American actress (1923?2007)
Alice Ghostley
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Born
| Alice Margaret Ghostley
(
1923-08-14
)
August 14, 1923
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Died
| September 21, 2007
(2007-09-21)
(aged 84)
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Occupation(s)
| Actress
singer
[1]
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Years active
| 1953
–
2007
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Spouse
|
(
m.
1953; died 2003)
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Alice Margaret Ghostley
(August 14, 1923 ? September 21, 2007) was an American actress and singer on stage, film and television.
Ghostley was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969?72) on
Bewitched
, as Cousin Alice (1970?71) on
Mayberry R.F.D.
, and as Bernice Clifton (1986?93) on
Designing Women
, for which she received an
Emmy
nomination for
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
in 1992.
Ghostley was regular on
Nichols
(1971?72) and
The Julie Andrews Hour
(1972?73).
[2]
Early life
[
edit
]
Ghostley was born on August 14, 1923 at a
train station
in
Eve
, Missouri, to Edna Muriel (nee Rooney) and Harry Francis Ghostley, who worked as a telegraph operator.
[3]
Ghostley grew up in
Henryetta, Oklahoma
. She attended the
University of Oklahoma
, but dropped out to pursue a career in theater.
[4]
Career
[
edit
]
Stage
[
edit
]
Ghostley first came to
Broadway
in
Leonard Sillman
's
New Faces of 1952
and in the film version released in 1954.
[1]
Television
[
edit
]
A veteran of
early television
, Ghostley appeared as Joy, one of the ugly stepsisters in the 1957 musical television production of
Richard Rodgers
and
Oscar Hammerstein
's
Cinderella
, which starred
Julie Andrews
in the title role. The other stepsister was played by actress
Kaye Ballard
. Twelve years later, Ghostley guest-starred as a harried maternity nurse on Ballard's comedy series,
The Mothers-in-Law
.
[5]
Ghostley guest-starred on the
NBC
police comedy,
Car 54, Where Are You?
,
with
Joe E. Ross
and
Fred Gwynne
and in two 1961 episodes of
The Tom Ewell Show
starring
Tom Ewell
. She was also a favorite of
Jackie Gleason
,
[
citation needed
]
who featured her in his "American Scene Magazine" variety hours of the 1960s. In the recurring sketch "Arthur and Agnes", Gleason played a loudmouthed, inconsiderate braggart talking to Ghostley on her front stoop. Gleason's character treated her thoughtlessly for several minutes before walking away, leaving Ghostley alone to confide to the audience, "I'm the luckiest girl in the world!"
She portrayed
recurring characters
on several situation comedies, beginning with
Bewitched
in 1966 in "Maid To Order", in which Ghostley played an inept maid named Naomi, who was hired by Darrin Stephens (played by
Dick York
) to assist his wife Samantha (
Elizabeth Montgomery
) during her pregnancy. Towards the end of the 1965?66 season, actress-comedian
Alice Pearce
, who was featured as nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz on
Bewitched
, died. The producers of the series immediately offered the role of Gladys to Ghostley, who refused it. As a result, in the fall of 1966, character actress
Sandra Gould
assumed the role of Gladys. In September 1969, after the death of actress
Marion Lorne
, who played Aunt Clara, Ghostley joined
Bewitched
as a semiregular in the role of Esmeralda, a shy witch who served as a maid and babysitter to the Stephens' household.
[2]
Ghostley's character of Esmeralda was created to replace Aunt Clara's role as a bumbler of magic.
[6]
[
dead link
]
Ghostley's Esmeralda appeared in 15 episodes of
Bewitched
between 1969 and 1972.
[7]
During her two years on
Bewitched
, Ghostley also joined the cast of
Mayberry R.F.D.
, playing Cousin Alice after
Frances Bavier
's character,
Aunt Bee
, was written out of the series. She appeared in 14 episodes.
[6]
On February 22, 1969, she appeared as Aggie on
The Ghost & Mrs Muir
(starring
Edward Mulhare
and
Hope Lange
). The episode was entitled "Make Me A Match". The captain and Mrs. Muir matched her with Claymore Gregg (
Charles Nelson Reilly
). On March 6, 1970, she appeared on another episode of
The Ghost & Mrs Muir
, "Curious Cousin". She played nosey Cousin Harriet. She interferes with Mrs Muir's private life. To divert her excessive attention, Claymore, posing as Captain Gregg, comes to court her.
[6]
After eight years,
Bewitched
was cancelled by ABC in the spring of 1972. Later that year in September, Ghostley was hired as a semiregular for the ABC-TV variety series,
The Julie Andrews Hour
; in addition to participating in songs and sketches, Andrews and Ghostley were featured in a recurring segment as roommates sharing a small apartment.
The Julie Andrews Hour
was cancelled by ABC in the spring of 1973 after 24 episodes. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ghostley appeared in episodes of situation comedies such as
Hogan's Heroes
(alternating with
Kathleen Freeman
playing Gertrude Linkmaier, General Burkhalter's sister) and Mrs. Field Marshal Manheim,
Good Times
,
Maude
,
One Day at a Time
,
The Odd Couple
, and
What's Happening!!
