By Elizabeth Michaud
Actress Ann B. Davis, best known for her iconic role as Alice Nelson on the television series “The Brady Bunch,” died Sunday in a San Antonio hospital. She was 88 years old.
Her natal chart reflects a deep emotional and spiritual core kept far below the surface of the trustworthy and matter-of-fact persona she exhibited in her acting career. While born with the Sun in simplistic and straightforward Taurus, the watery nature of Davis’s chart symbolizes a level of feeling and mysticism that went far beyond the everyday world.
Davis was born with an identical twin sister in Schenectady, New York, on May 3, 1926. Three years later, her parents, an electrical engineer and an amateur actress, decided to move the twins and their older brother to Erie, Pennsylvania. Davis, who originally wanted to become a doctor, turned to acting after seeing her brother perform in Oklahoma! She went on to graduate from the University of Michigan with a degree in theater in 1948.
Davis’s first big television success was on “The Bob Cummings Show,” where she played Charmaine “Schultzy” Schultz, a lovesick secretary, from 1955-1959. The role earned her two Emmy Awards for best featured actress in a comedy series in both 1958 and 1959.
While she was cast in other television series, Broadway productions and commercial spots, Davis is widely remembered for her portrayal of the loveable maid on “The Brady Bunch” from 1969 to 1974. Her character, Alice, was eternally cheerful, tirelessly supportive, and always ready with a wisecrack or joke, often at her own expense. She created a beloved cultural figure who represented the voice of reason and comfort to generations of Americans.