Alice Margaret Ghostley

Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007)

She was best known for her roles as the bungling insecure Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) 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. She was a regular on Nichols (1971–72) and The Julie Andrews Hour (1972–73). 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. Ghostley guest starred on the NBC police comedy, Car 54, Where Are You?, with Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne. 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. Ghostley was offered the role of Gladys Kravitz following the death of Alice Pearce, but turned it down. In September 1969, after the death of actress Marion Lorne, who played Aunt Clara, Ghostley joined Bewitched in the semi-regular role of Esmeralda, a shy witch who served as a maid and babysitter to the Stephens' household. Among her roles in motion pictures, Ghostley appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), playing Stephanie Crawford, the neighborhood gossip. 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 In 1985, she had a supporting role in the Nancy Allen comedy Not for Publication.

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 is interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, buried with her sister, Gladys (died June 21, 2009).