.
[6]
Between 1986 and 1993, Ghostley portrayed Bernice Clifton, the slightly off-kilter, eccentric friend of Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker's mother, Perky, on
Designing Women
.
[8]
She later played Irna Wallingsford in six episodes of
Evening Shade
. She also had a recurring role of Ida Mae Brindle in the sitcom
Small Wonder
, which ran from 1985 to 1989. Among many other guest roles, she appeared in a flashback episode as the crazed mother-in-law of Dorothy Zbornak (
Bea Arthur
) on
The Golden Girls
. She made a one-time appearance as Great-Grandma in
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
. Ghostley also made a few guest appearances on the
daytime drama
Passions
in 2000, playing the ghost of
Matilda Matthews
.
[6]
Film
[
edit
]
Among her roles in motion pictures, Ghostley appeared in
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962),
[2]
playing Stephanie Crawford, the neighborhood gossip. She starred in
Gator
as Gator's partner in crime who brings her cats along on a burglary. She appeared in the film version of
Grease
as shop teacher Mrs. Murdock. In 1985, she had a supporting role in the
Nancy Allen
comedy
Not for Publication
.
[6]
Alice played Grandmama in the direct-to-video movie
Addams Family Reunion
.
[
citation needed
]
Awards
[
edit
]
Ghostley received a
Tony
nomination in 1963 for different roles she played in the Broadway comedy
The Beauty Part
. She also received a Tony Award for
Best Featured Actress
for her role in
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
.
[4]
In
1992
, she earned
an Emmy nomination
for her role in
Designing Women
.
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Ghostley was married to
Felice Orlandi
, an Italian-American actor, from 1953 until his death in 2003.
[4]
Ghostley died at her home in
Studio City, California
, on September 21, 2007, of colon cancer and a series of strokes.
[9]
[10]
Selected filmography
[
edit
]
Select television credits
[
edit
]
- Lights Out
as Chambers' Secretary (1951, "Perchance To Dream")
- The Best of Broadway
as Clara Hyland (1955, "The Show-Off")
- Star Stage
(1955, "A Letter to Mr. Priest")
- Playwrights '56
as Mrs. Hope (1956, "Flight")
- The United States Steel Hour
as Ida Routzeng (1959, "A Taste of Champagne" and 1962; Episode - "You Can't Escape")
- Dow Hour of Great Mysteries
as Charlotte (1960, "The Dachet Diamonds")
- Play of the Week
(1960, "Highlights of New Faces")
- Art Carney Special
(1961, "Everybody's Doin' It!")
- The Tom Ewell Show
as Polly (1961, "The Chutney Caper") and as Lavinia Barrington (1961, "I Don't See It")
- Car 54, Where Are You?
as Bonita Kalsheim (1961, "Christmas at the 53rd" and "Love Finds Muldoon")
- Naked City
as Clara, the Bookkeeper (1963, 'One, Two, Three, Rita Rakahowski")
- The Trials of O'Brien
as Eve Roberti (1965, "The Trouble with Archie")
- Bewitched
as Naomi Hogan (1966, "Maid to Order") and as Esmeralda (1969-1972, 15 appearances)
- Get Smart
as Verna (1966, "The Last One in Is a Rotten Spy") and as Naomi Farkas (1968, "The Farkas Fracas")
- Please Don't Eat the Daisies
as Miss Feather (1966, "Move Over, Mozart")
- The Farmer's Daughter
as Jane Marshall (1966, "The Wife of Your Friend May Not Be a Friend of Your Wife)
- Captain Nice
as Mrs. Nash (1967, 15 appearances)
- Insight
as Mother (1968, "Watts Made Out of Thread")
- He & She
as Norma Nugent (1968, "What's in the Kitty?")
- Love, American Style
as Mrs. Silversmith (1969), Mrs. Billingsley (1971), Mom (1971) and Gladys (1972)
- The Mothers-in-Law
as Mrs. Irene Wiley (1969, "And Baby Makes Four")
- It Takes a Thief
as Miss Prillo (1969, "The Second Time Around")
- Hogan's Heroes
as Gertrude Linkmaier (1969, "Watch the Trains Go By") and as Mrs. Mannheim (1971, "That's No Lady, That's My Spy")
- The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
as Aggie Burns (1969, "Make Me a Match") and as Cousin Harriet (1970, "Curious Cousin")
- The Odd Couple
as Mimi (1970, "The Breakup")
- Mayberry R.F.D.
as Cousin Alice (1970-1971, two appearances)
- Nichols
as Bertha (1971-1972, two appearances)
- Here We Go Again
as Mrs. Nicholson (1973, "After the Wedding Bells")
- The New Temperatures Rising Show
as Mrs. Lindsey (1972, "Ellen's Flip Side") and as Edwina Moffitt (1974, seven appearances)
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker
as Doctor Agnes Temple (1974, "Bad Medicine")
- Great Performances
as Mrs. Taylor (1975, "Who's Happy Now?")
