Mary Grace Canfield
Encyclopedia
Mary Grace Canfield is an American actress who often played the role of a romance-starved spinster
/wallflower
. Her parents were Hubert and Hildegard (nee Jacobson) Canfield.
In the 1961-62 television
season, Canfield played a housekeeper, Amanda Allison, in the ABC
sitcom The Hathaways
, starring Peggy Cass
and Jack Weston as "parents" to the performing Marquis Chimps. On the CBS series Green Acres
, Canfield played Ralph Monroe, the all-thumbs carpenter who greeted her fellow Hootervillians with her signature, "Howdie Doodie!" As Thelma Lou's "plain" cousin
in an episode of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show
, she had an arranged blind date with Gomer Pyle
, played by Jim Nabors
. During the early 1970s, Canfield and actress Lucille Wall
shared the role of nurse Lucille March (Audrey's sister) on General Hospital
.
She guest starred on the NBC
medical drama
The Eleventh Hour
. In 1966, Canfield played Abner Kravitz' sister, Harriet, on three Bewitched
episodes in the interim following the death of actress Alice Pearce
, who played Mrs. Kravitz, from ovarian cancer
; and before the hiring of Pearce's successor in the role, Sandra Gould
. In the early 2000s, she appeared on stage in her local New England theatre productions.
She appeared in such films as Pollyanna
, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
and Something Wicked This Way Comes
.
's funeral along with Green Acress co-stars Sid Melton
and Frank Cady
.
Spinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
/wallflower
Wallflower
Erysimum is a genus that includes about 180 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus Cheiranthus is sometimes included herein whole or in part. Erysimum has recently adscribed to a monogeneric cruciferous tribe, Erysimeae...
. Her parents were Hubert and Hildegard (nee Jacobson) Canfield.
In the 1961-62 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
season, Canfield played a housekeeper, Amanda Allison, in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom The Hathaways
The Hathaways
The Hathaways is a 26-episode situation comedy which aired on ABC from October 6, 1961, to March 30, 1962, starring Peggy Cass and Jack Weston as suburban Los Angeles "parents" to a trio of performing chimpanzees. Weston portrays Walter Hathaway, a real estate agent. Cass is his wife Elinore, the...
, starring Peggy Cass
Peggy Cass
Mary Margaret “Peggy” Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Cass became interested in acting as a member of the drama club at Cambridge Latin School; however, she attended all of high school without a speaking part...
and Jack Weston as "parents" to the performing Marquis Chimps. On the CBS series Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, Canfield played Ralph Monroe, the all-thumbs carpenter who greeted her fellow Hootervillians with her signature, "Howdie Doodie!" As Thelma Lou's "plain" cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
in an episode of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, she had an arranged blind date with Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...
, played by Jim Nabors
Jim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
. During the early 1970s, Canfield and actress Lucille Wall
Lucille Wall
Lucille Wall was an American actress who played the role of Lucille March Weeks on the ABC soap opera General Hospital from 1963 to 1976. At times the role was also played by Mary Grace Canfield....
shared the role of nurse Lucille March (Audrey's sister) on General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
.
She guest starred on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
. In 1966, Canfield played Abner Kravitz' sister, Harriet, on three Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
episodes in the interim following the death of actress Alice Pearce
Alice Pearce
Alicia “Alice” Pearce was an American actress. Brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town , Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched in 1964...
, who played Mrs. Kravitz, from ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
; and before the hiring of Pearce's successor in the role, Sandra Gould
Sandra Gould
Sandra Gould was an American actress, who appeared mainly in television. Among her many credits was a regular role on the sitcom Bewitched as the second Gladys Kravitz....
. In the early 2000s, she appeared on stage in her local New England theatre productions.
She appeared in such films as Pollyanna
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...
, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967 gangster film based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside gang, directed against George "Bugs" Moran by Al Capone...
and Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983 film)
Something Wicked This Way Comes is a 1983 film based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same name, starring Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce. Directed by Jack Clayton from a screenplay written by Bradbury himself, the movie suffered from offscreen conflicts of vision...
.
Last public appearance
In 2005, she attended Eddie AlbertEddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
's funeral along with Green Acress co-stars Sid Melton
Sid Melton
Sid Melton was an American actor known for his roles as incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom Green Acres and as Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor of the Copa Club, in Make Room for Daddy and its spin-offs.Born as Sidney Meltzer in Brooklyn, New York, he was the brother of screenwriter...
and Frank Cady
Frank Cady
Frank Cady is an American actor best known for his recurring and popular role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three US television series during the 1960s: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.-Career:...
.