I'm here in Palm Springs where I promised friends this afternoon that my blogging was done for the day. But after getting back from dinner at El Mirasol, I checked email real quick and a reader emailed me about the death of Alice Ghostley, an actress with many, many credits but who any "Designing Women" fan knows as the loveable and loopy Bernice Clifton who appeared in a total of 24 episodes of the show over seven seasons.
She was 81.
Readers of this blog know how I feel about "Designing Women," one of my favorite sitcoms of all time with writing and acting so superb that I have seen each episode again and again and again.
One of Ghostley's last public appearances came a couple of years ago when the original cast of "Designing Women" had their first reunion in 15 years (pictured, right) and the actress was clearly quite frail by then. But she was there and the love the cast and show creator Linda Bloodworth had for her was clear.
I remember so many of the Alice Ghostley episodes so well because when Bernice was around, she made herself noticed! She had an "arterial flow" problem that basically gave her license to say whatever she wanted to say. Bernice was the best friend of Julia and Suzanne's mother (Dixie Carter and Delta Burke) so the women on the show along with Anthony, became her surrogate family after the mother moves to Japan.
The character would pop in on a semi-regular basis and after Burke and Jean Smart left the show following season five, Ghostley was made a regular for its last two seasons. My favorite Bernice episode - ever - was the time she actually WORE the Christmas tree skirt Mary Jo (Annie Potts) gave her. She was home drinking egg nog and getting a little buzzed when she found out Charlene (Smart) had gone into labor. She doesn't have a ride because of a snowstorm so she calls an ambulance!
Funny stuff, and one of MANY laugh out loud moments.

Related posts:
- A night with the Designing Women Pt. 1 and Pt. 2