Elizabeth Howland (May 28, 1939 – 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''. Howland originated the role of Amy in the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

cast of Stephen Sondheim's '' Company'', where she introduced the

patter song The patter song is characterised by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note. It is a staple of comic opera, especially Gilbert and Sullivan, but it ...

" Getting Married Today".

Early life

Howland was born on May 28, 1939, in Brighton, 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 musical ''

Once Upon a Mattress ''Once Upon a Mattress'' is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway. The play was writte ...

'', which transferred from off-Broadway. She went on to have roles in the musicals ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

'', '' High Spirits'', ''

Drat! The Cat! ''Drat! The Cat!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Ira Levin and music by Milton Schafer. Originally called ''Cat and Mouse'', this spoof of late- Victorian melodrama has at its core Alice Van Guilder, who wants to be a career girl at a ...

'' and ''

Darling of the Day ''Darling of the Day'' is a musical with a book by Nunnally Johnson, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, and music by Jule Styne. It is based on Arnold Bennett's novel ''Buried Alive'' and his play '' The Great Adventure''. The show closed after only 31 per ...

''.

Career

Howland can be seen dancing and singing in the chorus of the movie ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

'' (1959) as Clem's wife, alongside future television star

Valerie Harper Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rho ...

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

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where she made guest appearances on television series such as '' Love, American Style''; ''

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

''; ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...

''; ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...

''; ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

''; and ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

''. 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 ''A Caribbean Mystery'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 16 November 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edi ...

''. She remained on ''Alice'' throughout its nine seasons. After the sitcom 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 ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appear ...

''; and ''

The Tick ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'') and 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 Michael J. Pollard (born Michael John Pollack Jr.; May 30, 1939 – November 20, 2019) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as C.W. Moss in the film ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967), which earned him critical acclaim along with nomi ...

, with whom she had a daughter. In 2002, she wed actor

Charles Kimbrough Charles Kimbrough (born May 23, 1936) is an American actor, best known for his role as the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on ''Murphy Brown''. In 1990, his performance in the role earned him a nomination for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Sup ...

and remained married to him until her death in 2015. Kimbrough and Howland had appeared together in '' Company''.

Death

Howland died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

on December 31, 2015, at age 76. Per her request, her death was not reported to the media until May 24, 2016, four days before her 77th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * *
Beth Howland profile
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Beth Howland
Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Howland, Beth 1939 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 21st-century American women