Sarah Hope Summers (June 7, 1896 â€" 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.Hope Summers was born in Mattoon, Illinois, the daughter of
the town doctor, and future U.S. Representative, John W. Summers and
Jennie (née Burks). She was reared in Illinois and later in Walla
Walla, Washington, where her father was elected to the House. Summers
attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, graduating in
1923 from its Northwestern School of Speech. She stayed in Evanston,
teaching speech and diction, then moved to Peoria, Illinois in 1926
when she became the head of the Speech Department at Bradley
University. While in Peoria, Summers started giving private acting
lessons and became involved as a volunteer, and soon a director, in
local theatre.A regional actress who often performed in one-woman
shows starting in the 1930s, Summers did not break into network
television until her mid 50s, when she made her debut in 1951 on the
soap opera Hawkins Falls, broadcast from Chicago. While she had a few
uncredited background roles in short films, she did not make her first
Hollywood feature film until 1957, with a small credited role in Zero
Hour!. She continued in films as a character player.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,
M*A*S*H (TV series), 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, playing Aunt Bee's best friend,
during the 1960s, and made five appearances on the post-Griffith
spinoff, Mayberry R.F.D.. Hope Summers Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter