Alice (1976–1985)

A greasy-spoon diner in Phoenix, Arizona is the setting for this long-running series. The title character, Alice Hyatt, is an aspiring singer who arrives in Phoenix with her teenaged son, ... See full summary »

Creator:

Robert Getchell

Stars:

Linda Lavin, Beth Howland, Vic Tayback

Won 8 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 22 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Linda Lavin	...	Alice Hyatt (202 episodes, 1976-1985)
Beth Howland	...	Vera Louise Gorman (202 episodes, 1976-1985)
Vic Tayback	...	Mel Sharples (200 episodes, 1976-1985)
Philip McKeon	...	Tommy Hyatt (107 episodes, 1976-1985)
Polly Holliday	...	Florence Jean 'Flo' Castleberry (90 episodes, 1976-1980)
Celia Weston	...	Jolene Hunnicutt (90 episodes, 1981-1985)
Marvin Kaplan	...	Henry (82 episodes, 1978-1985)

Storyline

A greasy-spoon diner in Phoenix, Arizona is the setting for this long-running series. The title character, Alice Hyatt, is an aspiring singer who arrives in Phoenix with her teenaged son, Tommy, after the death of her truck-driver husband. Alice is hired at a diner owned by Mel Sharples, a gravel-voiced, male-chauvinist fry cook. She works at Mel's Diner as a waitress while awaiting her big break at fame. Alice's fellow waitresses are the raucous, red-headed Flo and the naive, temperamental, less attractive Vera. Flo is later replaced by Belle, a Southern blonde, who is herself soon replaced by the spunky, curly-haired Jolene. Alice and her friends experience several interesting years together at Mel's Diner, which is frequented by quirky truck drivers, repairmen, and other blue collar types and by several Hollywood celebrities, who appear as themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

diner | aspiring singer | spunky | phoenix arizona | waitress | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Imbiß mit Biß

Filming Locations:

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (202 episodes) 30 min (113 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tommy was originally played by Alfred Lutter III, (who played the role in the film). He was later replaced by Philip McKeon, actress Nancy McKeon's older brother. Nancy and Philip Mckeon (I)' acted together on two shows of Alice. Nancy McKeon is best known for her humorous role, on The Facts of Life, as Jo Polniaczek.

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Quotes

Alice Hyatt: Tommy longs for male companionship.
Florence Jean Castleberry: Don't we all?

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Connections

Referenced in Battle of the Network Stars IX (1980)

User Reviews

Watched as a child

This was one of those shows that I watched when I was very young and television was one of my close personal friends.

I have fond memories of this show and actually give it credit for roughing some of the edges on the blade of wit and humor that keeps me armed to this date.

While I look back on the show with very fond memories, lots of laughter, and a certain childhood happiness, I have since found other shows and other things in life that indicate to me that this wasn't really the best show in the world.

I can't see myself watching it anymore, but I want to give it credit for the good times and it's ability to make me happy when I was younger. I agree with another poster who noted that this show was fairly innocent in it's comments and thus would appeal to me if a younger crowd was looking for humor without some of the nasty stuff evident in much of today's media. Give this show a shot if you find a chance.