Alice Ghostley
Encyclopedia
Alice Margaret Ghostley was an American
actress. She was best known for her roles as housekeeper 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 also a regular on the James Garner
-Margot Kidder
NBC
western Nichols (1971–72) and the critically acclaimed variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour
(1972-73).
. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Oklahoma
but dropped out to pursue a career in theatre.
in Leonard Sillman
's New Faces of 1952
and in the film version released in 1954. She appeared in the 1960 revue A Thurber Carnival
and in The Beauty Part (1962), playing several distinct roles in each. She also performed in several musical comedies, including Shangri-La
(1956).
She won the 1965 Tony Award
for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Mavis Parodus Bryson in Lorraine Hansberry
's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. In 1978 she succeeded Dorothy Loudon
, who had created the role of Miss Hannigan in the original Broadway run of the musical Annie
.
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 Miss Ballard's comedy series, The Mothers-in-Law
.
Ghostley portrayed recurring character
s on several situation comedies
, beginning with Esmeralda, a shy witch who served as a maid and babysitter to the Stephens' household beginning in season six of Bewitched
. Ghostley's role of Esmeralda was created after the death in May 1968 of Marion Lorne
, who portrayed Aunt Clara. (Coincidentally, Ghostley and Lorne shared a brief scene together in the 1967 film The Graduate, a few months prior to Lorne's death and before Ghostley was cast in Bewitched.)
Ghostley's "Esmeralda" appeared in 15 episodes between 1969 and 1972. Ghostley had previously guest starred once as a mortal character, "Naomi", during Bewitched 's second season.
After two plus years on "Bewitched" as a semi-regular, she joined the cast of Mayberry R.F.D.
, playing Cousin Alice after Frances Bavier
's character, Aunt Bee
, was written off the series. She appeared in 14 episodes.
In the spring of 1972, Bewitched was canceled by ABC after eight years. In September of that year, Ghostley was hired as a semi-regular 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 canceled by ABC in the spring of 1973 having completed a full season of twenty-four episodes.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ghostley appeared in episodes of situation comedies such as Hogan's Heroes
(playing Gertrude, General Burkhalter's Sister), Good Times
, Maude
, One Day at a Time
, The Odd Couple
and What's Happening!!
.
Between 1986 and 1993, Ghostley portrayed Bernice Clifton, the slightly off-kilter friend of Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker's mother, Perky, on Designing Women
. 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.
(1962), playing Stephanie Crawford, the fussy neighborhood gossip. She also appeared in the film version of Grease
as shop teacher Mrs. Murdock. She also had a supporting role in the 1985 Nancy Allen
comedy Not for Publication
. Alice played Grandmama in the direct-to-video movie Addams Family Reunion
.
on September 21, 2007.
On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Alice's ashes were brought to Oak Hill Cemetery in Siloam Springs, Arkansas
to be buried with her sister, Gladys, who died on June 21, 2009. The Ghostley sisters were buried next to their parents.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. She was best known for her roles as housekeeper Esmeralda (1969-72) on Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, as Cousin Alice (1970–71) on Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D. is a spin-off and direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title, for the same sponsor, General Foods...
, and as Bernice Clifton (1986–93) on Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
, for which she received an Emmy
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992. Ghostley was also a regular on the James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
-Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
western Nichols (1971–72) and the critically acclaimed variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour
The Julie Andrews Hour
The Julie Andrews Hour is a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States....
(1972-73).
Early life
Alice Ghostley was born in Eve, Vernon County, Missouri, where her father worked as a telegraph operator. She grew up in Henryetta, OklahomaHenryetta, Oklahoma
Henryetta is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,096 at the 2000 census.Henryetta is notable as the high school hometown of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman...
. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
but dropped out to pursue a career in theatre.
Stage
Ghostley first came to BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in Leonard Sillman
Leonard Sillman
Leonard Sillman was an American Broadway producer. Born in Detroit, Michigan on May 9, 1908, he was the brother of June Carroll, the brother-in-law of Sidney Carroll and the uncle of Steve Reich and Jonathan Carroll...
's New Faces of 1952
New Faces of 1952
New Faces of 1952 is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954...
and in the film version released in 1954. She appeared in the 1960 revue A Thurber Carnival
A Thurber Carnival
A Thurber Carnival is a revue by James Thurber, adapted by the author from his stories, cartoons and casuals , nearly all of which originally appeared in The New Yorker. It was directed by Burgess Meredith...
and in The Beauty Part (1962), playing several distinct roles in each. She also performed in several musical comedies, including Shangri-La
Shangri-La (musical)
Shangri-La is a musical with a book and lyrics by James Hilton, Jerome Lawrence, and Robert E. Lee and music by Harry Warren.Based on Hilton's classic 1933 novel Lost Horizon, it focuses on Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, who stumbles across a utopian lamasery high...
