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Hope Summers

Hope Summers

Actor · 1896 – 1979 · Mattoon, Illinois, USA

Hope Summers could portray a friendly neighbor or companion as she did for Frances Bavier's Aunt Bee character on many episodes of The Andy Griffith Show (1960) or a seemingly amiable Satanist in Rosemary's Baby (1968). Born in Mattoon, Illinois, she developed an early interest in the theater. Graduating from Northwestern School of Speech in Evanston, Illinois, she subsequently taught speech and diction there. This, in turn, led to her the head position in the Speech Department at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, teaching students privately on the side as well. In the 1930s Hope began to focus on acting. She found work in community and stock theaters in Illinois and earned some notice for putting on one-woman shows such as "Backstage of Broadway." She made use of her vocal eloquence by building up her resumé on radio, performing in scores of dramatic shows, including "Authors' Playhouse," "First Night," "Ma Perkins", and "Step-Mother". In 1950 Hope transferred her talents to the new medium of television and earned a regular role on the comedy series Hawkins Falls: A Television Novel (1950). By the age of 50 she was customarily called upon to play slightly older than she was, appearing in a number of minuscule matron roles in such films as Zero Hour! (1957), Hound-Dog Man (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960), Spencer's Mountain (1963), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), Charley Varrick (1973) and her last, Foul Play (1978). She never had any major stand-out roles in movies; TV would be a more prolific choice of medium. Her gently stern, old-fashioned looks allowed her to be a part of many small-town settings, including Dennis the Menace (1959) and Petticoat Junction (1963), and in various western locales such as Maverick (1957) and Wagon Train (1957). She played a rustic regular for many years on The Rifleman (1958). Usually assigned to play teachers, nurses and other helpful, nurturing types, her characters were also known to be inveterate gossips. Hope worked until close to the end of her life, passing away from heart failure in 1979.

Movies24

  • Movie7.8

    Rosemary's Baby

    1968 · 4.5K votes

  • Movie7.7

    The Children's Hour

    1961 · 424 votes

  • Movie7.7

    Inherit the Wind

    1960 · 489 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Spencer's Mountain

    1963 · 42 votes

  • Movie6.3

    Foul Play

    1978 · 274 votes

  • Movie6.3

    5 Card Stud

    1968 · 94 votes

  • Movie6.7

    The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

    1966 · 103 votes

  • Movie7.4

    Charley Varrick

    1973 · 298 votes

  • Movie5.4

    Penelope

    1966 · 24 votes

  • Movie7.0

    I Want to Live!

    1958 · 122 votes

  • Movie6.1

    The Hallelujah Trail

    1965 · 101 votes

  • Movie6.2
  • Movie6.4

    Homicidal

    1961 · 89 votes

  • Movie5.5

    Where Does It Hurt?

    1972 · 11 votes

  • Movie5.0

    Parrish

    1961 · 12 votes

  • Movie6.7

    Edge of Eternity

    1959 · 33 votes

  • Movie5.0

    Get to Know Your Rabbit

    1972 · 25 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Zero Hour!

    1957 · 56 votes

  • Movie6.8

    The Learning Tree

    1969 · 26 votes

  • Movie3.8

    Evil Town

    1987 · 22 votes

  • Movie5.0

    Indict and Convict

    1974 · 2 votes

  • Movie5.1
  • Movie5.6

    Death Sentence

    1974 · 15 votes

  • Movie4.3

    One Man's Way

    1964 · 4 votes

Series24

  • TV7.0

    Maverick

    1957 · 43 votes

  • TV8.0
  • TV5.7

    Dr. Kildare

    1961 · 19 votes

  • TV7.1

    The Rifleman

    1958 · 54 votes

  • TV7.9

    M*A*S*H

    1972 · 769 votes

  • TV7.1

    Adam-12

    1968 · 48 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Andy Griffith Show

    1960 · 175 votes

  • TV7.8

    Bewitched

    1964 · 764 votes

  • TV7.2

    Hawaii Five-O

    1969 · 164 votes

  • TV7.8

    Alfred Hitchcock Presents

    1955 · 265 votes

  • TV5.9

    Petticoat Junction

    1963 · 42 votes

  • TV6.6

    My Three Sons

    1960 · 41 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Dick Van Dyke Show

    1961 · 110 votes

  • TV6.9

    The Beverly Hillbillies

    1962 · 139 votes

  • TV7.3

    Starsky & Hutch

    1975 · 208 votes

  • TV6.7

    Gunsmoke

    1955 · 119 votes

  • TV7.1

    Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

    1964 · 35 votes

  • TV7.8

    Night Gallery

    1970 · 112 votes

  • TV6.6

    Peter Gunn

    1958 · 26 votes

  • TV6.2

    That Girl

    1966 · 35 votes

  • TV6.6

    Dennis the Menace

    1959 · 33 votes

  • TV7.7

    The New Breed

    1961 · 3 votes

  • TV7.3

    Law of the Plainsman

    1959 · 3 votes

  • TV6.7

    The Gale Storm Show

    1956 · 3 votes