Actress Alice Ghostley dies at 81

Sat Sep 22, 7:52 AM ET

Alice Ghostley, the Tony Award-winning actress best known on television for playing Esmeralda on "Bewitched" and Bernice on "Designing Women," has died. She was 81.

Ghostley died Friday at her home in Studio City after a long battle with colon cancer and a series of strokes, longtime friend Jim Pinkston said.

Ghostley made her Broadway debut in "Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952." She received critical acclaim for singing "The Boston Beguine," which became her signature song.

Miles Kreuger, president of the Los Angeles-based Institute of the American Musical, said part of Ghostley's charm was that she was not glamorous.

"She was rather plain and had a splendid singing voice, and the combination of the well-trained, splendid singing voice and this kind of dowdy homemaker character was so incongruous and so charming," Kreuger said.

In the 1960s, Ghostley received a Tony nomination for various characterizations in the Broadway comedy "The Beauty Part" and eventually won for best featured actress in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window."

From 1969 to 1972, she played the good witch and ditzy housekeeper Esmeralda on TV's "Bewitched." She played Bernice Clifton on "Designing Women" from 1987 to 1993, for which she earned an Emmy nomination in 1992.

Ghostley's film credits include "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Graduate," "Gator" and "Grease."

She was born on Aug. 14, 1926, in Eve, Mo., where her father worked as a telegraph operator. She grew up in Henryetta, Okla.

After graduating from high school, Ghostley attended the University of Oklahoma but dropped out and moved to New York with her sister to pursue theater.

"The best job I had then was as a theater usher," she said in a 1990 Boston Globe interview. "I saw the plays for free. What I saw before me was a visualization of what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be."

She was well aware of the types of roles she should pursue.

"I knew I didn't look like an ingenue," she told The Globe. "My nose was too long. I had crooked teeth. I wasn't blond. I knew I looked like a character actress.

"But I also knew I'd find a way," she added.

Ghostley, whose actor husband, Felice Orlandi, died in 2003, is survived by her sister, Gladys.

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The first time I heard Bernice sing "Black Man" to Anthony I was rolling on the floor.. RIP.

Sad loss. She was REALLY funny in Designing Women.

Growing up, bewitched was a staple in my house (not trying to date myself)
I always looked foward to aunt Esmeraldas adventures. She was also very lovable as Bernice, lovely lady.

My favorite line on Designing Women was when she answered the phone "Boogershakers." Too funny! My first memory of her was in Grease.

@ "Black man, black man."

I loved her.

I remember her

I liked her, she pop up in alot of classic tv shows. God bless and rest in peace Alice.

Thats the best picture I could find.




I think only Dr. Bombay is still alive. God I loved Bewitched!

I liked her on Designing Women, one of my favorite shows when I was younger.

RIP Alice Ghostley

Bewitched is my mom's favorite sitcom.

I am totally making it my mission to find a clip of her singing that song.

"Black Man, Black Man, where did you come from?"

I remember her from "Bewitched".
My fav was when she went to Italy and "rectified" a past mishap by straightening the leaning tower of Pisa.

sosgemini said:

Nicholas!!!

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ed&search=

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

awww buddy...you totally made my day...thank you thank you thank you!!!

sosgemini said:

Oh my God, I couldn't stop laughing. It's funny 'cause my best friend and I have always quoted that. I lost it when I saw your thread.

thanks for that link guys! that totally made my morning!

that's really sad. she was a great character actress, and certainly a face that was synonymous with the 70s and 80s. it's sad when those familiar character actors start disappearing from tv and movies...

"....and it's as hot as the parts on it....." Alice Ghostley in Grease.

Heehee!!

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

why can i totally imagine you running around singing that?