Alice Ghostley was a wonderful person who is now an angel looking down on us... She was full of light and love and brought joy not only to her family and friends, but also to her fans... She is probably most remembered for her roles on Bewitched as the shy witch-maid Esmeralda and Bernice Clifton on the show Designing Women.
Ms. Ghostley went to be with the light on Friday September 21, 2007 after a battle with colon cancer and several strokes. She was 81 years young!! We will miss you truly!!
Here is her biography from my favourite website www.wikipedia.org:
Alice Ghostley (August 14, 1926 – September 21, 2007)[1] was a Tony Award-winning American actress. She was best known for her roles as Bernice Clifton on Designing Women (Emmy Nomination, Best Supporting Actress; 1992), as Esmeralda on Bewitched, and as Cousin Alice on Mayberry R.F.D.
Television
A veteran of early television, Ghostley appeared as one of the ugly step-sisters in the landmark 1957 musical television production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's Cinderella, which starred Julie Andrews in the title role.
Ghostley portrayed several well-known recurring characters on 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. The character appeared in 15 episodes. Ghostley had previously guest starred once as another character, Naomi, on the show's second season.[2] During this period she also joined the cast of Mayberry R.F.D., playing Cousin Alice after Frances Bavier's character, Aunt Bee, was written off the series.
Between 1986 and 1993, Ghostley portrayed Bernice Clifton on Designing Women. She later played Irna Wallingsford in six episodes of Evening Shade. Among many other guest starring roles, she appeared in a flashback episode as the crazed mother-in-law of Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) on The Golden Girls.
Stage
Ghostley first came to Broadway 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.
Film
Among her forays into motion pictures, Ghostley appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), playing Stephanie Crawford, the fussy aunt of Dill Harris (a precocious child loosely based on Truman Capote). She also appeared in the film version of Grease as shop teacher Mrs. Murdock (a non-existent role in the Broadway version).
Ghostley and Marion Lorne had cameos in one scene of 1967's The Graduate at the hotel where Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin have their first tryst. Coincidentally, on Bewitched, Ghostley's character, Esmeralda, was brought in to try to fill the void after Lorne, who played Aunt Clara, died suddenly in 1968.[2]
Academy Awards
Ghostley stood in for friend and fellow New Faces alumna Maggie Smith in 1970, when Smith won the Academy Award as Best Actress for her starring role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie but could not attend the ceremony.
Personal
Alice Ghostley was born on August 14, 1926 in Eve, Missouri, where her father worked as a telegraph operator. She grew up in Henryetta, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Oklahoma but dropped out to pursue a career in theatre.[3]
Ghostley was married to Felice Orlandi, an Italian-American actor, for fifty years (from 1953 until his death from lung cancer on May 21, 2003); they had no children.
Death
Alice Ghostley died at her home in Studio City, California on September 21, 2007 after a long battle with colon cancer and a series of strokes. She was 81 years old.[4] She is survived by a sister.
References
1. ^ Ghostley's New York Times obit
2. ^ a b When Esmeralda Sneezed. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
3. ^ Actress Alice Ghostley dies at 81. Miami Herald (2007-09-22). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
4. ^ Alice Ghostley, "Esmeralda" In TV's 'Bewitched,' Dead At 81. The Post-Chronicle (2007-09-21). Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
Ms. Ghostley was a beautiful woman with lots of talent. Hopefully Bewitched Season 6 will be released soon so we can see her magic appear on the television and remember how wonderful she was!! We love you Alice!!
Alice Ghostley and Bernard Fox were the last two surviving adult cast members of Bewitched. Kasey Rogers who played Louise Tate number 2 died last year on July 6th and now Mr. Fox is the only surving adult cast member.
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