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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 November 26, 2022 at 6:54am

Here he is in the back between Don Knotts and Hal Smith with the great Bern Hoffman on the far left. Boles and Edgar Buchannan were great in the Andy Griffith movie Angel on My Shoulder.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 26, 2022 at 7:45am

Yes, Jim Boles was great as the undertaker in Angel in My Pocket he had that look about him. His autograph is very scarce.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 26, 2022 at 6:51am

JIM BOLES this is his WWII draft registration card noting that he used both Bowles and Boles. It shows his occupation as a freelance actor.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 27, 2022 at 8:09am

HOPE SUMMERS (1902-1979) is best remembered as "Clara" the best friend of "Aunt Bee." Summers reprised the role of Clara for Mayberry RFD. She also had a notable performance as a member of the Satanic cult in Rosemary's Baby. One of the scenes in that movie is her sitting with Walter Baldwin who played the first Floyd the Barber on TAGS. Summers also had a role in the Spencer Tracy film INHERIT THE WIND. She appeared in television in shows such as Bewitched, M*A*S*H, Little House on the Prairie, The Dick VanDyke Show, The Beverly Hillbillies and many more. She had a recurring role as "Hattie Denton" in the Chuck Connor's western The Rifleman. She appeared in the Don Knott's movie THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST. Summers appears as the screaming Susanna Blush in the opening sequence of THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. Her hysterical behavior unnerves and already nervous Don Knott's. Her autograph is quite scarce. This is from a booklet from her personal library.

Permalink Reply by CJCollector on November 27, 2022 at 8:30am

Hope Summers; wonderful actress.

As for Rosemary's Baby; I've always hated the end of that movie; great movie until the end.

Sidney Blackmer, again, Rosemary's Baby, was terrific in the Outer Limits episode "The Hundred Days Of The Dragon."

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 28, 2022 at 7:22am

HAL SMITH (1916-1994) will forever be remembered as "Otis Campbell," the Mayberry town drunk in the early seasons of TAGS. Smith himself did not drink. He appeared in movies such as THE GREAT RACE, SON OF FLUBBER, and 18 AGAIN! Television work included lots of westerns Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bonanza, and Wagon Train. Other television shows were The Addams Family, Hogan's Heroes, The Brady Bunch, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, The Dukes of Hazzard, and many others. Smith was a prolific voice actor in shows like Gumby, Scooby-Doo Where Are You? He was also the voice of "Winnie the Pooh" and "Owl." Smith plays the "murdered" Calver Weems in THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. In a funny scene inside the police station, Knotts and Smith reprise their "Am not..Are Too" routine from TAGS. His Weems character was similar to his Otis Campbell. Smith's autograph, while not rare, is very popular. It is hard to imagine anyone having a TAGS collection without it.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 28, 2022 at 7:35am

HAL SMITH 8x10 as "Otis Campbell" signed in 1990 from JGAutographs.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 28, 2022 at 3:32pm

J. EDWARD MCKINLEY (1917-2004) was a fine character actor that appeared on scores of movies and television shows. He usually played a politician or businessman. Curiously he played "Mayor Handley" in one of the two episodes of The Munsters and was "Governor Handley" in an episode of TAGS! McKinley was in ten episodes of Bewitched and did three of Little House on Prairie. He also appeared with Elizabeth Montgomery in The Legend of Lizzie Borden. He appeared in the TAGS episode entitled "The Cannon" in 1965. He plays Mayor Carlyle Preston in THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. This is an inscribed TTM index card probably from the 1970s or 80s it has his address label pasted on the back. He is an uncommon autograph.

Permalink Reply by CJCollector on November 28, 2022 at 3:35pm

Great character actor with a great voice.

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on December 8, 2022 at 5:40am

BURT MUSTIN (1884-1977) was in so many movies, and television shows it is difficult to count. He was "Gus the Fireman" on 14 episodes of Leave it to Beaver. He was on two Twilight Zone episodes and two of The Lucy Show. Mustin was on a few episodes of All in the Family, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and was "Uncle Finney" in a classic episode of Gunsmoke. Mustin was one of Johnny Carson's favorite guests on The Tonight Show. According to Dr. Brucato's Classic Entertainment Autographs his autograph is "extremely rare." I would have to agree that very few have shown up over the years. This is a signature from one of my autographed letters signed by him:

Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on December 8, 2022 at 3:54pm

BURT MUSTIN EGG THIEF. One Halloween movie I always watch is THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN with Don Knotts. Burt Mustin is seen prominently in the movie as Mr. Deligondo, and lets Luther (Don Knotts) borrow his flashlight. There is a funny very scene that many miss, but I always laugh at. When the boarders are having breakfast, a silent Mr. Deligondo sips his coffee and then spots an uneaten poached egg in front of Mrs. Hutchinson (Jesslyn Fax), who is busy talking. Without saying a word, he grabs the egg and cracks it open with his knife to eat. Was his real crime egg thievery or scene-stealing? I am not sure if this was an ad-lib by Mustin or if the director decided it would be amusing for those that caught it. With no lines in the movie, it may just have been Mustin's way of getting a laugh. The outstanding Jesslyn Fax was another TAGS alumni. Here are some scenes showing Mustin at his best.

AN UNGUARDED EGG