Alicia “Alice” Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. 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
Gladys Kravitz in
Bewitched in 1964. She won an
Emmy Award for her performance in the first season of the series. She died from
ovarian cancer in 1966.
Born in New York City, Pearce was educated in Europe and returned to the United States as an adult. She began working in nightclubs as a comedian and was cast in the Broadway production of On the Town. 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. 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.
In 1964 she joined the cast of the television series Bewitched. As the nagging and nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz, Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to acts of witchcraft she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias), provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. Pearce was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award for this role.
Pearce was married twice; in 1948, she married composer John Rox. In 1957, Rox died of a heart attack. In 1964, she married stage manager Paul Davis. Pearce had no children.
