Upstaged again: Linda Lavin's death largely ignored due to coinciding with that of Jimmy Carter

[Harry Hollywood]

I had meant for a long time to do a post about the long-running '70s/'80s sitcom Alice, which I know was one of Druff's favorites growing up. In fact, when Druff and I first started texting, Alice was the show he asked me about first, because he had heard I had a close friend who worked on it.

There's no better time than the present to discuss the series, as its star, Linda Lavin, passed away two weeks ago at age 87.

Alice had strange beginnings. It was adapted from the 1974 movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. That by itself is not unusual, as many television series have been adapted from movies (though typically unsuccessfully). The rare thing about this adaptation was the massive change in tone. The movie was a mostly serious romantic drama with a few understated comedic elements. The series was a typical zany '70s sitcom, with relatively few serious moments. Despite the completely different feel, there were many elements which remained the same between the movie and the 1976 series. The movie mostly took place at a greasy 1970s diner in Tucson, while Phoenix was the setting for the series. The cook/owner was named Mel Sharples in both treatments, and played in both by Vic Tayback. Mel also had a similar personality in both. The focus of both the movie and series was new waitress Alice, who joined ditzy Vera and sharp-tongued Texan Flo. Alice had a preteen son named Tommy in both the series and movie, and in fact young actor Alfred Lutter from the movie was awarded the role to reprise it in the series, only to lose it when network execs did not like him. In both treatments, Alice was a singer who was only a waitress temporarily, as she attempted to get her singing career going. One of Jodie Foster's first roles was in the movie, but she did not appear in the TV series.

Take a look at this trailer and you'll get a good idea of the tone of the movie....




Ellen Burstyn, who starred in the movie, had no involvement in the series. The only two actors to have role in the series were Tayback (Mel) and Diane Ladd (Flo in the movie, and Flo's replacement Belle in the series).

So where did Linda Lavin come in?

When the series was developed, Lavin was courted because producers liked her work in a recurring role on detective series Barney Miller. Lavin, who had been acting and singing since childhood, was seen as perfect for the role of Alice, the aspiring singer whose car breaks down in Phoenix, on the way to Los Angeles. Lavin left Barney Miller for this huge career upgrade, where she would not only be the primary star of the series, but also would be tapped to sing the theme.

The 1976 pilot episode was hastily thrown together, and you'll notice in the below pilot that Alfred Lutter (from the movie) plays her son Tommy. The initial opening simply shows Alice and Tommy riding horses and getting ice cream together, and you do not see any of the other cast nor the diner. Lutter was dropped because executives found him too nerdy, and they wanted more of a smart alecky kid who could sometimes act as a foil for Mel. He was quickly replaced by Philip McKeon, older brother of Nancy McKeon. At the time, neither McKeon was famous.




This new opening was created shortly thereafter, once a few episodes had been made and they had scenes for the rest of the cast. It basically tells the story of how Alice ended up in Phoenix and took the job at the diner...





The series had middling ratings in its first year, but it took off in the 77-78 season, finishing 8th overall. This gave Lavin a tremendous amount of clout, and unfortunately contributed to some of the series' decline over the years.

One of Lavin's biggest hangups was the feeling of being upstaged. Not only did this lead to two major cast members departing, but it also caused Lavin herself to develop a bad reputation, and she was not offered starring roles after Alice concluded. In a cruel twist of irony, Lavin passed away on the same day as former President Jimmy Carter, on December 29, 2024. This caused Lavin's death to be virtually ignored, as the nation mourned and discussed Carter. Perhaps her fear of being upstaged was justified, after all.

I will tell you some more details about Lavin and the series in the below follow up posts.

[Harry Hollywood]

I showed you the two season 1 opening songs for Alice. However, I bet you have a different song in your head when you dig in and remember yours days watching it. In fact, you might have many versions in your head of the Alice theme song. Why do you think that is?

