Elizabeth "Beth" Howland (May 28, 1941 - December 31, 2015) was an American actress. She worked on stage and television and was best known for playing Vera Gorman in the sitcom Alice, inspired by the Martin Scorsese film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

Howland also originated the role of Amy in the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim's Company, in which she introduced the patter song "Getting Married Today."

Early life

Howland born on May 28, 1941, in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 16, she left home and followed a dancer friend to New York City.

After a time of struggling, Howland made her Broadway debut in 1959 as Lady Beth in the Carol Burnett musical Once Upon a Mattress. She went on to have roles in the musicals Bye Bye Birdie, High Spirits, Drat! The Cat!, and Darling of the Day.

Career

Howland can be seen dancing and singing in the chorus of Li'l Abner (1959) as Clem's wife, alongside future television star Valerie Harper.

After appearing in Company, Howland left New York to relocate to California, where she gave guest appearances on television series such as Love, American Style, Cannon, Mary Tyler Moore, Little House on the Prairie, Fantasy Island, and others. For her work on Alice, Howland received four Golden Globe nominations. She made regular guest appearances on several series, including Eight Is Enough and The Love Boat. She also took on numerous telefilm roles, including You Can't Take It with You (as Essie) and Agatha Christie's: A Caribbean Mystery.

She remained on Alice throughout its nine seasons. After the show ended in 1985, Howland went into semi-retirement. She made occasional guest appearances (including Murder, She Wrote, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and The Tick) and starred in the ABC Afterschool Special titled "Terrible Things My Mother Told Me".

Personal life and death

From 1961-69, Howland was married to character actor Michael J. Pollard, with whom she had a daughter. She was married to actor Charles Kimbrough, an actor of Broadway and Murphy Brown fame, until her death. Kimbrough and Howland appeared together in Company.

Howland died of lung cancer on December 31, 2015, at the age of 74. As per her request, her death was not reported to the media. It was not made public until May 24, 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

[ Source: Wikipedia ]