Sarah Hope Summers (June 7, 1902 – June 22, 1979) was an American actress known for her work on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

'' and '' Mayberry R.F.D.'', portraying Clara Edwards.

Early life

Hope Summers was born in

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston, Illinois, Charleston. Both are principal cit ...

, the daughter of the town doctor, and future U.S. Representative John W. Summers and Jennie (née Burks). She was raised in Illinois and later in Walla Walla, Washington, where her father was elected to the House. Summers attended Northwestern University, graduating in 1923 from its Northwestern School of Speech. She stayed in Evanston, teaching speech and diction, then moved to Peoria, Illinois in 1926 when she became the head of the Speech Department at Bradley University. While in Peoria, Summers started giving private acting lessons and became involved as a volunteer, and soon a director, in local theatre.

Acting career

Summers was a regional actress, who often performed in one-woman shows starting in the 1930s. In radio, she had parts in the anthology ''

Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a series of weekly radio programs that was produced by WMAQ in Chicago. The first set ran from 1948 to 1950 and it presented the biographical histories of prominent African Americans such as George Washington Carver ...

'', a series written by Richard Durham, dedicated to the retelling the lives of notable Negros in the Americas. Summers did not break into network television until her late 40s when she made her debut in 1951 on the soap opera '' Hawkins Falls'', broadcast from Chicago. While she had a few uncredited background roles in short films, she did not make her first Hollywood feature film until 1957, with a small credited role in '' Zero Hour!''. She continued in films as a character player. Summers first attracted attention in 1958 in the semi-regular role as Hattie Denton on the western series ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'', starring

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both Majo ...

. She guest-starred on dozens of series, including '' Maverick'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'', '' State Trooper'', '' Rescue 8'', ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...

'', '' Dennis the Menace'', '' It's a Man's World'', ''

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a naive, newly appointed United ...

'', ''

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'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' The Danny Thomas Show'', '' M*A*S*H'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Love on a Rooftop'', '' The Pruitts of Southampton'', '' The Second Hundred Years'', '' Adam-12'' and '' The Paul Lynde Show'', and was a regular in the cast of the short-lived 1978 '' Another Day''. She made 36 appearances on ''

'', playing Aunt Bee's best friend, during the 1960s, and made five appearances on the post-Griffith spinoff '' Mayberry R.F.D.''. While her film work usually was in small parts, often unbilled, she had a credited part as Mrs. Gilmore, one of the members of the witches' coven at the heart of

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

's 1968 film '' Rosemary's Baby''. For nearly 20 years, from 1961 until her death, Summers was the voice of Mrs. Butterworth in commercials for Mrs. Butterworth's.

Personal life

Summers met local businessman Claude James Witherell in 1926, the year she moved to Peoria to teach; the couple married in 1927 and had two children.

Filmography

References

External links