Believe it or not, the Alice theme song changed SIX different times in the first six seasons! This was due to one of Lavin's hang ups. She was never satisfied with how the theme song sounded, and demanded the ability to change it at will. Producers allowed her to do it once per year, so indeed she changed it every season for the first six years, before finally settling on a more upbeat one which she did not feel needed further modification. Here are the six theme songs. Picture in your head what would drive a person to keep making these mostly subtle changes from year to year, and you'll get a good idea of what Lavin was like to work with.








The iconic "exploding straws" scene of Vera (Beth Howland) was used for all nine seasons' theme songs, as both Beth and producers loved it. It was the only scene used for all nine seasons of the theme song, and it came from the pilot episode.

Lavin was initially pleased with the casting of her fellow waitresses. Beth Howland was plain looking and was to play the role of a ditzy, childlike character. Polly Holliday, despite being the same age as Lavin, looked older and was playing a character who was supposed to be about a decade older than Alice. Lavin did not have to worry about either of her co-stars becoming sex symbols, and thus felt she was safe regarding being upstaged.

However, Lavin did not expect the "Kiss My Grits" catchphrase of Flo's to catch fire, and in fact it was largely the sassy Flo character which drove the ratings up in the second season.




Lavin slowly felt the show slipping away from her, or so she thought. She had been led to believe that the entire series would revolve around her, and everyone else essentially played supporting roles. Instead, Flo started to get an increasing number of plots written around her, and she always seemed to get the biggest laughs, especially when uttering her signature line.

Lavin complained about this to producers, but this was where her influence ended. Alice was a top 10 hit, and nobody was going to mess with what was working. As a result, the relationship between the two women soured, and there was some fear that Lavin might walk.

Producers told Lavin that they could not tone down or reduce visibility of the Flo character, due to her immense popularity. Lavin at one point responded with something like, "If Flo is so popular, then why not just give her a spinoff and let it all be about her?" This was actually seen as a viable idea, and taken under consideration. It was then decided to go ahead with it, if Holliday were willing. In the middle of producing the fourth season, Holliday was approached with the idea for her own show, to be called Flo. Holliday was a bit nervous, but thought it was a tremendous opportunity, and couldn't turn it down.

The 18th episode of Season 4 of Alice was the backdoor pilot for Flo. Then, in March 1980, Flo premiered....




People incorrectly remember Flo as a flop. It was not. It was an instant hit, and was the 7th highest rated television show during its brief first season.

For whatever reason, CBS had ants in its pants regarding the Flo timeslot. Not only did they change the timeslot for the show's second season, but they switched it 3 more times during that season! This confused many viewers into believing the show had been cancelled, and it finished the 1980-81 season in the 40s ratings-wise. It was not renewed for a third season.

Holliday was not offered her role back on Alice. She was replaced by Diane Ladd, who had played Flo in the movie. Ladd played a new character named Belle, who was also southern, but had the twist of being a past waitress at the joint, who once had a romantic relationship with Mel. Lavin was at first okay with Ladd's casting, happy to be rid of the Flo character. However, she soon grew concerned that Ladd's impressive resume and well-regarded acting skills might again upstage her. The first episode featuring Ladd was a ratings hit, and Lavin's jealousy hit its peak when Ladd won a Golden Globe for her performance on Alice in 1981.

Unlike Flo, the Belle character was nothing special, and audiences were not attached to her. In addition, Ladd was somewhat of a prima donna, and was already clashing with both crew and other cast members. Lavin encouraged producers to fire Ladd, and while they stopped short of doing that, they gently offered Ladd the ability to get out of her contract, which she accepted. In the middle of season 5, in early 1981, Ladd departed. She lasted just 22 episodes.

Celia Weston was then brought into the show to play Jolene, again a southern girl taking the job as the diner's third waitress. By this point Lavin had enough veto power regarding the new character's casting, lines, and direction, thus virtually guaranteeing that no upstaging would occur. Indeed, Weston and Lavin did not clash, and Weston remained until the show concluded in 1981. Beth Howland, who was not seen as a threat by Lavin, lasted all 9 seasons, and mostly got along with Lavin.

