Alice 

The misadventures and trials of an aspiring singer and her co-workers at a greasy spoon diner.

Creator:

Robert Getchell

Stars:

Linda Lavin, Beth Howland, Vic Tayback

Won 8 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 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 201 episodes, 1976-1985
Philip McKeon	...	Tommy Hyatt 108 episodes, 1976-1985
Polly Holliday	...	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 teen-aged 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 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:

pay phone | phoenix | arizona desert | desert | diner | 

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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 (202 episodes) 30 min (113 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Linda Lavin won a Golden Globe for her performance on this show.

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Goofs

Phoenix, Arizona has some of the highest mean temperatures in the United States. Despite the series being set there, NONE of supporting characters are shown wearing short pants and the cast often dresses as if they were in a more temperate climate even in the middle of summer.

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Quotes

Vera Louise Gorman: [Repeated Line]
[about five seconds after realizing she's in a situation involving her and a motorized vehicle]
Vera Louise Gorman: Wait a minute. I don't know how to drive.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Eegah (1993)

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Soundtracks

There's a New Girl in Town
Music by David Shire
Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman
Performed by Linda Lavin

User Reviews

I thought this was a great show!

I thought this was such a great show. It always made me laugh and I thought that Flo's "Kiss My Grits" was a great line. I might not have enjoyed it had I been an adult when it was on, but I was a kid and I thought it was SO funny. I wish it was in reruns somewhere!! I remember that the cast was great and they seemed to compliment each other because each was funny in his or her own way. Mel was always saying something smart alecky to Vera or Flo or Alice and he had some great lines. I really think that Mel should win a TV Land Award next year for the meanest boss. And this show had the best theme song that is STILL stuck in my head after all of these years. I still remember every word of it to this day.