Surprising Stories from the Set of the Sitcom Alice

In 1982, veteran comedian Martha Raye joined Alice as Carrie Sharples, one of the replacement waitresses after earlier cast shakeups. Raye was already a big personality with decades of stage and TV fame behind her — which meant she brought serious presence to Mel’s Diner.

But integrating such an established star into an already evolving ensemble wasn’t effortless. The dynamic shifted again, and not all fans embraced the change. Carrie only lasted one season, underscoring how tricky it was for Alice to recapture the original Flo-Belle chemistry once it was gone.