Alice Ghostley

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(Alice Ghostley)
(Alice Ghostley)
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==Alice Ghostley==
 
==Alice Ghostley==
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===Early Life===
 
Alice Ghostley was born 14 Aug 1926 in a train station in a place called "Eve" in Vernon County, [[Missouri]] as the second child of Harry F Ghostley and his wife Edna M Rooney.  Her father was at that time, a telegrapher at this "whistle stop", and shared quarters in the building.  By 1930, the family had moved to Siloam Springs, [[Benton County, Arkansas|Benton County]], [[Arkansas]] where her father Harry was buried in 1933 having died at a hospital in Missouri that year.  She attended school in Siloam Springs through the sixth grade, and then the family moved to Henryetta, Okmulgee County, [[Oklahoma]] where Alice finished growing up and graduated from high school.
 
Alice Ghostley was born 14 Aug 1926 in a train station in a place called "Eve" in Vernon County, [[Missouri]] as the second child of Harry F Ghostley and his wife Edna M Rooney.  Her father was at that time, a telegrapher at this "whistle stop", and shared quarters in the building.  By 1930, the family had moved to Siloam Springs, [[Benton County, Arkansas|Benton County]], [[Arkansas]] where her father Harry was buried in 1933 having died at a hospital in Missouri that year.  She attended school in Siloam Springs through the sixth grade, and then the family moved to Henryetta, Okmulgee County, [[Oklahoma]] where Alice finished growing up and graduated from high school.
  
After Alice went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where she majored in English and drama. She then moved with her sister Gladys to New York City.  Gladys got a job as a secretary at Columbia University, while Alice got her first job as an usher at the Imperial Theatre for $11.88 a week.  She studied singing, aiming for a career in that area, but at her 648th audition she was accosted by composer G. Wood, who persuaded her, that what she really was, was a comedienne.  The two of them begun doing comedy in small venues when she was spotted by Imogene Coca. Imogene told Leonard Sillman about her, and he put her in his annual revue ''New Faces'' of 1952 where she had a hit with her rendition of the song "The Boston Beguine".  They played Broadway for a year, and then toured to Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Oddly enough, two of the other aspiring members of the revue that year were [[Paul Lynde]] and [[Eartha Kitt]].  The tour was so successful, that "New Faces" was made into a Cinemascope production, and Alice again was a co-star as was Eartha Kitt, but Paul Lynde's name does not appear in the advertisement.  As amateurs, she and her sister Gladys once did an act together and were given the eerie-sounding billing of "The Ghostley Sisters."
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After Alice went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where she majored in English and drama. She then moved with her sister Gladys to New York City.  Gladys got a job as a secretary at Columbia University, while Alice got her first job as an usher at the Imperial Theatre for $11.88 a week.  She studied singing, aiming for a career in that area, but at her 648th audition she was accosted by composer G. Wood, who persuaded her, that what she really was, was a comedienne.  The two of them begun doing comedy in small venues when she was spotted by Imogene Coca.
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===Early Career===
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Imogene told Leonard Sillman about her, and he put her in his annual revue ''New Faces'' of 1952 where she had a hit with her rendition of the song "The Boston Beguine".  They played Broadway for a year, and then toured to Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Oddly enough, two of the other aspiring members of the revue that year were [[Paul Lynde]], [[Robert Clary]] and [[Eartha Kitt]].  The tour was so successful, that "New Faces" was made into a Cinemascope production, and Alice again was a co-star as was Eartha Kitt, but Paul Lynde's name does not appear in the advertisement.  As amateurs, she and her sister Gladys once did an act together and were given the eerie-sounding billing of "The Ghostley Sisters."
  
 
<table><tr><td>At the Fireside Inn in New York City, where she was singing, Alice met Italian-born actor Felice Antonio Orlandi in 1951.  He had been born in 1924 in Avezzano, Italy.  She stated in one interview that she proposed to him and he accepted after several months.  They married near the end of 1951.  In their first few years of marriage, Alice went on-the-road in ''New Faces'' and was gone for six months.  They remained married until his death in 2003.
 
<table><tr><td>At the Fireside Inn in New York City, where she was singing, Alice met Italian-born actor Felice Antonio Orlandi in 1951.  He had been born in 1924 in Avezzano, Italy.  She stated in one interview that she proposed to him and he accepted after several months.  They married near the end of 1951.  In their first few years of marriage, Alice went on-the-road in ''New Faces'' and was gone for six months.  They remained married until his death in 2003.
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For her work in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" she received a Tony Award.  Although Alice had many roles on television and film, she never was cast in a starring position.  She is most remembered today for her television roles as "Alice" on ''Mayberry, R.F.D.'', as "Esmerelda" on ''Bewitched'' and as "Bernice Clifton" on ''Designing Women''
 
For her work in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" she received a Tony Award.  Although Alice had many roles on television and film, she never was cast in a starring position.  She is most remembered today for her television roles as "Alice" on ''Mayberry, R.F.D.'', as "Esmerelda" on ''Bewitched'' and as "Bernice Clifton" on ''Designing Women''
  
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===Middle Career===
 
Her character "Esmerelda" was introduced on the TV-series ''Bewitched'', when [[Marion Lorne]], the actress who played "Aunt Clara" died and the studio wanted another comedic-actress to be introduced to the series to replace her.  In 1967 she appeared in her first full-time TV series as "Mrs Nash" in NBC's new-series ''Captain Nice''.  Alice and Felice moved to California in 1967/8 when she states she didn't work for six months.  She appeared on "Hogan's Heroes" and "What's It All About World".  In 1969 she again teamed up with [[Paul Lynde]] to appear on the Jonathan Winters show.
 
Her character "Esmerelda" was introduced on the TV-series ''Bewitched'', when [[Marion Lorne]], the actress who played "Aunt Clara" died and the studio wanted another comedic-actress to be introduced to the series to replace her.  In 1967 she appeared in her first full-time TV series as "Mrs Nash" in NBC's new-series ''Captain Nice''.  Alice and Felice moved to California in 1967/8 when she states she didn't work for six months.  She appeared on "Hogan's Heroes" and "What's It All About World".  In 1969 she again teamed up with [[Paul Lynde]] to appear on the Jonathan Winters show.
  
In it's third season in 1970, Alice became "Alice" on the TV-series ''Mayberry, R.F.D.'' starring Andy Griffith.  Alice and Felice in 1970 moved into their first house in the Hollywood Hills, previously having rented, mostly living in New York City apartments.   
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In it's third season in 1970, Alice became "Alice" on the TV-series ''Mayberry, R.F.D.'' starring Andy Griffith.  Alice and Felice in 1970 moved into their first house in the Hollywood Hills, previously having rented, mostly living in New York City apartments.  In 1973 she again teamed up with Julie Andrews, playing her foil, as the ABC "The Julie Andrews Hour"
  
 
Her husband Felice died in 2003, and Alice died at her home in Studio City, California on 21 Sep 2007 from colon cancer and strokes.
 
Her husband Felice died in 2003, and Alice died at her home in Studio City, California on 21 Sep 2007 from colon cancer and strokes.

Revision as of 16:16, 6 August 2008

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