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THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN Autographs

THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN is my favorite Don Knotts movie and one of my all-time favorites. There is something about horror and comedy that mix well together. When Don Knotts left TAGS, he had a movie contract with Universal Studios. Of the movies, he made THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN had a very Mayberry feel to it. There is little wonder since some 20 TAGS alumni were in the movie.

When Don Knotts received the script, he knew there was a problem and called his old friend Andy Griffith. Andy read the script and agreed it needed rewriting even though it had been penned by TAGS writers James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. With the improvements made by Griffith, they were able to begin the film. The director was Alan Rafkin, who had directed over 25 TAGS episodes.

The main credited cast is given below, along with others. I have not included every non-speaking extra IMDB says was in the movie. The uncredited ones I list below had a notable part in the movie or a speaking role. At the end are "extras" who also appeared on The Andy Griffith Show. There are 20 people in the credits of the movie. Of those, eight also appeared on TAGS. The first ten listed appear in both the opening and closing credits.

When a ** appears after the name, that means an exemplar is requested.

[CREDITED CAST]

Don Knotts ...Luther Heggs
Joan Staley ...Alma Parker
Liam Redmond ...Kelsey
Dick Sargent ...George Beckett
Skip Homeier ...Ollie Weaver
Reta Shaw ...Mrs. Halycon Maxwell
Lurene Tuttle ... Mrs. Natalie Miller
Phil Ober ... Nicholas Simmons
Harry Hickox... Police Chief Art Fuller
Charles Lane ... Plaintiff's Attorney Whitlow
Jesslyn Fax ... Mrs. Hutchinson **
Nydia Westman ... Mrs. Cobb
George Chandler ... Judge Harley Nast
Robert Cornthwaite ... Defense Attorney Springer
James Begg ... Police Officer Herkie **
Sandra Gould ... Loretta Pine
James Millhollin ... Mr. Milo Maxwell
Cliff Norton ... Charlie the Bailiff
Ellen Corby Miss Neva Tremaine
Jim Boles ... Billy Ray Fox

[UNCREDITED ROLES]

Hope Summers ... Susanna Blush
Hal Smith ... Calver Weems
J. Edward McKinley ... Mayor Preston
Al Checco ... Gaylord Patie witness for the defense
Burt Mustin ... Mr. Deligondo
Lee Krieger ... Lester the process server
Eddie Quillan ... Elevator operator
Bern Hoffman ... Big man friend of Billy Ray Fox
Adair Jameson ... Eileen secretary to Mr. Maxwell.
Dick Wilson ... Band leader at picnic
Harry Hines ... Bum at the picnic "I'm Rotary."
Jimmie Horan ... Observer on the street
Herbie Faye ... Man sitting at Alma's table in Cafe
Everett Greenbaum ... Voice yelling "Attaboy Luther" **
Lillian Field ... Edna June Weems **
Joan Granville ... Waitress **
Ella Edwards [Ella Raino] ... Cafe Cashier **
Teddy Quinn ... Boy getting Luther's autograph **
Ruth Thom ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Maxine Semon ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Dorothy Keller ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Florence Lake ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Margaret Wheeler ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Dorothy Love ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Ceil Cabot ... Psychic Occult Society Member **
Phil Arnold ... Jury Foreman **
Michael Jeffers ... Spectator at trial

Tags: Burt, Don, Joan, Knotts, Mustin, Ober, Phil, Staley

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on December 8, 2022 at 3:08pm

She was a wonderful actress and could do anything. Her autograph is one of the most stable of anyone I know it changed so little. It was a lot like Aneta Corsaut very clear and neat.

Permalink Reply by CJCollector on December 8, 2022 at 3:10pm

Just the other day I was watching a Dragnet episode and there was actor Burt Mustin.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 10, 2022 at 2:33pm

PHIL OBER (1902-1982) the first husband of Vivian Vance (Ethel from I Love Lucy) was an active character active for many years. He became a diplomat in later years. He was a familiar face on both big and small screens during his career. Ober appeared in two episodes of I Love Lucy. Among the television shows he did were The Twilight Zone, The Munsters, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Dream of Jeannie, and Perry Mason. Ober had roles in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and the Hitchcock thriller NORTH BY NORTHWEST. His autograph is very scarce.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 10, 2022 at 5:19pm

PHILIP OBER his signature on his World War II draft registration. He was married to Vivian Vance at the time.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 11, 2022 at 12:31pm

HARRY HICKOX (1910-1994) might be best known as Charlie Cowell in THE MUSIC MAN. His name might not be a household one, but his scowling face and snarling voice are doubtless familiar. He acted mostly on the small screen with some movies. Often cast in smaller roles as a policeman. Hickox plays the police chief of Rachel, Kansas in THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. His autograph is scarce and seldom seen.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 12, 2022 at 4:56pm

HARRY HICKOX from his WWII draft registration card.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 12, 2022 at 11:46am

CHARLES LANE (1905-2007) He was the last known survivor of the Great San Francisco Earthquake! Lane appeared in such movies as THE MUSTIC MAN, ITS A MAD MAD MAD WORLD, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, and Lou Costello's last movie THE 30 FOOT BRIDE OF CANDY ROCK. On the small screen he appeared in The Twilight Zone, The Munsters, I Love Lucy, Bewitched, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Petticoar Junction as Homer Bedloe. He played the plaintiff's lawyer in THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. This is a signed index card.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 29, 2022 at 5:41am

CHARLES LANE on the left with George Chandler and Ellen Corbet in the courtroom scene of THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 12, 2022 at 4:02pm

JESSLYN FAX (1893-1975) was a delightful character actress in the mold of Josephine Hull. Fax got her start in television and movies somewhat late in life in the 1950s. She usually played small comic roles in shows such as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Batman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and a later episode of TAGS. She had recurring roles on Our Miss Brooks and The Jack Benny Program. She had bit parts in the Alfred Hitchcock thrillers REAR WINDOW (as Miss Hearing Aid) and NORTH BY NORTHWEST. She was "Avis Grubb" in THE MUSIC MAN. She plays "Mrs. Hutchinson" on THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN.in very funny scenes with Nydia Westman.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 13, 2022 at 10:42am

JESSLYN FAX (left) and NYDIA WESTMAN (right) a very funny scene where Mrs. Hutchinson is telling of hearing strange organ music with her sister Clara on the night of murder.

Permalink Reply by CJCollector on November 21, 2022 at 5:38pm

Nydia Westman had that unique voice.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 21, 2022 at 5:58pm

Nydia Westman had that voice and those eyes. She always seemed like she was genuinely interested in what the other actors were saying making her character all that more believable. Those boarding house tenants of Jesslyn Fax, Nydia Westman, Burt Mustin and Lurene Tuttle were all great.