Linda Lavin (born October , ) is an American actress and singer. She
is known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for
her stage performances, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. After
acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late s. She
began acting on Broadway in the s, earning notice in It's a
Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman in and receiving her first Tony
Award nomination in Last of the Red Hot Lovers in . She moved to
Hollywood in and began to work in television, making recurring
appearances on the sitcom Barney Miller before getting the title role
in hit comedy Alice, which ran from to . She appeared in many
telefilms and later in other TV work. She has also had roles in
several feature films. In , she returned to Broadway, starring in
Broadway Bound (winning a Tony Award), Gypsy (), The Sisters
Rosensweig (), The Diary of Anne Frank (â€") and The Tale of the
Allergist's Wife (â€"), among others. In , she appeared as Ruth
Steiner in Collected Stories, garnering her fifth Tony nomination. She
starred in NBC's short-lived sitcom, Sean Saves the World as Lorna and
the CBS sitcom JKL.Lavin was born in Portland, Maine, the daughter of
David Joseph Lavin, a businessman, and Lucille (née Potter), an opera
singer. The Lavin family were active members of the local area Jewish
community. Both sets of grandparents, Simon and Jessie Lavin and Harry
and Esther Potter, emigrated from Russia. Her family was musically
talented, and Lavin has been onstage since the age of five. She
studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. She attended Waynflete
School before enrolling in the College of William & Mary. While at
William and Mary, she performed with the William and Mary Theater in
many productions directed by long-time Professor Howard Scammon. In
the summer of , she played one of the leads in The Common Glory, an
outdoor drama written by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Paul Green
and staged at an amphitheater on campus. Upon her graduation from
William and Mary, she had already received her Actors' Equity
Association card. She was a member of the Compass Players in the late
s. By the early s, Lavin had appeared in several Broadway shows and
appeared on the cast recordings of The Mad Show performing Stephen
Sondheim's "The Boy From...". From It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's
Superman, one of her numbers, "You've Got Possibilities", was the
album's best-received song and was called "The one memorable
song...flirty, syncopated" by the Dallas Observer.In , Lavin made an
appearance as Gloria Thorpe in a television version of the musical
Damn Yankees with Phil Silvers. In , Lavin married actor Ron Leibman,
and by , the couple had arrived in Hollywood, California. After
various guest appearances on episodic television series such as The
Nurses, Rhoda, Harry O and Kaz, Lavin landed a recurring role as
Detective Janice Wentworth on Barney Miller during the first and
second seasons (â€").She left Barney Miller to star in the lead role
in Alice. The show was a popular hit for CBS and ran from to . The
series was based on the Martin Scorsese-directed Ellen Burstyn film
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Lavin portrayed Alice Hyatt, a
waitress and singer, the character that Burstyn had played. 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. During the series'
nine-season run, Lavin earned two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime
Emmy Award nomination, and gained experience directing, especially
during the later seasons. Lavin also played a dual role in Alice, as
Debbie Walden, the wizened and former landlady of the character Vera
Louise Gorman-Novak. Lavin also made numerous television appearances
outside of Alice, including hosting her own holiday special for CBS,
Linda in Wonderland (). She acted in two sitcoms, Room for Two (â€")
and 's Conrad Bloom. In Room for Two, she played a mother who moved in
with her daughter, played by Patricia Heaton, who has a show on a
local television station. The daughter gives Lavin's character her own
segment, called Just a Thought, at the end of her program.
is known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for
her stage performances, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. After
acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late s. She
began acting on Broadway in the s, earning notice in It's a
Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman in and receiving her first Tony
Award nomination in Last of the Red Hot Lovers in . She moved to
Hollywood in and began to work in television, making recurring
appearances on the sitcom Barney Miller before getting the title role
in hit comedy Alice, which ran from to . She appeared in many
telefilms and later in other TV work. She has also had roles in
several feature films. In , she returned to Broadway, starring in
Broadway Bound (winning a Tony Award), Gypsy (), The Sisters
Rosensweig (), The Diary of Anne Frank (â€") and The Tale of the
Allergist's Wife (â€"), among others. In , she appeared as Ruth
Steiner in Collected Stories, garnering her fifth Tony nomination. She
starred in NBC's short-lived sitcom, Sean Saves the World as Lorna and
the CBS sitcom JKL.Lavin was born in Portland, Maine, the daughter of
David Joseph Lavin, a businessman, and Lucille (née Potter), an opera
singer. The Lavin family were active members of the local area Jewish
community. Both sets of grandparents, Simon and Jessie Lavin and Harry
and Esther Potter, emigrated from Russia. Her family was musically
talented, and Lavin has been onstage since the age of five. She
studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. She attended Waynflete
School before enrolling in the College of William & Mary. While at
William and Mary, she performed with the William and Mary Theater in
many productions directed by long-time Professor Howard Scammon. In
the summer of , she played one of the leads in The Common Glory, an
outdoor drama written by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Paul Green
and staged at an amphitheater on campus. Upon her graduation from
William and Mary, she had already received her Actors' Equity
Association card. She was a member of the Compass Players in the late
s. By the early s, Lavin had appeared in several Broadway shows and
appeared on the cast recordings of The Mad Show performing Stephen
Sondheim's "The Boy From...". From It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's
Superman, one of her numbers, "You've Got Possibilities", was the
album's best-received song and was called "The one memorable
song...flirty, syncopated" by the Dallas Observer.In , Lavin made an
appearance as Gloria Thorpe in a television version of the musical
Damn Yankees with Phil Silvers. In , Lavin married actor Ron Leibman,
and by , the couple had arrived in Hollywood, California. After
various guest appearances on episodic television series such as The
Nurses, Rhoda, Harry O and Kaz, Lavin landed a recurring role as
Detective Janice Wentworth on Barney Miller during the first and
second seasons (â€").She left Barney Miller to star in the lead role
in Alice. The show was a popular hit for CBS and ran from to . The
series was based on the Martin Scorsese-directed Ellen Burstyn film
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Lavin portrayed Alice Hyatt, a
waitress and singer, the character that Burstyn had played. 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. During the series'
nine-season run, Lavin earned two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime
Emmy Award nomination, and gained experience directing, especially
during the later seasons. Lavin also played a dual role in Alice, as
Debbie Walden, the wizened and former landlady of the character Vera
Louise Gorman-Novak. Lavin also made numerous television appearances
outside of Alice, including hosting her own holiday special for CBS,
Linda in Wonderland (). She acted in two sitcoms, Room for Two (â€")
and 's Conrad Bloom. In Room for Two, she played a mother who moved in
with her daughter, played by Patricia Heaton, who has a show on a
local television station. The daughter gives Lavin's character her own
segment, called Just a Thought, at the end of her program.
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