Linda Lavin

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Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt on Alice.
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Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt on Alice.

Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937 in Portland, Maine) is an American singer and Tony Award and Golden Globe Award-winning stage, film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the US sitcom Alice.

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[edit] Early career

Born to musically-talented parents, Lavin has been onstage since the age of 5. Upon her graduation from the College of William and Mary she had already received her Actors' Equity Association card. By the early 1960s Lavin made a name for herself in New York City on Broadway and appeared on the (both 1966) cast recordings of The Mad Show (on which her performance of Stephen Sondheim's "The Boy From..." gained note) and "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" (from which one of her numbers, "You've Got Possibilities," was the album's best-received song and, years later, was featured on a Pillsbury commercial).

[edit] Hollywood career

In 1967, Lavin made an appearance as Gloria Thorpe in a television version of the musical Damn Yankees with Phil Silvers. In 1969, Lavin married actor Ron Leibman, and by 1973 the couple had arrived in Hollywood.

After various guest appearances on episodic television series such as The Nurses, Rhoda, Harry O and Kaz, Lavin landed a recurring role on Barney Miller during the first and second seasons. She left Barney Miller to star in the lead role in Alice. The show was a popular hit for CBS, and ran from 1976 to 1985. The series was based on the Martin Scorsese-directed Ellen Burstyn film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Lavin portrayed Alice Hyatt, the character that Burstyn played, and won an Oscar for. Lavin performed the series' theme song, "There's a New Girl in Town," which was written by David Shire and Alan and Marilyn Bergman and was updated for each of the first six seasons. [1] During the series' nine-season run, Lavin earned two Golden Globe awards and an Emmy nomination, as well as a great deal of experience directing, especially during the later seasons.

Throughout her Alice years, Lavin was at one time the highest-paid actress on television. She made numerous television appearances outside of her sitcom, including hosting her own holiday special, Linda in Wonderland.

Lavin made her feature film debut in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). Her only other feature film appearances are in See You in the Morning starring Jeff Bridges and Alain Resnais' I Want to Go Home opposite Gerard Depardieu. Both films were released in 1989.

Lavin was a popular actress of not only television shows but also telefilms. The numer of telefilms Lavin has to her name include: Damn Yankees!, Sadbird, The Morning After, Jerry, Like Mom, Like Me, The $5.20 an Hour Dream, A Matter of Life and Death, Another Woman's Child, Maricela, Lena: My 100 Children, Whitewash, A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story, Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden, For the Future: The Irvine Fertility Scandal, The Ring, and Best Friends for Life. These were first aired between 1967 and 1998.

She directed the 1990 telefilm Flour Babies, and also directed theater, with her experiences from directing later Alice episodes. She acted in two sitcoms (1992's Room for Two and 1998's Conrad Bloom), and made numerous television guest appearances (including roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The O.C., Touched by an Angel and HBO's The Sopranos).

[edit] Broadway career

Lavin began her career with Broadway appearances in the musicals A Family Affair and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, and plays such as Something Different, The Riot Act, and Cop-Out. Lavin first gained major notice for her appearance in the musical It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman!.

In her early years, Lavin also appeared in numerous off-Broadway productions, including Wet Paint, Little Murders, and the musical The Mad Show. Lavin won a Drama Desk Award for Little Murders, and the Theatre World Award for Wet Paint.

After her years on television, Lavin returned to the New York stage, where she appeared on the Broadway stage in shows such as The Sisters Rosenweig, Hollywood Arms, and Gypsy, among many others.

June Havoc saw Lavin's performance as Rose Hovick in Gypsy, and sent Lavin a photo of Havoc's mother, the real Rose Hovick, with a note of appreciation for Lavin's particular portrayal of Mama Rose. [2]

She won a Tony Award in 1987 for her highly-praised role in Neil Simon's play Broadway Bound. Her memorable scene where she describes her chance meeting with movie star George Raft, whom she gets to dance with, was one of the play's many highlights. Her first Tony nomination was for another Neil Simon play, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, in 1970. Last of the Red Hot Lovers was one of Lavin's last Broadway credits before she moved to Hollywood.

She was also nominated for Tonys for her work in The Diary of Anne Frank, in which she played Mrs. Van Daan, opposite Natalie Portman; and for Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife co-starring Tony Roberts and Michele Lee.

In 1987, Lavin also won her second Drama Desk Award for Broadway Bound. She received Drama Desk nominations for her subsequent roles in The Diary of Anne Frank and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. She also earned a Drama Desk nomination for her role in Death-Defying Acts, an off-Broadway play for which she also won a Best Actress Obie Award and the Lucille Lortel Award.

Also, it is revealed in an episode of The Simpsons that Bart had been prank calling Linda, and Lisa implies that she deserved those phone calls.

[edit] Personal life

In 1981, Lavin, who is Jewish,[citation needed] divorced Liebman and, in 1982, married Kip Niven. She became a stepmother and helped raise Niven's two children, Jim and Kate. Lavin and Niven divorced in 1991.

She currently divides her time between New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina.

[edit] Other Theater Work

Lavin appeared as Ruth Steiner in the play Collected Stories, and reprised her role for a PBS production of the work.

Lavin makes frequent appearances in concerts an in cabaret performances. [3] [4] [5]

In 1997, Lavin founded The Linda Lavin Foundation in Wilmington, North Carolina, which focuses upon eleven- to fourteen-year-old girls.

In Wilmington, she often directs for the stage. One of her directorial credits there is an innovative 1998 production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It performed in a Brazilian jazz style.

Lavin also has taught master classes for New York University's Performing Arts Division.

[edit] Theater credits

[edit] Screen

[edit] External links

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