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Alice Ghostley headshot
Alice Ghostley
Credits
Roles Esmeralda
Naomi Hogan
Biographical Information
Full Name Alice Margaret Ghostley
Birthdate August 14, 1923
Birthplace Eve, Missouri, United States
Death Date September 21, 2007 (age 84)
Death Place Studio City, Los Angeles, California, United States[1]

Alice Ghostley portrayed Esmeralda (1969-1972), Samantha's witch maid, whose magic often went awry. Her first appearance on Bewitched was as a klutzy mortal maid, Naomi Hogan, in the second season episode, Maid to Order (1966).

Career[]

Alice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress and singer. She was best known for her roles as the bungling insecure Esmeralda on Bewitched (1969-1972), as Cousin Alice (1970–1971) on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton (1986–1993) 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 (1971–1972) and The Julie Andrews Hour (1972–1973).

Bewitched[]

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 to assist his wife, Samantha, during her pregnancy. Towards the end of the 1965-1966 season, actress-comedian Alice Pearce, who was featured as nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched, died. The producers of the series immediately offered the role of Gladys to Ghostley, who refused it. As a result, in the fall of 1966, character actress Sandra Gould assumed the role of Gladys.

In September 1969, after the death of actress Marion Lorne in 1968, who played Aunt Clara, Ghostley joined Bewitched as a semiregular in the role of Esmeralda, a shy witch who served as a maid and babysitter to the Stephens' household. Ghostley's character of Esmeralda was created to replace Aunt Clara's role as a bumbler of magic.

Personal Life[]

Ghostley was married to Felice Orlandi, an Italian-American actor, from 1953 until his death in 2003.

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.[2]

Bewitched Credits[]

Episode Airdate
Maid to Order (as Naomi Hogan) January 6, 1966
Samantha's Yoo-Hoo Maid September 25, 1969
Samantha's Caesar Salad October 2, 1969
Samantha's Double Mother Trouble December 4, 1969
Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays December 18, 1969
Samantha's Lost Weekend January 8, 1970
Okay, Who's the Wise Witch? March 12, 1970
Turn on the Old Charm April 9, 1970
Make Love, Not Hate April 16, 1970
Paul Revere Rides Again October 29, 1970
Samantha's Old Salem Trip November 12, 1970
Samantha's Magic Mirror April 8, 1971
Samantha's Not So Leaning Tower of Pisa October 6, 1971
Samantha's Magic Sitter January 5, 1972
George Washington Zapped Here (Part 1) February 19, 1972
George Washington Zapped Here (Part 2) February 26, 1972

References[]

  1. Alice Ghostley on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on November 28, 2019.
  2. Alice Ghostley on Wikipedia. Retrieved on November 28, 2019, edited.
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