(1956).
She won the 1965 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Mavis Parodus Bryson in Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry was an African American playwright and author of political speeches, letters, and essays...
's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. In 1978 she succeeded Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
, who had created the role of Miss Hannigan in the original Broadway run of the musical Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
.
Television
A veteran of early television, Ghostley appeared as Joy, one of the ugly stepsisters in the 1957 musical television production of Richard RodgersRichard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
's Cinderella
Cinderella (TV)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Vair, by Charles Perrault...
, which starred Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
in the title role. The other stepsister was played by actress Kaye Ballard
Kaye Ballard
Kaye Ballard is an American musical theatre and television actress, comedienne, and singer.-Life and career:Ballard was born as Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Italian American family, the daughter of Lena and Vincent James Balotta.Ballard established herself as a musical...
. Twelve years later, Ghostley guest starred as a harried maternity nurse on Miss Ballard's comedy series, The Mothers-in-Law
The Mothers-in-Law
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969; it was produced by Desi Arnaz after the dissolutions...
.
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
s on several situation comedies
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, beginning with Esmeralda, a shy witch who served as a maid and babysitter to the Stephens' household beginning in season six of Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
. Ghostley's role of Esmeralda was created after the death in May 1968 of Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne MacDougall was an American actress. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television...
, who portrayed Aunt Clara. (Coincidentally, Ghostley and Lorne shared a brief scene together in the 1967 film The Graduate, a few months prior to Lorne's death and before Ghostley was cast in Bewitched.)
Ghostley's "Esmeralda" appeared in 15 episodes between 1969 and 1972. Ghostley had previously guest starred once as a mortal character, "Naomi", during Bewitched 's second season.
After two plus years on "Bewitched" as a semi-regular, she joined the cast of Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D. is a spin-off and direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title, for the same sponsor, General Foods...
, playing Cousin Alice after Frances Bavier
Frances Bavier
Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from the New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s...
's character, Aunt Bee
Aunt Bee
Beatrice Taylor is a fictional character from the 1960s American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. The show was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960, until April 1, 1968...
, was written off the series. She appeared in 14 episodes.
In the spring of 1972, Bewitched was canceled by ABC after eight years. In September of that year, Ghostley was hired as a semi-regular for the ABC-TV variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour
The Julie Andrews Hour
The Julie Andrews Hour is a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States....
. 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
The Julie Andrews Hour
The Julie Andrews Hour is a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States....
was canceled by ABC in the spring of 1973 having completed a full season of twenty-four episodes.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ghostley appeared in episodes of situation comedies such as Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
(playing Gertrude, General Burkhalter's Sister), Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
, Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
, One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
, The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
and What's Happening!!
What's Happening!!
What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly...
.
Between 1986 and 1993, Ghostley portrayed Bernice Clifton, the slightly off-kilter friend of Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker's mother, Perky, on Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
. She later played Irna Wallingsford in six episodes of Evening Shade
Evening Shade
Evening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...
. 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
Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...
) on The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
. 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
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
in 2000, playing the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of Matilda Matthews.
Film
Among her roles in motion pictures, Ghostley appeared in To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird (film)
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan. It stars Mary Badham in the role of Scout and Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch....
(1962), playing Stephanie Crawford, the fussy neighborhood gossip. She also appeared in the film version of Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
as shop teacher Mrs. Murdock. She also had a supporting role in the 1985 Nancy Allen
Nancy Allen (actress)
Nancy Anne Allen is a Golden Globe nominated American actress and cancer activist.Allen began an acting and modelling career as a child, and from the mid-1970s appeared in small film roles, most notably the anchor of Robert Zemeckis's ensemble comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand...
comedy Not for Publication
Not for Publication
Not for Publication is an American screwball comedy film directed by Paul Bartel and starring Nancy Allen. It premiered at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival before being acquired for distribution by Thorn EMI....
. Alice played Grandmama in the direct-to-video movie Addams Family Reunion
Addams Family Reunion
Addams Family Reunion is a film released straight-to-video in 1998. It was also distributed to television by Fox Family. It is unrelated to the two Paramount films from 1991 and 1993. So far, the film is only available on VHS and has not had a DVD release. It was shot in Los Angeles, California...
.
Personal life
Ghostley was married to Felice Orlandi, an Italian-American actor, from 1953 until his death in 2003; they had no children.Death
Alice Ghostley died at her home in Studio City, CaliforniaStudio City, Los Angeles, California
Studio City is an affluent residential neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley. Studio City expands over four ZIP code areas: 91604 and sections of 91602, 91607 and 90210....
on September 21, 2007.
On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Alice's ashes were brought to Oak Hill Cemetery in Siloam Springs, Arkansas
Siloam Springs, Arkansas
Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,990...
to be buried with her sister, Gladys, who died on June 21, 2009. The Ghostley sisters were buried next to their parents.