The final episode contained a montage of scenes throughout the show's 9-year run. The only character not shown in this stroll down memory lane was Belle. This was seen as a swipe at Diane Ladd, who was strongly disliked by cast and crew by the time she left the show. By the way, did you know that Diane Ladd is Laura Dern's mom? Well, now you do.

[Harry Hollywood]

This external shot of the sign at Mel's Diner is probably memorable to you if you watched the show...




Was this sign really made just for the show's theme song?

Actually, it wasn't. This is a real sign producers found at a roadside Phoenix establishment called "Chris' Diner", and they liked it so much that they asked the owner if they could use it for the show. The owner did them one better. He changed the name to Mel's Diner, and allowed the show to alter his sign to their liking. If you'd like to visit, it still exists:



It's off I-10 on Grand Avenue, and actually has good reviews. The cook won't tell you to "stow it", though, nor will any of the waitresses tell you to kiss their grits.

The Mel's Diner depicted in the show is supposed to be more on the outskirts of Phoenix, implied to be fairly close to Mesa on the east side of town.



All but two of the show's main cast has died. Tayback died at age 60 way back in 1990. He had a fatal heart attack, and his death was unexpected. The next cast member to perish was Beth Howland at the end of 2015. She was 73, and shortly before her death from cancer, she requested that her death be kept a secret for several months. It is not clear why she wanted this, but the promise was kept, and the public was not made aware of her death until late May 2016.

The biggest surprise was Philip McKeon's death in 2019. He was only 55, and the details of his death were very murky. Family reported that he had been "suffering from a long illness". There has been a lot of speculation around Hollywood regarding what really happened to McKeon. One rumor was that the "long illness" was actually AIDS. McKeon had been dogged by gay rumors throughout his career. It didn't help that he never married, never had children, and was never publicly linked to a romantic relationship with any females. Maybe if scenes like this were witnessed in real life, he would not have dealt with such rumors!



While lots of lifesaving therapies existed for AIDS in the 2010s, it is possible McKeon had it for a long time, and it wore down his body. There are other rumors that McKeon's "long illness" was depression, and he committed suicide. This is possible, but I do not have any evidence to support it. Others have said that McKeon's illness might have been some form of addiction. I have to imagine that the cause of death was hidden for a reason. Were it something like cancer, I'm sure we would have heard about it more specifically.

Interestingly, Phil was not the only McKeon to suffer through gay rumors. His sister, Nancy, best known as Jo from The Facts of Life has long been assumed to be a lesbian. This mainly stemmed from the tough, tomboyish character she played. Family Guy even did a gag which implied Jo was intersex...




However, Nancy has been married to a man since 2003. She is not likely to be gay.

Diane Ladd and Polly Holliday are still alive.

[Harry Hollywood]

The plots of Alice got progressively more ridiculous in the later years. Lavin played some very unconvincing double roles, and also wore disguises at times, including once dressing up as a male mobster for a poker game! Eventually the show became less about the diner, and more about a particular gimmick of the week. Many famous guest stars came on the show, and when they did, they were often playing themselves, and the episode would revolve around them.

I want to finish off with the odd story of the death of Charles Levin, who was a recurring cast member near the end of the series' run, and joined the main cast in the final year. Levin played a cop named Elliot Novak, who met Vera at the diner, romanced her, and they got married. In the final episode, it was said that Vera was pregnant with a boy (even though Howland was near 44), and they'd be naming the child Mel.

Levin was the only Jewish main cast member. He is best known for his recurring appearances on Seinfeld.

