Josephine Leslie’s novel The Ghost and Mrs. Muir tells the story of a widow living in
a haunted house.
The ghost tries to scare them out until they become close.
It was so popular that it was adapted several times.
There was a feature film in 1947, an hour-long radio play, and a stage production in 1951.
A TV series ran from 1968-1969 on NBC and from 1969-1970 on ABC.
It had lower ratings than other supernatural shows of the time, but it had memorable characters
played by expert actors.
Keep watching to learn about the Ghost & Mrs. Muir cast.
Hope Lange Elise Ross Lange, who later took on the stage
name Hope, was born on November 28, 1933, in Redding, Connecticut.
She began performing on the stage early in the 1942 productions of Life, Laughter and
Tears and The Patriots.
In high school, she began adding a few more feathers to her cap by studying dance and
working as a model.
She majored in dance and theater at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and then at Barmore Junior
College in New York.
One of Hope’s first major roles was in the 1956 film Bus Stop.
Her career continued to thrive after that.
She earned roles in 16 other films.
They included her Golden Globe and Academy-Award-nominated performance in Peyton Place and 1974’s Death
Wish.
Hope then moved to TV, and the most famous show she appeared in was The Ghost & Mrs.
Muir.
She admitted in magazine interviews in 1969 that she wasn’t confident in its ability
to succeed at first.
She didn’t think there’d be enough substance in the scripts, but then she saw the first
four and realized there was.
Her work earned her two Emmys for lead actress in a comedy series.
The actress charmed the world and her costars.
Hir first marriage was to Don Murray, who she met while filming Bus Stop in 1956.
They had two children, Christopher and Patricia Murray.
She divorced Don in 1961.
She then had a four-year relationship with actor Glenn Ford, although they never married.
Hope left acting for three years after marrying Alan J. Pakula on October 19, 1963.
They were divorced in 1971.
She dated Frank Sinatra and John Cheever until marrying Charles Hollerith, Jr. who she stayed
with for the rest of her life.
Hope Lange died at the age of 70 on December 19, 2003, of an ischemic colitis infection
from lung cancer.
Her body was cremated and her children survived her.
Edward Mulhare Edward Mulhare was born on April 8, 1923,
in Cork, Ireland.
He spent most of his life training in medicine before he decided to dedicate his life to
acting.
Edward performed in local venues before moving to London for more opportunities.
That was where he met and got to work with major names like Orson Welles and John Gielgud.
He also performed on stage in My Fair Lady.
In an ironic twist of fate, he took over for Rex Harrison who played Captain Gregg in the
original The Ghost & Mrs. Muir film.
Edward made his film debut in Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer in 1955.
His film work in the 60s included Von Ryan’s Express in 1965, Our Man Flin in 1966, and
Caprice in 1967.
He played Captain Gregg in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir throughout the end of the 60s.
Roles after that included the original Knight Rider in 1982 and the 1997 film Out to Sea.
Edward Mulhare died of lung cancer at the age of 74 on May 24, 1997.
He was never married or even romantically linked to anyone and had no children to survive
him.
Charles Nelson Reily Charles Nelson Reily was born on January 13,
1931, in the Bronx, New York.
When he was 13, he was almost scared away from performances forever.
He was one of the few survivors of the 1944 Hartford circus fire that claimed 167 lives.
There was a period of his life when he refused to go to the theater or sit in the audience.
Once he overcame his fears, he became interested in opera but realized he didn’t have the
vocal ability.
Instead, he found other ways to get on stage.
These included roles in the 1960 production of Bye Bye Birdie, the 1961 production of
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and a Tony nomination for his work
on the 1964 production of Hello, Dolly!
Charles never lost his love for the stage, and he did find other roles.
He was the greedy landlord Claymore Gregg in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
He also made frequent appearances on game shows, particularly Match Game and Hollywood
Squares.
His final stage performance was The Gin Game in 1997.
His final TV appearances were on episodes of The Drew Carey Show.
His final film work was in the adaptation of the one-man show The Life of Reilly in
2007.
Charles Nelson Reilly died at the age of 76 on May 25, 2007, due to complications from
pneumonia.
