In Memory of 'Bewitched' Star Alice Pearce (The 1st Mrs. Kravitz): 6 Decades After Her Tragic Death

Photo byalchetron.com

[Note: Unless otherwise indicated, commentary and quotes in this article are from an interview conducted by the author with those mentioned.]

Overview

It's been six decades since beloved actress/comedian Alice Pearce died of cancer at only 48 years old on March 3, 1966, while playing her star-making, Emmy-winning role of nosy manic neighbor Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched (ABC, 1964-1972). This is her story.

Photo byMemorias Cinematograficas

A Closer Look

Alice Pearce made her mark on the stage and big screen before, during and after her fame-making TV debut as the frantic and first Mrs. Gladyz Kravitz (the second would be Sandra Gould) opposite leading lady Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched.

Born October 16, 1917, Pearce was the only child of Margaret Clark Pearce, and Robert E. Pearce, a National City Bank Vice-President. She received her core education in several schools in Belgium, France, and Italy. In 1940, she graduated with a Drama degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

Three years later, Pearce became one of the New Faces of 1943, in the Broadway play of the same name. This led to her performance in Look, Ma, I'm Dancin!, a smashg act she performed and produced with her first husband, John Rox (a songwriter of hits like It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World) at the Blue Angel nightclub in New York.

In 1947, she appeared on stage in On the Town with Fred Astair, which was followed by other hit productions including Gentlement Prefer Blondes, Bells Are Ringing, and Noel Coward's Sail Away. The latter, which was produced in 1961, and became her final appearance in the theatre.

Pearce's film history includes On the Town (1949), How To Be Very, Very Popular (1955), My Six Loves (1963), Dear Brigett (1965), and The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), the latter in which she appeared with Bewitched TV husband George "Abner" Tobias.

Her Final Hours

Sadly, Alice Pearce died of cancer while working on Bewitched. According to what the show's executive producer Harry Ackerman said in 1988, "She never admitted the onslaught of cancer, although it was painfully obvious to all of us on the show that she was losing weight rapidly. Actually, she worked almost literally up until the day she died."

Her Just Award

Harry Ackerman went on to explain how Alice Pearce was initially offered the part of Gladys Kravitz "without auditioning since her talents were well known" to everyone on Bewitched. "And she got along splendedly with the other members of the cast."

Pearce's colleagues on Bewitched and throughout the entertainment industry would then reward the talented actress with an Emmy, if posthumously, in 1966, for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy.

On that magical, melancholy night, Elizabeth Montgomery presented the award to Pearce's second husband Paul Davis.

Photo byClassic TV Preservation Society