HOPE SUMMERS
When you listen to her perfect diction, it's not surprising to learn that Hope Summers was a speech educator and acting coach in her early career. She toured America with a one-woman show in the 1930s and later operated stock theatre companies in the Midwest. Ms. Summers appeared on a variety of television shows before joining the cast of "The Andy Griffith Show" as Aunt Bee's neighbor and friend, in 1961. In her first appearance (episode 23), she was Bertha Edwards, but her name would change again before becoming Clara Edwards. She made many guest appearances on other well-known series such as The Beverly Hillbillies, Dennis the Menace, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Maverick, Petticoat Junction, That Girl, Welcome Back Kotter, M*A*S*H, in addition to films such as, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Rosemary's Baby, and others, until her death in 1979 at 83.