In June 2019, Levin, then age 70, abruptly vanished. Levin lived in Grants Pass, Oregon, and was in the process of moving to another house in town. His son, who had been in frequent contact with him, called police on July 8, stating that he hadn't heard from his dad in two weeks. He also stated that Levin had a move out date of July 1 from his old place, but did not vacate that property. A search was started for Levin, and four days later, on July 12, his car was found abandoned on an unmaintained county road, which was described as "almost impassable". Levin's beloved pug was found dead in the vehicle, but Levin was missing. Levin last made contact on June 28, when he made a static-filled call to a friend. Levin seemed to be "confused and lost", and then the call cut.

Not long after the car was discovered, Levin's body was found at the bottom of a 30-foot embankment. After his car got stuck on June 28, Levin attempted to go on foot for help, but fell down the embankment and died. Police said that Levin's small car had no business on that type of road, and it was not clear what he was doing there. It's not known if Levin was suffering from any kind of dementia, but again, he was only 70. While some rumors went around that Levin committed suicide, this was debunked for several reasons. First, Levin appeared to be calling for help when he reached his friend right before his disappearance. Second, Levin was unlikely to leave his beloved pug to die of thirst in the car. He obviously thought he'd be back to the car soon. If this were a suicide, he'd have found an excuse to leave the pug with a friend or relative. Third, there was no evidence of any foul play, and Levin's death appeared to be from injuries related to the fall down the embankment.

Some have guessed that Levin was attempting to take a shortcut to get back to Grants Pass, and went on this impassable road.



Be careful out there, and always sanity check your GPS!!

[tgull]

Interestingly, Phil was not the only McKeon to suffer through gay rumors. His sister, Nancy, best known as Jo from The Facts of Life has long been assumed to be a lesbian. This mainly stemmed from the tough, tomboyish character she played. Family Guy even did a gag which implied Jo was intersex...




However, Nancy has been married to a man since 2003. She is not likely to be gay.

Diane Ladd and Polly Holliday are still alive.

Nancy McKeon does not appear to be a lesbian, she dated Michael J Fox and to your point has been married for quite some time. Her brother, Philip from Alice, hosted a radio show near Austin. I actually stayed in a town where he had his radio show from Monday to the following Wednesday so 10 days. I love local radio, listen to it all the time on the internet, and I stumbled on his show while in the car, it was about local events and he mentioned his sister Jo, and the producer played for like 10 seconds "The Facts of Life" theme song. He laughed and said it took him a decade to get that song out of his mind. I googled him when I got back to the hotel and realized it was Alice's TV son, I had no idea Jo(Nancy) was his sister I only listened to the show for a couple days and left the area, but he did not sound sick, and if memory serves me it was near the time of his death by a few months. Ironically if it was AIDS, one of his good friends was Charlie Sheen.

Regarding his sister, Nancy, she played one of the more gruesome characters. She was a battered wife, I can't remember the name of the movie and too lazy to look it up, but the whole movie was her getting the shit kicked out of her and the cops ignoring her pleas. There was one scene where she called the police right before she was attacked by her husband and the cop who was supposed to respond went back to the station first to take a shit. I mean come on. It was like a serious distress call and when other cops said WTF, he was like "nature calls" and just casually walked into the bathroom.

Regarding Alice, she is another Hollywood actress who chose not to have kids. I thought it was odd, she just seemed like someone when I watched the show she would have had a brood. Esther Rolle, the mom from Good Times had no kids either, just weird, here again she looked like someone that would have had like 5 or so. Jennifer Aniston is also another confusing childless cat lady. I get Stevie Nicks, she did so many drugs in the 70s and 80s she probably became infertile.

[BCR]

I hated that show as a kid. People walking around with shirts saying, "kiss my grits." That Flo character was pretty much the only thing that made it successful, and I hated that stupid line. Whole show bored the hell out of me as a kid. I have no idea why someone had the idea to base an entire show around Linda Lavin. She was already 40 by that point, not attractive, and not likeable. Its success puzzled me even then.

I did have a crush on Nancy McKeon when I was like 10. The fat blonde did nothing for me.

