Betty Caldwell

Alice Elizabeth Caldwell (born July 29, 1927 in Birmingham; died January 3, 2014 in Birmingham) was an actress and English teacher.

Caldwell, the daughter to Constantine and Alice Meyer Caldwell, graduated from Ramsay High School and enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin. Out-of-state students were asked to transfer to make room for soldiers returning from World War II, so Caldwell transferred to the University of Alabama, earning a degree in English. Afterward she studied acting at the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio and the Stella Adler Studio in New York, New York. After completing her studies in method acting, Caldwell returned to Birmingham and joined the Town & Gown Theater company as an actress and associate director under James Hatcher.

In the early 1960s, Caldwell completed a Master's in English at Samford University and began teaching at Shades Valley High School and Jefferson State Community College. She joined the faculty of the Altamont School in 1972 and remained there, except for a two-year sabbatical, until her retirement in 1991. During her career she inspired luminaries such as Daniel Wallace and Fannie Flagg, among others.

Caldwell died in 2014.

References

• Garrison, Greg (January 12, 2014) "English teacher inspired 'Big Fish' novelist, opened a Magic Drawer of imagination." The Birmingham News
• "Alice Elizabeth Caldwell" obituary (January 4, 2014) The Birmingham News