Hope Summers - wikipedia Hope Summers For the comic book character, see Hope Summers ( comics ). Hope Summers Hope Summers as Clara Edwards on CBS 's The Andy Griffith Show Sarah Hope Summers ( 1896 - 06 - 07 ) June 7, 1896 Mattoon, Illinois, U.S. June 22, 1979 ( 1979 - 06 - 22 ) ( aged 83 ) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. Cause of death Heart failure Resting place Mountain View Cemetery Walla Walla, Washington, U.S. Other names Hope Sommers Occupation Actress Years active 1950 -- 1978 Spouse ( s ) Claude James Witherell Parent ( s ) John W. Summers Jennie Summers Sarah Hope Summers ( June 7, 1896 -- June 22, 1979 ), better known as Hope Summers, was an American character actress known for her work on CBS 's The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD, portraying Clara Edwards. Contents 1 Early life 2 Acting career 3 Death 4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 External links Early life Hope Summers was born in Mattoon, Illinois, the daughter of U.S. Representative John W. Summers and Jennie ( née Burks ). She was reared in Illinois and later in Walla Walla, Washington. She graduated from Northwestern School of Speech at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and taught speech and diction there. From here, she became the head of the Speech Department at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Acting career A regional actress who often performed in one - woman shows, she was past fifty when she came to Hollywood to begin her career as a character player. She made her television debut in 1951 on the series Hawkins Falls. Hope Summers first attracted attention in 1958 in the semi-regular role as Hattie Denton on the western series The Rifleman, starring Chuck Connors. She guest starred on dozens of series including Maverick, Wagon Train, State Trooper, Rescue 8, Peter Gunn, Dennis the Menace, It 's a Man 's World, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Hazel, Gunsmoke, The Danny Thomas Show, My Three Sons, 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 situation comedy Another Day. She made thirty - six appearances on the Andy Griffith Show during the 1960s ( in earlier episodes her character was called Bertha ), and five appearances on the post-Griffith spinoff, Mayberry R.F.D.. Her film work usually was in quite small parts, often unbilled, but she had a credited part as Mrs. Gilmore, one of the kindlier members of the witches ' coven at the heart of Roman Polanski 's film classic Rosemary 's Baby ( 1968 ). Death She acted until 1978, a year before her death from congestive heart failure in 1979, aged 83, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. She is interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Walla Walla, Washington in the Masonic Section. Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes 1951 to 1952 Hawkins Falls Belinda Catherwood Unknown episodes 1957 Private Secretary Della Loganbury Episode : `` Not Quite Paradise '' 1957 Zero Hour ! Mrs. Summers 1957 Wagon Train Unnamed passenger `` The Ruth Owens Story '' ( NBC - TV ) 1958 Wagon Train Mae O'Malley `` The Luke O'Malley Story '' 1958 I Want to Live ! Ethel, Policewoman on bus Uncredited 1958 to 1960 The Rifleman Hattie Denton 16 episodes 1959 Maverick Martha Abbott Episode : `` Brasada Spur '' 1959 Rescue 8 Dora Episode : `` If the Bough Breaks '' 1959 Hound - Dog Man Jewell Crouch 1959 Edge of Eternity Motel Attendant Uncredited 1960 Inherit the Wind Mrs. Krebs - Righteous Townswoman 1961 Parrish Mary Uncredited 1961 Angel Baby Roman at Revival Meeting Uncredited 1961 Homicidal Mrs. Martha Adrims Uncredited 1961 Claudelle Inglish Ernestine Peasley Uncredited 1961 The Children 's Hour Agatha ( Tilford 's maid ) Alternative title : The Loudest Whisper 1961 to 1968 The Andy Griffith Show Clara Edwards 32 episodes 1962 The Couch Mrs. Quimby 1962 Rome Adventure Mrs. St. Uwell Uncredited Alternative title : Lovers Must Learn 1962 It 's a Man 's World The Salvation Army Woman `` Drive over to Exeter '' 1963 Spencer 's Mountain Mother Ida 1964 My Living Doll Edwina Episode : `` I 'll Leave It to You '' 1964 One Man 's Way Mrs. Elwood Thompson 1965 The Hallelujah Trail Mrs. Hasselrad 1965 Petticoat Junction Mabel Denton Episode : `` The Crowded Wedding Ring '' 1966 The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Suzanna Blush Uncredited 1966 Penelope Shop Lady Uncredited 1968 to 1970 Mayberry R.F.D. Clara Edwards 5 episodes 1968 Rosemary 's Baby Mrs. Gilmore 1968 The Shakiest Gun in the West Celia 1968 5 Card Stud Female customer in general store Uncredited 1969 The Learning Tree Mrs. Kiner 1970 Marcus Welby, M.D. Mrs. Whittaker Episode : `` Epidemic '' 1970 Bewitched Carolyn Episode : `` Samantha 's Old Man '' 1971 Hawaii Five - O Minnie Leona Moroney Episode : `` The Bomber and Mrs. Moroney '' 1972 Get to Know Your Rabbit Mrs. Beeman 1972 Where Does It Hurt ? Nurse Throttle 1973 Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies Laura 1973 M * A * S * H Nurse Meg Cratty Episode : The Trial of Henry Blake 1973 Charley Varrick Mess Vesta Alternative title : Kill Charley Varrick Our Time Biology Teacher Chico and the Man Lucille Nelson Episode : `` Garage Sale '' Welcome Back, Kotter Ms. Riley Episode : `` Mr. Kotter, Teacher '' 1976 Little House on the Prairie Addie Bjornesen Episode : `` The Collection '' 1977 Evil Town Alice Wylie 1978 Another Day Olive Gardner Regular cast member ( 4 episodes ) 1978 Foul Play Ethel 1978 Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws Marcie ( final film role ) Biography portal Illinois portal Washington portal Los Angeles portal California portal Film portal Television portal References ^ Jump up to : `` Hope Summers Biography ''. IMDb. Retrieved 8 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hope Summers ''. I May Berry. Retrieved 8 October 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Hope Summers ''. Find a Grave. Retrieved 8 October 2015. Jump up ^ Gallagher, Pat. `` Rest in Peace, Cast of The Andy Griffith Show ''. Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 October 2015. External links Hope Summers on IMDb Hope Summers at Find a Grave Peorian Article VIAF : 171294244 LCCN : no2011089243 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hope_Summers&oldid=807064560 '' Categories : American film actresses American television actresses People from Mattoon, Illinois People from Walla Walla, Washington Actresses from Illinois Actresses from Washington ( state ) 1896 births 1979 deaths 20th - century American actresses Hidden categories : Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles with hCards Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch فارسی Français 日本 語 Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2017, at 17 : 37. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played clara on the andy griffith show
Answer: Sarah Hope Summers