Beth Howland

Beth Howland
Howland as Vera in Alice (1976)
Born	Elizabeth Howland (1941-05-28)May 28, 1941 Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	December 31, 2015(2015-12-31) (aged 74) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1959–2002
Known for	Alice Company
Spouses	Michael J. Pollard ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 1969)​ Charles Kimbrough ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	1

Elizabeth Howland^[1] (May 28, 1941 – December 31, 2015)^[2] was an American actress known for her work on stage and television. She was best known for playing waitress Vera Gorman in the sitcom Alice.^[3]

Howland originated the role of Amy in the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim's Company, where she introduced the patter song "Getting Married Today".^[4]

Early life

Howland was born on May 28, 1941, in Brighton, Massachusetts. At the age of 16, she left home to follow a dancer friend to New York City.^[5] After some time of struggling, Howland made her Broadway debut in 1959 as Lady Beth in the musical Once Upon a Mattress, which transferred from Off-Broadway. She went on to have roles in the musicals Bye Bye Birdie, High Spirits, Drat! The Cat!, and Darling of the Day.^[6]

Career

Howland in Li'l Abner (1959)

Howland can be seen dancing and singing in the chorus of the movie Li'l Abner (1959) as Clem's wife, alongside future television star Valerie Harper.^[5] After appearing in Company, she left New York to relocate to California,^[7] where she made guest appearances on television series such as Love, American Style, Cannon, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Little House on the Prairie, Eight Is Enough, and The Love Boat.^[8][9] For her work on Alice, Howland received four Golden Globe Award nominations. She later took on numerous telefilm roles, including You Can't Take It with You (as Essie) and A Caribbean Mystery.^[10]

She remained on Alice throughout its nine seasons. After the sitcom ended in 1985, Howland went into semi-retirement. She made occasional guest appearances in shows including Murder, She Wrote, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and The Tick.^[11] She also starred in the ABC Afterschool Special, "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me".^[12][13]

Personal life

From 1961 to 1969, Howland was married to actor Michael J. Pollard, with whom she had a daughter.^[14]

In 2002, she wed actor Charles Kimbrough and remained married to him until her death in 2015. Kimbrough and Howland had appeared together in Company.^[15]

