TV SERIES · 1976– · USA
Alice
34 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
Diane Ladd, who played Flo in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974), joined the cast in the fourth season as Belle Dupree. The new character replaced Polly Holliday's Flo, who left for her own series, Flo (1980).
- #002
The shot of the station wagon in the series' opening title sequence comes from "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974).
- #003
Henry's (Marvin Kaplan's) wife Chloe was mentioned for years before she was finally seen. She was played by Ruth Buzzi in her only appearance.
- #004
When Diane Ladd left the series, her absence was explained by Belle finally selling one of her songs and leaving to become a professional songwriter.
- #005
The real restaurant building the series was based on is located at 1747 NW Grand Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. It is now called Pat's Family Restaurant. From 1976 to 1985 it was known as Mel's Diner. In Google Earth's ground view it is still labeled Mel's Diner.
- #006
"Alice" tied with "M*A*S*H" in the Nielsen ratings for three years: 1977, 1980 and 1983.
- #007
In "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974) the diner was in Tucson, Arizona, but it was moved to Phoenix for the series.
- #008
Linda Lavin allegedly did not get along with her co-stars, and Polly Holliday and Diane Ladd left the series for that reason.
- #009
Mel's Diner's favorite dish was chili. Art Carney appeared in an episode in which Mel tried to market his chili commercially under the name "Chili con Carney."
- #010
In the film, Diane Ladd's character Flo tells Mel, "Kiss my honeydew!" However, this was considered too risqué for television, so they changed it to "Kiss my grits!" "Kiss My Grits" quickly became the catchphrase of the entire series.
- #011
Linda Lavin sang the series' theme song.
- #012
In "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974), on which this series was based, Alice's husband was portrayed as violent and abusive. Flashbacks involving the husband and Alice's comments about him indicated that he was abusive. In the television series, however, there was no reference to the husband being abusive, because it was decided that this would alienate viewers and diminish Alice's quality as an ordinary woman.
- #013
Linda Lavin won a Golden Globe for her performance in this series.
- #014
"Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974) was intended as an Oscar vehicle for Ellen Burstyn after her success with "The Exorcist" (1973). It worked: Burstyn won the Oscar, and the film's success led to more women's films and television shows being made, including this series.
- #015
Vic Tayback, Diane Ladd and Alfred Lutter III were the only regulars from "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974), the film on which this series was based.
- #016
While "Alice" was on the air, Polly Holliday appeared in two films: "All the President's Men" in 1976 and "Gremlins" in 1984. In both films she played the protagonist's adversaries.
- #017
Vera was the only waitress besides Alice who was there from the beginning of the series to the end.
- #018
Flo's favorite expression was "Kiss my grits!"
- #019
In the United Kingdom, the first season did not begin until August 1984, just before the ninth and final season premiered in the US. However, Channel 4 in the UK showed the series twice a week without breaks between seasons, so the final episode aired in the UK in 1986, only a year after the series ended in the US.
- #020
The "exploding straws" seen in the opening title sequence, in which Vera blows the straws, appears a few minutes into the pilot episode, the first episode of the first season.
- #021
The film was a critical success, won an Oscar for Ellen Burstyn's performance and grossed 21 million dollars worldwide. The TV series was a big success, ranking in the top 30 for most of its run and winning a Golden Globe for Linda Lavin's performance, though it never achieved critical success.
- #022
Linda Lavin allegedly did not get along with her co-stars, and Polly Holliday and Diane Ladd left the series because of this. This is ironic, since people said the same thing about Alice's Sunday-night CBS sister series, One Day at a Time. Bonnie Franklin was also reportedly difficult to get along with for some of her co-stars, particularly Glen Scarpelli and Mary Louise Wilson, which contributed to their departures from the series.
- #023
The series may generally have been based on "Mel's Diner" at 1747 NW Grand Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. However, nothing was used except the illuminated sign with the coffee cup on it. Nothing about the set (staged and filmed in Burbank, California) is even close to the restaurant's real interior layout. "Pat's Family Diner" was its original name and it has since been renamed "Mel's Diner".
- #024
Mel Sharples never married. This is mentioned in "Good Buddy Flo (1980)" (s4e12). This was changed from the original film and the pilot. The "Ruby" of "Mel & Ruby's Cafe" was Mel's late wife.
- #025
Mel's nickname for Vera was "Dingy".
- #026
In the previous season's opening title sequence, a scene is shown in which Linda Lavin breaks character and laughs while playing Mrs. Walden.
- #027
Mel's nickname for Jolene was "Blondie".
- #028
Linda Lavin, Vic Tayback, Beth Howland and Philip McKeon are the only four actors who appeared in all nine seasons, in the pilot episode and in the series finale. Of these four, only Lavin and Tayback appeared in all 202 episodes.
- #029
Among the series' writers there was an agreement that if they found themselves stuck in a joke they could not resolve, they would simply give one of the characters a funny costume or a funny hat.
- #030
When Tommy graduated from high school, he went to Arizona State University in Tempe, where he played on the basketball team.
- #031
Following Polly Holliday's death on September 9, 2025, the entire original cast (with the exception of Celia Weston, who joined in later seasons) had died.
- #032
Earl was Tommy's basketball coach in high school.
- #033
Following Diane Ladd's death, Celia Weston was the last surviving regular cast member as of November 3, 2025. However, Alfred Lutter, who played Tommy in the pilot episode, is still alive today.
- #034
Both Polly Holliday, who played Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry in the series, and Diane Ladd, who played her in the film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974) on which the series was based and who played a different character, Isabelle "Belle" Dupree, in the series in Holliday's place, died 55 days apart. Holliday died on September 9, 2025, and Ladd on November 3, 2025.
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