Mary Grace Canfield Explained

Mary Grace Canfield
Birth Date:3 September 1924
Birth Place:Rochester, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Known For:Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1950 - 1993
Spouse:Charles Carey (divorced; 2 children)
John Bischof (1984–2014; her death)

Mary Grace Canfield (September 3, 1924[1]  - February 15, 2014) was an American theatre, film and television actress.

Early life and career

Mary Grace Canfield was born in Rochester, New York,[2] the second child of Hildegard (née Jacobson) and Hubert Canfield. She grew up in Pittsford, New York. She had a sister, Constance, who was two years older.[3]

Acting mostly in small theatre companies and regional theatre between 1952 and 1964, she appeared in several Broadway plays, but most ran for no more than a month. Her Broadway credits include The Waltz of the Toreadors and The Frogs of Spring.[4] [5]

Canfield's first credited performance on television was in March 1954 when she portrayed Frances in the episode "Native Dancer" on Goodyear Playhouse. After making additional television appearances, she played housekeeper Amanda Allison on the sitcom The Hathaways during the 1961-1962 season. As Thelma Lou's "ugly" cousin in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, she had an arranged blind date with Gomer Pyle, played by Jim Nabors. Her name on this episode was her actual name, Mary Grace. The episode was originally scheduled to air on November 25, 1963, but it was preempted by the coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy three days earlier.

Green Acres

Canfield was best known for her recurring role on the hit comedy series Green Acres as Ralph Monroe, the all-thumbs carpenter who greeted her fellow Hootervillians with her signature "Howdy Doody!" She appeared in more than 40 episodes of the show during its six-season run from 1965 to 1971.[2] She reprised the role in the 1990 TV movie Return to Green Acres.[4] Recalling the Ralph character in a 2006 interview, she said "To be remembered for Ralph kind of upsets me—only in the sense that it was so easy and undemanding." She added "It's being known for something easy to do instead of something you worked hard to achieve."[6]

Other roles

She guest-starred on The Eleventh Hour. In 1966, Canfield played Abner Kravitz's sister Harriet on four episodes of Bewitched. Actress Alice Pearce, who played Abner's wife, Gladys Kravitz, had died from ovarian cancer, and her successor as Mrs. Kravitz (Sandra Gould) had yet to be hired. During the early 1970s, Canfield and actress Lucille Wall shared the role of Lucille March on General Hospital. Canfield appeared in feature films such as Pollyanna (as "Angelica"),[7] The St. Valentine's Day Massacre[8] and Something Wicked This Way Comes.[9]

