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Alice Playten (born August 28, 1947) is an American actress and voice actress.

Born Alice Plotkin in New York City, Playten began her career in 1959 in the Broadway musical Gypsy. Additional Broadway credits include Oliver!, Henry, Sweet Henry, Hello, Dolly!, Rumors, Seussical, and Caroline, or Change. Her many off-Broadway credits include Promenade, The Last Sweet Days of Isaac, Up from Paradise, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, Spoils of War, Four Short Operas, First Lady Suite, A Flea in Her Ear and National Lampoon's Lemmings, which also starred then up-and-comers John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest.

Playten's screen credits include Ladybug Ladybug, I.Q., and Legend. She labored under heavy makeup and prosthetics in Legend, incidentally, to portray the character of 'Blixx', a major minion of the Lord of Darkness whom the latter addresses as his "most loathsome of goblins". She has done voice work in several animated features, including Felix the Cat, Heavy Metal, Doug and My Little Pony: The Movie. She was a regular on the children's television series The Lost Saucer and That's Cat, appeared in National Lampoon's Disco Beaver from Outer Space during the early days of HBO, and has had guest shots on Frasier, Law & Order, Third Watch, and As the World Turns, among others.

Playten probably is remembered best for her role of the newlywed creating gastronomic delights for her husband (Terry Kiser) in a classic 1970 Alka-Seltzer commercial. Lying in bed, reliving the triumph of her first home-cooked meal (a single, monumental dumpling), she is oblivious to her spouse surreptitiously gulping a fizzy glassful behind her as she pores through a cookbook in search of recipes for her next menu. Her exultant cry of discovery, "marshmallowed meatballs and poached oysters!," became a popular catch phrase among television viewers throughout the country.

Awards and nominations

• 1968 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Henry, Sweet Henry)
• 1968 Theatre World Award (Henry, Sweet Henry)
• 1973 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance (National Lampoon's Lemmings)^[1]
• 1989 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Spoils of War)
• 1994 Obie Award (First Lady Suite)

References

External links

• Alice Playten at the Internet Broadway Database
• Lortel Archives listing
• Alice Playten at the Internet Movie Database