Whatever Happened to Linda Lavin?

Sometimes the secret works for me. I was just reminiscing about the past, and was thinking about the television show Alice. You know, the waitress who had a son Tommy, and there was Mel, her boss, and her friends Vera and Flo the other two waitresses.

Soon after I thought about that, the show came on cable for about a month or two!(I wish the secret would work faster in more important areas of my life!) So I was thinking whatever happened to Linda Lavin? She has been around, I just haven't been looking too closely. Here is how this great actress got her start.

Linda is an award winning singer, film, stage and television actress from Portland, Maine. Linda has been a 'star' since she was five years old. Both her parents were musicians. She graduated from the College of William and Mary and her career picked up in New York City performing on Broadway.

Reading through her Broadway credits is like reading a page in an encyclopedia! She has been in show such as A Family Affair, Something Different, The Riot Act, Little Murders, The Sisters Rosenweig, Hollywood Arms and many, many more.

She had a pretty big Hollywood career appearing in such shows at The Nurses, Rhoda, Kaz and Barney Miller. She left that show to get the lead role in Alice. Alice was a CBS hit and was on from 1976 to 1985. Linda performed the theme song, "There's A New Girl In Town." (which I pretty much happen to know by heart.) The show was based on the film Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More. That role gave her two Golden Globes and a nomination for an Emmy award.

During her time on Alice, Linda Lavin was paid a huge salary, more so than any other actors. She appeared on shows such as Linda In Wonderland, The Muppets Take Manhattan, I Want To Go Home, and many other television movies. What has Linda done lately? She was a guest on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The O.C., Touched by an Angel, and believe it or not, The Sopranos.

She founded the Linda Lavin Foundation for girls aged 11-14. Linda taught masters classes in the Performing Arts School at New York University. She's been married three times. Her latest husband is an artist/actor/musician named Steve Bakunas. They married in 2005. They live in North Carolina where they are helping people in their community by renovating homes, making a theater and giving a park to the city. Linda still performs today doing concerts and cabarets.