Later life and death

Canfield made her last public appearance in 2005 when she attended Eddie Albert's funeral with Green Acres co-stars Sid Melton and Frank Cady. Canfield died at age 89 from lung cancer on February 15, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California.[10]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1959That Kind of WomanWAC on TrainUncredited
1960PollyannaAngelica
1962The InternsPharmacy NurseUncredited
1963Come Blow Your HornMildred, Looking for JFK at PartyUncredited
1967Don't Make WavesSeamstress
1967Mrs. DoodyUncredited
1975Half a HouseThelma
1983Something Wicked This Way ComesMiss Foley
1988South of RenoMotel Manager
1993Young Goodman BrownGoody Cloyse(final film role)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1954Goodyear Television PlayhouseFrancesSeason 3 Episode 14: "Native Dancer"
1955LieslSeason 1 Episode 7: "The Guardsman"
1955Robert Montgomery PresentsSeason 7 Episode 2: "Mr. and Mrs. Monroe"
1956Robert Montgomery PresentsSeason 8 Episode 2: "Onions in the Stew"
1956Robert Montgomery PresentsAbigail LewisSeason 8 Episode 7: "Goodbye, Grey Flannel"
1957Robert Montgomery PresentsSeason 8 Episode 38: "One Smart Apple"
1959SidoniaSeason 1 Episode 6: "The Waltz of the Toreadors"
1961ThrillerCelia PerrySeason 1 Episode 31: "A Good Imagination"
1961Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSupermarket Customer (uncredited)Season 7 Episode 2: "Bang! You're Dead"
1961Amanda AllisonSeason 1 Episode 2: "Elinor Buys a Hat"
1961Amanda AllisonSeason 1 Episode 4: "Elinor's Guilt"
1961Amanda AllisonSeason 1 Episode 8: "TV or Not TV"
1962Amanda AllisonSeason 1 Episode 18: "The Paint Job"
1962Amanda AllisonSeason 1 Episode 22: "A Man for Amanda"
1962Alfred Hitchcock PresentsMrs. Cathy Carr (the Bookstore Customer) Season 7 Episode 27: "Act of Faith"
1962ThrillerAlly RoseSeason 2 Episode 20: "The Hollow Watcher"
1962HazelMiss SimmonsSeason 1 Episode 31: "Rock-A-Bye Baby"
1962Poor Mr. CampbellGrindlTV movie
1963Mrs. BennettSeason 2 Episode 25: "The Baby Formula"
1963Mrs. DobkinSeason 1 Episode 32: "The Middle Child Gets All the Aches"
1963Mary Grace GossageSeason 4 Episode 10: "A Date for Gomer"
1964Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreJulietSeason 1 Episode 16: "Wake Up, Darling"
1965Miss HinkleySeason 3 Episode 13: "Jewel Beyond Compare"
1965–1971Green AcresRalph MonroeRecurring role (41 episodes)
1966Alice GoodallSeason 3 Episode 25: "Twelve Angry Women"
1966BewitchedHarriet KravitzSeason 2 Episode 30: "Follow That Witch: Part 1"
1966BewitchedHarriet KravitzSeason 2 Episode 31: "Follow That Witch: Part 2"
1966BewitchedHarriet KravitzSeason 2 Episode 32: "A Bum Raps"
1966BewitchedHarriet KravitzSeason 2 Episode 34: "Man's Best Friend"
1967Vacation PlayhouseMildredSeason 5 Episode 4: "Heaven Help Us"
1970Adam-12Susie FisherSeason 3 Episode 10: "Log 135: Arson"
1973Love, American StyleBridgetteSeason 5 Episode 4: "Love and the Games People Play"
1973General HospitalLucille MarchTV series, replacement for Lucille Wall
1976FamilyMrs. HanleySeason 2 Episode 1: "Coming Apart"
1976FamilyMrs. HanleySeason 2 Episode 3: "Home Movie"
1978TabithaDr. MorrisonSeason 1 Episode 11: "Paul Goes to New York"
1984Burning RageNettie McFaddenTV movie
1985AliceRuthieSeason 9 Episode 13: "The Night They Raided Debbie's"
1990Return to Green AcresRalph MonroeTV movie
1993JaneSeason 1 Episode 18: "Aloha, Io-wahu"

References

  1. Was born in 1924 not 1926 as per Intelius and the 1930 US census Year of birth per ancestry.com; accessed February 20, 2014.
  2. http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/gacast.asp The People of Hooterville
  3. https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X78S-H5K Hubert H Canfield, "United States Census, 1930"
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=758mUmQxV6gC&dq=green+acres+mary+grace+canfield&pg=PA64 Funny Ladies - Michael Karol - Google Books
  5. http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mary-Grace-Canfield/ Mary Grace Canfield Theatre Credits
  6. http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79342726/ "Mary Grace Canfield dies at 89; character actress was on 'Green Acres'"
  7. Book: Nissen. Axel. The Films of Agnes Moorehead. Scarecrow Press. 2013. 2014-02-18. 978-0810891371.
  8. Book: Naha. Ed. Corman. Roger. The Films of Roger Corman: Brilliance on a Budget. Arco Pub. 1982. 2014-02-18. 978-0668053082.
  9. Book: Muir. John Kenneth. Horror Films of the 1980s. McFarland. 2013. 258. 2014-02-18. 978-0786455010.
  10. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/t/story/green-acres-actress-mary-grace-canfield-dies-22557693 "Actress Mary Grace Canfield Dies"