Alice Ghostley
(1926 - 2007)She often played shy, dizzy, confused or flustered spinster or motherly types. She was born August 14, 1926 in the small town of Eve, Missouri where her father was a telegrapher. As a child she lived in Arkansas and later Oklahoma, where a school teacher convinced her to pursue acting as a career. She developed a strong interest in theatre while attending the University of Oklahoma. After making her way to Broadway and some lean times she hit it big in the musical revue "New Faces of 1952." Comedy was her forte but she could handle drama as well. Short in stature but solidly built with auburn hair and twinkling eyes, she had a kind of spinstery look, even though she was married, which gave her character. Definitely an original with her flustered and dithery style and slightly whiny voice she was destined to land many character roles in all media. Her films included: "New Faces of 1952" (1952) the film version, her film debut; "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) as Aunt Stephanie Crawford; "My Six Loves" (1963) as Selena Johnson; "The Graduate" (1967) as Mrs. Singleman; "The Flim-Flam Man" (1967) as Mrs. Packard; "With Six You Get Eggroll" (1968) as Molly the Maid; "Viva Max!" (1970) as Hattie; "Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies" (1973) as Sister Lite; "Blue Sunshine" (1976) as O'Malley's Neighbor; "Gator" (1976) as Emmeline Cavanaugh; "Record City" (1977) as Worried Wife; "Rabbit Test" (1978) as Nurse Tunn; "Grease" (1978) as Mrs. Murdock; "Not for Publication" (1984) as Doris Denver; "The Wrong Guys" (1988); "The Odd Couple II" (1998) as Esther the Whiner; "Addams Family Reunion" (1998) as Granny; "Palmer's Pick Up" (1999) as Eleanor Palmer; the animated "Whispers: An Elephant Tale" (2000) as Voice of Tuskless and "Mothers and Daughters" (2002) as Doctor. She was quite prolific on TV appearing as a regular in: "Freedom Rings" (1952); "Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine" (1962-64) as Herself, a regular performer; "Captain Nice" (1967) as Mother Nash; "Bewitched" (1969-72) as the shy witch Esmeralda; "Mayberry R.F.D." (1970-71) as Alice; "The Golddiggers" (1971) as a regular; "Nichols" (1971) as Bertha; "The Julie Andrews Hour" (1972) as a regular; "Temperatures Rising" (1972) as Edwina Moffitt; "Designing Women" (1986-93) as Bernice Clifton; "Small Wonder" (1985-89) as Ida Mae Brindle and "Channel Umptee-3" (1997) as the voice of Pandora Rickets. We often thought of her as a female Paul Lynde...a compliment indeed! In 1969 she accepted the Best Actress Oscar for her friend Maggie Smith who was in England at the time. She excelled on the stage also earning two Tony nominations for "The Beauty Part" in 1963 and winning the Tony for "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" in 1965; the latter of which she won. We were big fans of Ms. Ghostley and thought of her as the "female Paul Lynde". She was married to actor, Felice Orlandi from 1953 until his death in May 2003. She died of colon cancer and a series of strokes on September 21, 2007 in Studio City, California at age 81.
From Great Character Actors, Page 2.
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