Alice Pearce

Alice Pearce
As Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched
Born	(1917-10-16)October 16, 1917 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1966(1966-03-03) (aged 48) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Ovarian cancer
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1943–1966
Spouse(s)	John Rox (1948–1957; his death) Paul Davis (1964–1966; her death)
Awards	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She was brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town (1949). Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in the television sitcom Bewitched in 1964. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series posthumously after the second season of the series. She died from ovarian cancer in 1966.

Pearce was born in New York City, the only child of Margaret Clark and Robert E. Pearce. Her father was a foreign banking specialist, and her family moved to Europe when she was 18 months old. They lived in Brussels, Antwerp, Rome, and Paris. At age nine, she fell off a swing after losing her grip and landed on her chin. This left her with an undeveloped chin. She returned to the United States as a teenager, and boarded at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1940, with a degree in drama.

She began working in nightclubs as a comedian and was cast in the original Broadway production of On the Town (1944–1946). Gene Kelly was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the film version in 1949. Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike, and she was given her own television variety show, The Alice Pearce Show. More movie roles followed, and she made appearances on Broadway, where she met her husband, director Paul Davis, during a production of Bells Are Ringing.