Alice Pearce 1964, Pearce was originally approached to play the part of Grandmama in the ABC television comedy series "The Addams Family". She turned down the part, which went to veteran actress Blossom Rock. In 1964, Pearce joined the cast of "Bewitched" as the nagging and nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz. Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to the witchcraft she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias), provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. She played the role until
Bewitched Darrin's parents, and Uncle Arthur not appearing at all. Filming ended in December 1971, and in January 1972 the show was finally moved to Saturday night at 8:00 pm, opposite television's number one show, "All in the Family", where it fared even worse, with "Bewitched" finishing in 72nd place for the year. Despite the low ratings, Bewitched still had a contract for two more seasons on ABC. The network was willing to honor that contract by renewing the sitcom for a ninth season. However, by this time, Montgomery had grown tired of the series and wanted to move on to