Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: R.I.P. Linda Lavin (US sitcom "Alice", stage show, etc.)
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 06:50:52 -0800
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 58
Message-ID: <vmgf4b$tip3$1@dont-email.me>
References: <vktg3b$1gumk$1@dont-email.me> <vku71t$1l6a1$1@dont-email.me>
 <vkv0re$1psb2$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Injection-Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 15:50:58 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="788c8069b8573657fccc9aa3045606ce";
	logging-data="969507"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/ZTYn80Bi7SfV+ntHhDEAtaxnMuS1rR7I="
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:hX2pH1mNxKBbw2C2G6wiTjkjAGk=
Content-Language: en-US
X-Antivirus-Status: Clean
X-Antivirus: Norton (VPS 250118-2, 1/18/2025), Outbound message
In-Reply-To: <vkv0re$1psb2$1@dont-email.me>
Bytes: 3539

On 12/30/2024 12:46 PM, Your Name wrote:
> On 2024-12-30 13:26:21 +0000, super70s said:
> 
>> On 2024-12-30 06:54:35 +0000, Your Name said:
>>
>>> Lavin established herself as a beloved character actor with her
>>> decade-long stint on "Alice," the CBS comedy series adapted from
>>> Martin Scorsese's 1974 film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,"
>>> with Ellen Burstyn in the title role.
>>
>> I was always curious why the series, unlike the movie, didn't get into 
>> Alice's personal and home life, it seemed to center exclusively on 
>> happenings at the diner. That must have tested better.
> 
> A single set makes it much cheaper.
> 
> I only saw a few episodes (the usual loud and unfunny American 
> "comedy"), but I seem to recall occasional scenes at her home. They 
> certainly spent almost the entire time at the diner discussing and 
> dealing with their personal life rather than actually serving customers.
> 
> 

I don't remember the show very well any more, but I know I loved 
watching it when I was a kid, and they definitely had scenes outside of 
the diner.  It never occurred to me until now that shows like this 
filmed on a single set to save money.  I guess that was true of most 
sitcoms, even if they did have the occasional away from office/house 
episode.

If you ever get the chance take a studio tour.  Warners is probably the 
best.  You'll get to see some sitcom standing sets.


> 
>>> The series, which ran from
>>> 1976-85, starred Lavin as Alice Hyatt, a widow with a young son
>>> (played by Philip McKeon) who starts life again in Arizona,
>>> where she works at Mel's Diner (whose eponymous owner was played
>>> by Vic Tayback), alongside fellow waitresses Flo (Polly Holliday)
>>
>> "Kiss my grits" was always funny no matter how many times you heard 
>> it. Wonder if she's still around.
> 
> Polly Holliday is still alive. She has done quite a few roles, mainly 
> small ones, since "Alice" and her own short-lived spin-off series "Flo". 
> "Fair Game" in 2010 is her most recent role according to IMDB.com.
> <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0391072/>
> 

I just watched a video about Polly Holliday the other day and was 
surprised by how many movies I saw her in without realizing she was 
"Flo" from Alice.

> Vic Tayback died in 1990.
> 
>