Sitcom Title: Alice
Years Aired: 1976-1985
Stars: Linda Lavin, Vic Tayback, Beth Howland, Philip McKeon, Polly Holliday, Celia Weston
Feminist Focus: Alice supports herself and her son through thick and thin. In one episode, she declines to get back together with a man from her past whom she does not love, because she does not need anyone to take care of her.
Alice told the story of a widowed mother raising a son and working in a greasy spoon diner. The sitcom, which began in 1976, was loosely based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, but the TV show changed many details and went down a different path. The feminism of Alice was an honest exploration of working women’s lives – whether they were single or married, mothers or childless – and their dealings with a gruff boss who could be a bit of a male chauvinist.
Who is Alice?
Linda Lavin stars as the title character, who takes a job at Mel’s Diner in Phoenix when her car breaks down on the way to California. She hoped to become a singer in Los Angeles following the death of her husband; instead she and her son find a new home in Phoenix. She works for years alongside several other women:
- Vera was the quiet one and the most naive of the crew.
- Flo was a sassy flirt, famous for her line “Kiss my grits!” (She got her own spinoff, Flo.)
- Belle, who replaced Flo, had both worked for and been involved with Mel in the past.
- Jolene was a Southern belle who confronted Mel in her own way.
Each character struggled with finances, interpersonal relationships and life goals.
A National Symbol
Linda Lavin received an award from the National Commission on Working Women for her portrayal of Alice, a representation of blue-collar and pink-collar workers. Linda Lavin, who also eventually directed episodes of the show, said she took it upon herself to speak for all the Alices in the country, even attending Equal Rights Amendment demonstrations dressed in her Alice uniform.
While much of the humor of Alice is built around quirky recurring characters and the frivolous sitcom situations one might imagine in a show set in a diner, the feminism of Alice crops up as the women navigate their lives. Alice and her coworkers must deal with the struggles of raising children, relationship issues and even unequal pay in the workplace when a male waiter is hired. Alice looks at these from many angles, with warm-hearted humor.