Alice Hyatt (born Alice Graham in the movie; Alice Spivak in the television series) is a fictional character in the movie ''

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' is a 1974 American comedy drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the Southwestern United States i ...

'' and in the subsequent television series ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

''. In the movie, she was played by

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

, who won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the role. In the television series, Alice was played by actress and singer

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) 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 and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the C ...

Character biography

1974 film

Alice was born and raised in Monterey, California. While still young, she marries truck driver Donald Hyatt (

Billy Green Bush William Warren Bush (born November 7, 1935) is an American actor, usually credited as Billy Green Bush and sometimes as Billy Greenbush. Typecast Bush is a character actor, typically projecting in his screen appearances the good-ol'-boy image. ...

), whom did not.want his wife being a singer at a nightclub. She moved to his home town of Socorro, New Mexico where she is a stay at home housewife who is constantly trying to please her husband who is miserable. They have a son, Tommy (

Alfred Lutter Alfred William Lutter III (born March 21, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, engineer, consultant, and former child actor. Life and career Lutter was born on March 21, 1962, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he also grew up. He graduated from R ...

). Some time later, Don dies in a trucking accident. Now a widow with a 12-year-old son to care for, she sets off for

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under b ...

but she stops in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

to find a.job to make money to get to Monterey. As they only have $90 to survive on. She rents a motel with a kitchen, and finds a job as a singer at a piano bar, where she meets a charming younger man named Ben (

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

). They date until Alice finds out that Ben is married; when she tries to break it off with him, he threatens to kill her. Frightened, she and Tommy flee to Tucson, Arizona, where she finds a job as a waitress at a greasy spoon called Mel's Diner, which is run by Mel Sharples (

Vic Tayback Victor E. Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Mel Sharples in the film ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) and the television series ''Alice'' (1976–1985). The latter earned him t ...

). She struggles with her new job at first, but eventually gets the hang of it with help from the cynical head waitress, Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry (

Diane Ladd Diane Ladd is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy A ...

). She also meets local, divorced farmer named David (

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

), and they fall in love. They nearly break up when they get into an argument over their future together, and over disciplining her son Tommy but David ultimately says he loves her and Tommy and wants to spend the rest of his life taking care of them. Alice decides to stay in Tucson with David, after making sure it is all right with Tommy.

References

* Burstyn, Ellen. ''Lessons in Becoming Myself''. Penguin, 2007. * Cashmore, Ellis. ''Martin Scorsese's America''. John Wiley & Sons, 2013. * Terrace, Vincent. ''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots'', 1937–2012. McFarland, 2013. * Wernblad, Annette. ''The Passion of Martin Scorsese: A Critical Study of the Films''. McFarland, 2010.

External links

Alice Hyatt
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Fictional characters from New Jersey Fictional waiting staff Comedy film characters Fictional singers Female characters in film Film characters introduced in 1974 {{film-char-stub