Beth Howland

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title: "Beth Howland" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1941-births", "2015-deaths", "actresses-from-boston", "american-film-actresses", "american-musical-theatre-actresses", "american-stage-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "deaths-from-lung-cancer-in-california", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses"] description: "American actress (1941–2015)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Howland" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress (1941–2015) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Beth Howland
image	Beth Howland 1976.jpeg
caption	Howland as Vera in Alice (1976)
birth_name	Elizabeth Howland
birth_date
birth_place	Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
known_for	Alice
Company
occupation	Actress
years_active	1959–2002
spouse	{{Plain list
* {{marriage	Michael J. Pollard
children	1
::

| name = Beth Howland | image = Beth Howland 1976.jpeg | caption = Howland as Vera in Alice (1976) | birth_name = Elizabeth Howland | birth_date = | birth_place = Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S. | known_for = Alice Company | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1959–2002 | spouse = {{Plain list |

| children = 1

Elizabeth Howland (May 28, 1941 – December 31, 2015) 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.

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".

Life and career

Early years

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. 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.

Career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Beth_Howland.JPG" caption="Li'l Abner]]'' (1959)"] ::

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. After appearing in Company, she left New York to relocate to California, 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. 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.

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. She also starred in the ABC Afterschool Special, "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me".

Personal life

From 1961 to 1969, Howland was married to actor Michael J. Pollard, with whom she had a daughter.

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.

Death

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.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

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.
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.
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.
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 Novak	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	url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/482494/you-cant-take-it-with-you#credits	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116071254/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/482494/you-cant-take-it-with-you#credits
1980	The Wild Wacky Wonderful World of Winter	Stripper	Made-for-TV movie
1981	The Love Boat	Eloise Farnsworth	Episodes: {{Plain list
1982	American Playhouse	Housewife	Episode: "Working" (S 1:Ep 14)
1983	The Love Boat	Jeannie Davis	Episodes: {{Plain list
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	url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20242/agatha-christies-a-caribbean-mystery#credits	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010224229/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20242/agatha-christies-a-caribbean-mystery#credits
1985	Comedy Factory	Kate Weston	Episode: "It Takes Two" (S 1:Ep 6)
1988	ABC Afterschool Special	Eleanor Flemming	url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/478313/terrible-things-my-mother-told-me#credits
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)
::

References

References

1. Grimes, William (New York Times). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-beth-howland-obituary/180672646/ "Beth Howland, ditsy waitress on 'Alice'"]. ''[[The Boston Globe]]''. May 26, 2016. p. B8. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
2. "Beth Howland". IBDB.com.
3. (May 26, 2016). "From Broadway to TV, An Actress' Death Takes Us Down Cultural Rabbit Hole".
4. Levitt, Haley. (May 25, 2016). "Beth Howland, Company's Original Amy, Dies at 74". TheaterMania News.
5. (May 25, 2016). "Original ''Company'' Cast Member & ''Alice'' Star Beth Howland Dies at 74". Broadway World.
6. Adams, Char. (May 25, 2016). "''Alice'' Star Beth Howland Dead at 74". [[People (magazine).
7. Kenneally, Tim. (May 25, 2016). "Beth Howland, Vera from Sitcom ''Alice,'' Dies at 74". [[TheWrap]].
8. Ellis, Ralph. (May 25, 2016). "Actress Beth Howland Dies; Played Waitress on TV Show ''Alice''". [[CNN]].
9. Pedersen, Erik. (May 25, 2016). "Beth Howland Dies: Actress Who Played Vera on ''Alice'' Was 74". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
10. O'Connor, John. (January 19, 1988). "TV Review: 'Terrible Things My Mother Told Me'". The New York Times.
11. (May 25, 2016). "Actress Beth Howland, Who Played Vera on ''Alice'', Dies at 74". [[New York Daily News]].
12. "''Company''".
13. "The Ted Bessell Show".
14. "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot".
15. "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me".

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