Editing Alice Pearce (section)

==Early life and career==
Pearce was born in New York City, the only child of Margaret Clark and Robert E. Pearce.<ref name="TVLandBio">{{cite web|title=Alice Pearce|url=http://www.tvland.com/shows/bewitched/bios/alice-pearce|publisher=[[TV Land]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112092245/http://www.tvland.com/shows/bewitched/bios/alice-pearce|archive-date=November 12, 2013|access-date=November 7, 2015}}</ref> Her father was a foreign banking specialist, and her family moved to Europe when she was 18 months old.<ref name="Misurell">{{cite news|last1=Misurell|first1=Ed|title=Her Life Is Filled with Sorcery|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-american-alice-pearce-her-life/169661114/|access-date=July 6, 2017|work=[[Daily American (Pennsylvania newspaper)|Daily American]]|date=April 5, 2025|page=10|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{free access}}</ref> They lived in Brussels, Antwerp, Rome, and Paris.<ref name="TV Guide">{{cite journal|title=Finally the Center of Attention|journal=[[TV Guide]]|date=December 25–31, 1965|volume=13|issue=52|pages=13–14|issn=0039-8543}}</ref> At age nine, she fell off a swing after losing her grip and landed on her chin; this incident left her with an underdeveloped chin.<ref name="Chinless Wonder">{{cite news|last1=Shearer|first1=Lloyd|author-link1=Lloyd Shearer|title=Alice Pearce: The Chinless Wonder|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19641011&id=PhkrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3156,5192532|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=[[Reading Eagle]]|date=October 11, 1964}}</ref> She returned to the United States as a teenager and boarded at the [[Masters School]] in [[Dobbs Ferry, New York]].<ref name="Chinless Wonder"/> She graduated from [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in 1940 with a degree in drama.<ref name="TVLandBio"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Alice Pearce|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19660304&id=Fm0eAAAAIBAJ&pg=2298,490703|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=[[Daytona Beach Morning Journal]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=March 4, 1966}}</ref>

She began working in [[nightclub]]s as a comedienne and was cast in the original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production of ''[[On the Town (musical)|On the Town]]'' (1944–1946). [[Gene Kelly]] was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the [[On the Town (film)|film version]] in 1949.<ref name="Misurell"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Green|first=Stanley|author-link=Stanley Green (historian)|title=Hollywood Musicals Year by Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD2xNKSN3E8C&pg=PA156|access-date=October 3, 2015|year=1999|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|isbn=978-0-634-00765-1|page=156}}</ref> Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike. She was given her own television variety show, ''The Alice Pearce Show''.<ref name="Terrace">{{cite book|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&pg=PA525|access-date=October 3, 2015|edition=2|date=November 6, 2008|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0|pages=25, 252, 525}}</ref> 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 (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]''.<ref name="Misurell"/>

During the 1953–1954 television season, Pearce was seen regularly on ABC's ''[[Jamie (TV series)|Jamie]]'', which starred [[Brandon deWilde]].<ref name="Terrace"/> In 1964, Pearce was originally approached to play the part of Grandmama in the ABC television comedy series ''[[The Addams Family]]''. She turned down the part, which went to veteran actress [[Blossom Rock]]. Later that year, Pearce joined the cast of ''[[Bewitched]]'' as the nagging and nosy neighbor [[List of Bewitched characters#Gladys Kravitz|Gladys Kravitz]]. Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to the [[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. She played the role until her death in 1966 and was replaced by [[Sandra Gould]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sandra Gould Played Gladys Kravitz|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=19990728&id=4P8cAAAAIBAJ&pg=2582,2635507|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=July 28, 1999}}</ref> Pearce was posthumously awarded an [[Emmy Award]] for this role. Her husband accepted the award on her behalf.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Handsaker|first1=Gene|title=Miss Stanwyck, Cosby Are Top Performers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19660523&id=YawrAAAAIBAJ&pg=2736,2401294|access-date=September 28, 2014|work=[[Nashua Telegraph]]|agency=Associated Press|date=May 23, 1966}}</ref>