Death

Howland died of lung cancer on December 31, 2015, at the age of 74. Per her request, her death was not reported to the media until May 24, 2016.^[1]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Li'l Abner	Clem's wife	Uncredited Musical film based on the comic strip of the same name, created by Al Capp, and the successful Broadway musical of the same name that opened in 1956. The film was produced by Norman Panama and directed by Melvin Frank.[16]
1970	Original Cast Album: Company	Herself / Amy	Documentary film by D. A. Pennebaker, observing the marathon recording session to create the original cast album for the Stephen Sondheim musical Company.
1972	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	Linda Foster	Episode: "Have I Found a Guy for You" (S 3:Ep 10)
1973	The Ted Bessell Show	Margaret	Made-for-TV movie directed by Bill Persky.[17]
	Love, American Style	Rita	Episode: "Love and Carmen Lopez/Love and the Cover/Love and the Cryin' Cowboy" (S 5:Ep 13)
1974	Thunderbolt and Lightfoot	Vault Manager's Wife	Uncredited Crime film written and directed by Michael Cimino.[18]
1975	Cannon	Secretary	Episode: "Nightmare" (S 5:Ep 1)
	The Rookies	Mrs. Ross	Episode: "Reading, Writing and Angel Dust" (S 4:Ep 2)
	Bronk	June Kramer	Episode: "Echo of Danger" (S 1:Ep 4)
	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	Joan	Episode: "Mary Richards Falls in Love" (S 6:Ep 11)
1976	Little House on the Prairie	Clerk	Episode: "The Pride of Walnut Grove" (S 2:Ep 14)
1976–85	Alice	Vera Louise Gorman	Contract role (202 episodes)
1977	Eight Is Enough	Mavis	Episode: "Is There a Doctor in the House?" (S 2:Ep 1)
1979	The Love Boat	Lee Noble	Episode: "Third Wheel/Grandmother's Day/Second String Mom" (S 2:Ep 27)
	You Can't Take It with You	Essie Carmichael	Made-for-TV movie directed by Paul Bogart.[19]
1980	The Wild Wacky Wonderful World of Winter	Stripper	Made-for-TV movie
1981	The Love Boat	Eloise Farnsworth	Episodes: "Farnsworth's Fling/Three in a Bed/I Remember Helen/Merrill, Melanie & Melanesia/Gopher Farnsworth Smith: Part 1" (S 5:Ep 8) "Farnsworth's Fling/Three in a Bed/I Remember Helen/Merrill, Melanie & Melanesia/Gopher Farnsworth Smith: Part 2" (S 5:Ep 9)
1982	American Playhouse	Housewife	Episode: "Working" (S 1:Ep 14)
1983	The Love Boat	Jeannie Davis	Episodes: "Hits and Missus/Return of Annabelle/Just Plain Folks Medicine/Caught in the Act/The Real Thing/Do Not Disturb/Lulu & Kenny (Country Music Jamboree): Part 1" (S 6:Ep 27) "Hits and Missus/Return of Annabelle/Just Plain Folks Medicine/Caught in the Act/The Real Thing/Do Not Disturb/Lulu & Kenny (Country Music Jamboree): Part 2" (S 6:Ep 28)
		Captain Bernice Tobin	Episode: "Youth Takes a Holiday/Don't Leave Home Without It/Prisoner of Love" (S 7:Ep 4)
	A Caribbean Mystery	Evelyn Hillingdon	Made-for-TV movie directed by Robert Michael Lewis.[20]
1985	Comedy Factory	Kate Weston	Episode: "It Takes Two" (S 1:Ep 6)
1988	ABC Afterschool Special	Eleanor Flemming	Episode: "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me" (S 16:Ep 5)[12]
	You Can't Take It with You	Anita Briggs	Episode: "For Whom the Phone Rings" (S 1:Ep 14)
1993	Murder, She Wrote	Sandy Oates	Episode: "Lone Witness" (S 9:Ep 19)
1997	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Mrs. Ericson	Episode: "Cat Showdown" (S 1:Ep 19)
2000	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Diane	Episode: "Thinking of You/Mama's Soup Pot/The Letter" (S 1:Ep 17)
	Batman Beyond	Singer (voice)	Episode: "Out of the Past" (S 3:Ep 5)
2002	The Tick	Bea	Episode: "Arthur, Interrupted" (S 1:Ep 8)
	As Told by Ginger	Dr. Leventhal (voice)	Episode: "And She Was Gone" (S 2:Ep 23)

References

1. Grimes, William (New York Times). "Beth Howland, ditsy waitress on 'Alice'". The Boston Globe. May 26, 2016. p. B8. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
2. "Beth Howland". IBDB.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
3. "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
4. "From Broadway to TV, An Actress' Death Takes Us Down Cultural Rabbit Hole". NPR.org. Weekend Edition. May 26, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
5. Grimes, William (May 24, 2016). "Beth Howland, Accident-Prone Waitress from the Sitcom Alice, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
6. Levitt, Haley (May 25, 2016). "Beth Howland, Company's Original Amy, Dies at 74". TheaterMania News. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
7. "Original Company Cast Member & Alice Star Beth Howland Dies at 74". Broadway World. May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
8. Adams, Char (May 25, 2016). "Alice Star Beth Howland Dead at 74". People. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
9. Kenneally, Tim (May 25, 2016). "Beth Howland, Vera from Sitcom Alice, Dies at 74". TheWrap. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
10. Ellis, Ralph (May 25, 2016). "Actress Beth Howland Dies; Played Waitress on TV Show Alice". CNN. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
11. Pedersen, Erik (May 25, 2016). "Beth Howland Dies: Actress Who Played Vera on Alice Was 74". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
12. "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
13. O'Connor, John (January 19, 1988). "TV Review: 'Terrible Things My Mother Told Me'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
14. "Actress Beth Howland, Who Played Vera on Alice, Dies at 74". New York Daily News. Associated Press. May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
15. "Company". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 2018-04-20. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
16. "Li'l Abner". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
17. "The Ted Bessell Show". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
18. "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
19. "You Can't Take It with You". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
20. "Agatha Christie's: A Caribbean Mystery". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 25, 2016.

External links

• Beth Howland at IMDb
• Beth Howland at Rotten Tomatoes
• Beth Howland at the Internet Broadway Database
• Beth Howland biography from Alice
• Beth Howland(Aveleyman)