quotes from any of the cast members, nor are there any interesting anecdotes from behind the scenes. It doesn’t touch on any behind-the-scenes stories, like the supposed tension between Linda Lavin and Polly Holliday (and later, Diane Ladd). At one point, it says that Phil McKeon was dropped from the show prior to season two when a new producer came in, but doesn’t say how he was rehired when producers changed again. There’s a pretty dull episode guide and a bunch of quizzes.

But we've since found out from Dianne Ladd herself that there was no tension between her and Linda Lavin. At least not enough to cause her to leave the show which is what matters because a LOT of actors don't get along on TV shows but they usually don't quit because of it.