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]
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.[1] 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.[5]
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.[1] After appearing in Company, she left New York to relocate to California,[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9]
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.[10] She also starred in the ABC Afterschool Special, "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me".[11][12]
From 1961 to 1969, Howland was married to actor Michael J. Pollard, with whom she had a daughter.[13]
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.[14]
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]
| 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.[15] |
| 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.[16] |
| 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.[17] |
| 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.[18] | |
| 1980 | The Wild Wacky Wonderful World of Winter | Stripper | Made-for-TV movie |
| 1981 | The Love Boat | Eloise Farnsworth | Episodes:
|
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Housewife | Episode: "Working" (S 1:Ep 14) |
| 1983 | The Love Boat | Jeannie Davis | Episodes:
|
| 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.[19] | |
| 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)[11] |
| 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) |
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