A Graduate of UM, "Alice" Later Gained Her Iconic Fame on TV

She was always calling the family to dinner.
She was afraid of almost everything.
She always had a snappy comeback for just about every comment made by a family member.,,,,which was usually followed by an “oh, Alice!” from one of the family

She was Alice Nelson, the family maid / housekeeper on TVs The Brady Bunch for five seasons.

Alice was played by Ann B. Davis, who got the showbiz bug while attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

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In 1944 she enrolled as a pre-med major, but after seeing the crowd reaction of her brother’s performance in a stage version of Oklahoma!, she switched to drama. When she graduated in 1948, she had earned a degree in drama and speech.

Eventually relocating in California, she landed guest roles on various TV shows in the early 1950s and finally got her big break in 1955 when she snagged the role of ‘Schultzy’ on The Bob Cummings Show. When the series ended in 1959, she had won two Emmy awards.

Throughout the 1960s she made many appearances on numerous TV shows and films, including being a cast member of The John Forsythe Show in 1965. Finally in 1969, she landed the part she would forever be linked with: as ‘Alice’ on The Brady Bunch, which lasted for five seasons and several reunion specials and movies.

She never won an Emmy for The Brady Bunch, but she did become one of the most iconic figures in television.

And it all started here in Michigan at Ann Arbor’s UM.