50 Years of Little House on the Prairie: Hersha Parady (Alice Garvey)

 

Hersha Parady (born Betty Sandhoff; May 25, 1945 – August 23, 2023) was an American actress, best known for her role of Alice Garvey in Little House on the Prairie.

Life and career

Parady was born as Betty Sandhoff in Berea, Ohio, and attended Berea High School. She began acting locally at age 14 in Cleveland area theatrical productions. She moved west in the early 1970s to further her acting career and landed a role opposite Jon Voight in a touring production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Parady began her career in television with guest-appearances in Mannix, Bearcats! and The Waltons. Hersha was considered to play Caroline Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie but lost out to Karen Grassle. Later, in 1976 episode "Journey in the Spring", Parady played Eliza Anne Ingalls, Charles's sister-in-law. Then, in 1977, she was given the role of Alice Garvey in Little House on the Prairie, which she played until 1980 when her character was killed in a fire accidentally set by a boy named Clay and Albert Quinn Ingalls. After Little House on the Prairie, she made only rare appearances in television, including Kenan & Kel.

Parady was once married to Oscar-winning producer John Peverall and had one child with him.

Parady died of complications from a brain tumor in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 23, 2023. She was 78. Her death was announced on Alison Arngrim's Facebook page. Parady is buried in Sunset Memorial Park in North Olmsted, Ohio.

Filmography

1971       Bearcats!             Carrie    Episode: "Conqueror's Gold"

1972       Mannix Receptionist       Episode: "Cry Silence"

1975       The Waltons       Victoria Madden              Episode: "The Lie"

1976–1980           Little House on the Prairie            Alice Garvey / Eliza Ingalls            34 episodes

1979       CBS Afternoon Playhouse            Laura Harker      5 episodes

1980       NBC Special Treat                             Episode: "The House at 12 Rose Street"

1981       ABC Weekend Specials Janice Parker     Episode: "Mayday! Mayday!"

The Phoenix       Lynn      Episode: "Pilot"

1984       Raw Courage     Fay Canfield      

1986       Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star              Mrs. McAlpin    

1995       The Break            Mrs. Lufkowitz 

1996       The Babysitter's Seduction          Mrs. Bartrand   

1997–1998           Kenan & Kel       Principal Dimly   3 episodes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hersha_Parady