- Big Eddie
as Violet Klabber (1975, "Crashing Violet")
- Maude
as Hazel M. Hathaway (1976, "Walter's Stigma")
- Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
as Gladys Dillworth (1976, two appearances)
- Monster Squad
as Queen Bee (1976, "Queen Bee")
- All's Fair
as Inez (1976, "Living Together")
- One Day at a Time
as Harriet Loring (1977-1978, two appearances)
- What's Happening!!
as Mrs. Turner (1977, "The Maid Did It")
- The Nancy Walker Show
as Louise (1977, "The Partners")
- CHiPS
as Mamie (1978, "Rustling")
- Police Woman
as Manageress (1978, "Sunset")
- Carter Country
(1978, "The Chief's Dressing Gown")
- Family
as Mrs. Hanley (1978, "A Friend of the Family's") and others
- Chico and the Man
as Harriett (1978, "The Peeping Tom")
- Friends
as Mrs. Sandler (1979)
- Gimme a Break!
as Mrs. Falconberg (1982, "Love Thy Neighbor")
- Madame's Place
as Herself (1982, "The Nice Bernadette")
- Trapper John, M.D.
as Marge Collins (1984, "The Fred Connection")
- Mama Malone
as Nedda (1984, "Connie's Old Flame" & "Shall We Dance?")
- Tales from the Darkside
as Elinor Colander (1985, "Anniversary Dinner")
- Highway to Heaven
as Mrs. Schtepmutter (1985, "Cindy")
- Stir Crazy
(1985, "The Love Affair")
- Designing Women
as Bernice Clifton (1986-1993)
- Simon & Simon
as Grandma Marie Cooper (1986, "Family Forecast")
- The New Leave It to Beaver
as Miss Honeywell (1986, "Miss Honeywell Comes to Town")
- Punky Brewster
as Mrs. Winston (1987, "Punky's Big Story")
- The Golden Girls
as Mrs. Zbornak (1988, "Mother's Day")
- Small Wonder
as Ida Mae Brindle (1988, four appearances)
- B.L. Stryker
as Mrs. Parkinson (1990, "Night Train")
- Hearts Are Wild
as Margaret Sawyer (1992, "Pilot")
- Evening Shade
as Irna Wallingford (1992-1994, six appearances)
- Daddy Dearest
as Aunt Adelaide (1993, "Thanks, but No Thanks")
- Cobra
as Lorinda McClure (1994, "Lorinda")
- Diagnosis Murder
as Mrs. Groviak (1994, "You Can Call Me Johnson")
- The Client
as Aunt Mabel (1996, "Damn Yankees")
- Aaahh! Real Monsters
as Grandma (1996), voice of Nurse (1996), Eccentric Woman (1997), voice of Wife (1997)
- Touched by an Angel
as Mrs. DeWinter (1997, "Labor of Love")
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch
as Great-Grandma (1997, "Witch Trash")
- Rugrats
as Mrs. Holkin (1997, two appearances)
- Channel Umptee-3
as voice of Pandora Rickets (1997)
- Dharma and Greg
as Alice Binns (1998, "Dharma and Greg's First Romantic Valentine's Day Weekend")
- 101 Dalmatians
as Hester Hen,
the town's witch
(1998, one appearance)
- Hercules
as Miss Cassiopeia (1998, four appearances)
- Passions
as
Matilda Matthews
(2000, four appearances)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Arnold, Gary (October 18, 2007).
"Familiar New Faces: Spoofs Endure For Cast, Films"
.
The Washington Times
. Retrieved
November 27,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
Lavietes, Stuart (September 22, 2007).
"Alice Ghostley, Comic TV and Stage Actress, Is Dead"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
November 27,
2012
.
- ^
"
Honoring Alice Ghostley's life, career for what would have been her 100th birthday
".
Tulsa World
. August 14, 2023.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Bewitched Actress Alice Ghostley Dies"
.
Sunday Gazette-Mail
. September 23, 2007. Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2015
. Retrieved
November 27,
2012
.
- ^
Foster, Catherine (December 5, 2004).
"Rodgers & Hammerstein's Musical Cinderella Story Returns"
.
The Boston Globe
. Archived from
the original
on March 12, 2016
. Retrieved
November 27,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Alice Ghostley"
.
TVGuide.com
.
TV Guide
. Retrieved
August 25,
2019
.
- ^
Paul.
"When Esmeralda Sneezed"
.
Archived
from the original on June 10, 2007
. Retrieved
April 27,
2007
.
- ^
Bornfeld, Steve (July 3, 1990).
"Quality-Television Group Picks Nominees For Its Own Awards"
.
Albany Times
. Archived from
the original
on January 26, 2013
. Retrieved
November 27,
2012
.
- ^
Stuart Lavietes (September 22, 2007).
"Alice Ghostley, Comic TV and Stage Actress, Is Dead"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
February 15,
2012
.
- ^
"Alice Ghostley obituary"
.
The Advocate
. November 6, 2007. Archived from
the original
on February 28, 2011
. Retrieved
November 27,
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]
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