'Bewitched' Actress Alice Ghostley Refused "2nd Mrs. Kravitz" Role After Friend Alice Pearce Died

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[Note: Unless otherwise indicated, quotes and commentary that appear in this article are from an interview conducted by the author with those mentioned.]

Overview

Beloved, Tony Award-winning actress Alice Ghostley, who died at 81 in 2007, found mainstream fame in three hit TV shows: Bewitched (ABC, 1964-1972), Mayberry R.F.D. (CBS, 1968-1971), and Designing Women (CBS, 1986-1993). However, she initially declined participation in of those landmark series. What follows is what happened.

From Missouri to Oklahoma to Broadway

Alice Ghostley was born on August 14, 1926, in Eve, Missouri, where her father was employed as a telegraph operator. She was raised in Henryetta, Oklahoma and, after graduating from high school, attended the University of Oklahoma.

However, Ghostley dropped out and relocated to New York with her sister to pursue a life in the theatre. She soon became an usher, which allowed her to see shows for free. That's when she was inspired to be an acterss.

Ghostley didn't look like an ingenue, and she knew it. Her nose was long, she had crooked teeth, and she wasn’t blond; all of which then worked against any potential to win leading lady roles.

Soon, Ghostley realized she was a character actress, a category that would more than serve her well.

In time, Ghostley made her Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman’s New Faces of 1952, for which she received critical praise for singing The Boston Beguine, which became her signature song.

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 Broadway to Bewitched

Beyond the stage, Alice Ghostley would make a strong impression on the big screen in feature films like To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Gator (1976), Grease (1978), and The Graduate (1967).

In the latter film, she appeared with actress/friend Marion Lorne, who had played the bumbling Aunt Clara on Bewitched.

In an early black and white episode of that supernatural sitcom starring Elizabeth Montgomery as twitch-witch Samantha Stephens, Ghostley would make a guest appearance as a mortal maid.

The show's main producer/director William Asher (then married to Montgomery) was impressed by Ghostley's abilities. As with many other actors who made guest appearances, including Ghostley's friend and New Faces castmate Paul "Uncle Arthur" Lynde), she was asked return to Bewitched.

However, at first, Ghostley declined. That's because she was invited to replace her late friend Alice Pearce, who had played Mrs. Glady Kravitz, Samantha's frantic nosy human neighbor.

In an interview from 1988, Ghostley said, "I couldn't do that role. Alice was a dear friend, and I just did not feel comfortable replacing her."

Asher and company then cast Sandra Gould as the new Mrs. Kravitz, only to approach Ghostley a few years later to play another part on the show. This time, she was asked to play Esmeralda, Samantha's bumbling witch maid.

Acclaimed actress Marion Lorne had played a similar character in the form of Aunt Clara. Like Alice Pearce, Lorne had also been a cherished friend of Ghostley's.

However, this time, Ghostley agreed to make more appearances on Bewitched only because she would not be playing the same character as Lorne; but a similar role. "That I was okay with," she said.

Bewitched and Beyond

Beyond playing Esmeralda on Bewitched, Alice Ghostley found herself cast in another "replacement role." That development occcured with the third season of Mayberry R.F.D., the sequel to The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960-1968), which Griffith decided to end).

After Frances Bavier no longer wanted to play Aunt Bee, a character she created on the Griffith Show, and then brought to R.F.D.), Ghostley was cast as the less-daffy and more compassionate Cousin Alice character on Mayberry.

As with the Bewitched/befuddled Aunt Clara-Esmeralda transition, Ghostley on Mayberry wasn't replacing Bavier as Aunt Bee, but as a new, but similarly-nurting character Cousin Alice.

With Designs on Alice

Alice Ghostley never won an award for playing Esmeralda on Bewitched, or Cousin Alice on Mayberry, R.F.D.

However, twenty years later, she would be recognized by the prestigous Television Academy for another of her remarkable TV roles.

In 1992, the actress beloved actress would by Emmy-nominated Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for her role as the daffy Bernice on the CBS sitcom Designing Women.

In the End

In the end, Alice Ghostley remained loyal and true to her friendships with both Alice Pearce and Marion Lorne in the magical world of Bewitched, respectful to her colleague Frances Bavier in the downhome world of Mayberry R.F.D., and loyal and devoted to her husband, actor Felice Orlandi (who died in 2003), in her own little corner of her home world.