His partner Patrick Hughes, who he’d been living with since 1980, survived him.
Reta Shaw Reta Shaw was born on September 13, 1912,
in South Paris, Maine.
She made her Broadway debut in the 1947 production of It Takes Two.
That helped earn her roles in several other stage productions, including The Pajama Game,
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Picnic, and Annie Get Your Gun.
Rita also extended her career to the big and small screen.
As well as playing housekeeper Martha Shaw in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, she also appeared
in Mary Poppins, Pollyanna, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Bachelor in Paradise, and Escape
to Witch Mountain.
Reta Shaw died at the age of 69 on January 8, 1982, due to complications from emphysema.
Her ex-husband William Forester also died on October 18, 1988.
They had one child together.
Like and subscribe for more about the actors who made this spooky show a fan favorite.
Keep watching to learn more about the surviving members of the Ghost & Mrs. Muir cast.
Harlen Carraher and Kelle Flanagen These two played the children in The Ghost
and Mrs. Muir.
They added life and comedy to the show.
They are now the only surviving members of the main cast.
Kelle’s first appearance was as the Blonde Girl in the Star Trek: The Original Series
episode Miri.
She then appeared as Candy in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir for two seasons.
She essentially left the business in the 70s but has been credited as a producer on the
1993 mini-series The Wild West and the 1994 Civil War Journal series.
Harlene made guest appearances on shows such as Bracken’s World, Emergency, and The Brady
Bunch.
He’s since moved his focus away from acting, graduating from the University of Southern
California with a degree in civil engineering in 1986.
He now works for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and lives
in Silverlake.
Kelle’s 1989 Interview The last time that fans heard anything major
from Kelle Flannagan was in a “Where Are They Now” special in a September 4, 1989
issue of US Magazine.
She was working in Venice, California, and running her own videotaping company, Strickly
Video Productions.
The interview gave her the chance to talk about her time on the show as well as her
other roles.
Kelle said that her life alternated between “busy, exciting, and blissfully quiet.”
She and her husband lived alone because their daughter was in college.
They had land near Yosemite National Park filled with roosters, dogs, cats, and geckos.
When she wasn’t tending to them, she enjoyed ceramics, beading, and reading.
She was also the managing editor of Sierra News online.
She recorded a radio segment for KRYZradio.org every week.
When asked how she landed the role of “Blonde Girl” in Star Trek, she said it was thanks
to her agent Dorothy Day Otis.
She’d already gotten a few commercials and print work before they worked together to
get on screen.
Kelle said that the most memorable part of that famous episode was working with all the
other children on set.
She remembers it as “one big play week” and says that nothing ever felt the same way.
Kelle said she was glad to have been a part of the story and was the one who chose the
green wig.
She also remembers her one line of dialogue; “call the police!”.
One of the crewmembers, most likely the director, put her up on the table.
After a few takes, the line was whispered into her ear, and the director kept it.
It even got her a SAG card to join the actor’s union.
Kelle is amazed at the phenomenon that Star Trek became since she was first on it and
how it seems to only grow in popularity over the years.
She’s honored and pleased to be a part of it.
She’s also still earning small residuals from her episode every year.
She also has nothing but positive things to say about her time on The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.
It was as much fun for her at the time as her work on Star Trek, but there’s a reason
why it was her last major credit out of hundreds of commercials and plenty of other guest appearances.
Her mother, a major force in her career, passed away before she turned 11.
Her older siblings took over as her guardian and asked if she wanted to continue acting.
She said no and went back to school in 6th grade.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t excited to go to The Hollywood Show soon after the interview.
She was excited to meet fans and former coworkers outside of social media.
Kelle is most proud of her daughter Clara Briley.
She defines success as “having some freedom to operate in this world, a long marriage,
good family, dear friends, satisfying work, pets, some laughs, and lots of beauty all
around.”
By that description, it seems she’s been successful.
That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have any goals for the future.
When asked about what she’d do next, she said that in a perfect world, she’d create
“a memoir and a one-woman show.”
What is your favorite classic supernatural sitcom?
Let us know in the comments.