[Dan Druff]

Very nice writeup, Harry. More than I expected, actually. I texted Harry when Linda died, and asked if he could do an Alice thread, but I thought he was too busy, and I didn't want to keep bugging him.

BCR, I can explain the appeal of Alice, because I was a fairly big fan of the show, at least its first few years.

Alice had its charm because it projected an earnest, working class vibe. It wasn't a sickeningly sweet show, as much of the humor came from the characters insulting one another. It didn't attempt to teach any moral lesson. One notable episode saw Flo being convinced to get her GED, but having a hard time studying the material. Flo wanted to go out after work and fuck guys from bars (this wasn't directly stated, but strongly implied), and didn't want to be cooped up in her trailer doing homework. Alice "forced" Flo to stay in and do her studying, but at the end of the episode, Flo is seen sneaking out like a teenager and going to meet her latest dude. The viewer came away with the impression that Flo was happy being man-crazy trailer trash, and had no desire to get a GED or become anything more than a waitress. I liked the fact that the show gave zero shits about things like this.

I found it to be genuinely funny, and at the same time semi-authentic. The recurring "customers" were even the type of guys you'd see frequenting a '70s greasy spoon in Phoenix. I just liked the atmosphere it presented, and liked it even more when I re-watched a lot of it in reruns in the '90s. (Unlike "The Rockford Files", I saw much of Alice first run as a kid.)

I do agree with you that it never made a lot of sense to build a show around Linda Lavin. She was not a big star, not beautiful, and already near 40 years old when the series began. Yeah, she could sing, but so what? So could half the actresses in Hollywood. From what Harry posted (and told me years ago), Linda was simply noticed by the right people, who apparently liked her on Barney Miller. Funny how that shit works out. Had she not been on Barney Miller, nobody today would have known her name.

Something I do remember noticing was Philip McKeon suddenly aging between two of the seasons. One day he looked like a kid (albeit a kid older than me), and the next he suddenly looked like a tall young adult. He must have had a growth spurt in between the filming those two seasons, but it was very noticeable to me, especially at an age when I wasn't yet aware that some teenagers have abrupt growth spurts and physical development. I wondered if that would happen to me one day. While I ended up the same height as McKeon (6'2"), I got there a different way -- just growing a consistent 2 inches per year until a relatively late age.

I think Harry might be right that McKeon was gay. I searched the web and found absolutely zero reports of him dating any women -- even on clickbait celebrity gossip sites which list even the lightest rumors of celebrity relationships. How was he not linked to any girls in the '80s, when he was seen as somewhat of a heartthrob, and on a top 10 show? Being gay in that day and age would have been a career killer for someone like Philip, so it would make sense why he kept it quiet. And later in life? Sometimes when you get used to something, you just stick with it. That doesn't mean he died of AIDS (I'm guessing it was something more like drugs/alcohol), but I'd put it as a favorite that he was gay.

[Dan Druff]

I loved this early 1985 TV movie, featuring a pre-Back-to-the-Future Michael J. Fox, and Nancy McKeon. This was the first time I got to see the softer side of Nancy, as she played a nurse without any of the tomboyish or tough girl edge depicted in "The Facts of Life".

As you might guess, Fox and McKeon's characters slowly bond and fall for one another, and end up together at the end of the movie.

Despite taking place on the east coast, it really reminded me of some of the summer camps I went to, and the kids I encountered there. I caught this first run on NBC with my best friend, and we both thought it was awesome. It probably helped that all of the kids were around our age, and the movie was generally aimed at the teen and tween age group.

I did watch it again during COVID, and it actually holds up kinda okay, at least by '80s TV movie standards.

Joe Wright, the main child star of the movie (in what was only his second role of his life), died mysteriously in his sleep at age 39.

This is not the same "Poison Ivy" as the theatrical movie from the '90s, which most people remember for a notable lesbian scene. This movie was very tame, but had a charm to it.