Actress Mary Grace Canfield (Ralph Monroe) 1924-2014 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 02-17-2014, 10:41 PM

The New York native also appeared, in movies and in the television shows 'Bewitched,' 'General Hospital' and 'The Love Boat.'

Link

Mary Grace Canfield, a character actress best known as part of the daffy Ralph-and-Alf brother-sister carpenter team on the TV comedy "Green Acres," died Saturday in a Santa Barbara hospice. She was 89.

The cause was lung cancer, her daughter Phoebe Alexiades said.

On "Green Acres," Canfield was Ralph Monroe, who, with her brother Alf, was perennially working on the bedroom of a city slicker couple (Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor) at their newly acquired farm near Hooterville. She was a down-home gal in bib overalls and a white painter's cap worn backward, a funny, plain-spoken woman doing "man's work" before feminism made the term quaint.

The show ran from 1965 to 1971. Looking back at it, Canfield had mixed feelings.

"To be remembered for Ralph kind of upsets me — only in the sense that it was so easy and undemanding," she said in a 2006 interview with the Bangor Daily News in Maine, where she lived for many years. "It's being known for something easy to do instead of something you worked hard to achieve."

Canfield also appeared on TV in "Bewitched," "General Hospital," "The Love Boat" and other shows. In a memorable 1963 episode of "The Andy Griffith Show," she was Gomer Pyle's blind date; the two socially awkward, lovable bumpkins defied everyone's expectations and had a wonderful time, jitterbugging.

Born in Rochester, N.Y., on Sept. 3, 1924, Canfield attended an acting school run by famed teacher Jason Deeter in Rose Valley, Pa.

"I didn't want to go to college because I knew exactly what I wanted to do," she said. "Later, when I asked my parents what they thought of this little skinny girl wanting to be an actress, they said they were so relieved that I wanted to do something.''

Canfield appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway plays before heading to Hollywood. Her early TV shows included "The Hathaways," a 1961-62 sitcom about a Los Angeles couple and their three performing chimps. Canfield played the housekeeper.

Her film work includes a role as the ironically named Angelica, a sourpuss upstairs maid in "Pollyanna" (1960). In "Something Wicked This Way Comes," a 1983 adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story, she plays a seventh-grade teacher whose world is shattered by a diabolical traveling circus.

Canfield lived in Montecito from 1968 to 1984 and then moved to Sedgwick, Maine. She had fallen in love with the state during summer stock productions there years before, her daughter said.

She relocated to Santa Barbara in 2011, when her health was declining.

Her first marriage, to Charles Carey, ended in divorce in 1955.

In addition to daughter Phoebe, Canfield is survived by John Bischof, her husband of 25 years; daughter Alison Carey; and three grandsons.

Willbo · 02-18-2014, 09:28 AM

Love her as Ralph. I kind of wish she had stayed on as Harriett Kravitz but then we would have not had Ralph. She will be missed.

installLSC · 02-18-2014, 10:49 AM

Well that's what made Green Acres so great; take something that could have easily been a one note joke and have a good actor give it their all. Will watch the "Alf and Ralph Break Up" episode in her honor.

Zoneboy · 02-18-2014, 12:09 PM

With the exception of Tom Lester, all the primary cast members are gone now.

Marvo301 · 02-18-2014, 02:49 PM

Mary Grace Canfield

Mr. Television · 02-19-2014, 09:36 AM

R.I.P. Mary Grace.

howilu · 02-19-2014, 11:27 AM

It's sad that another Green Acres cast member passed away. But I'll always remember Ralph's memorable line "Howdy Doody!"

May Mary Grace Canfield rest in peace.

ThisLittlePiggy · 02-20-2014, 01:18 AM

I love the episode where she's the blind date with Gomer Pyle. I feel like watching it right now in her memory.

Penny Lane · 02-20-2014, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThisLittlePiggy

I love the episode where she's the blind date with Gomer Pyle. I feel like watching it right now in her memory.

Wasn't that an episode on The Andy Griffith Show?

RIP Ms Canfield

loaferman · 02-20-2014, 11:52 AM

She was a great actress RIP.

ThisLittlePiggy · 02-20-2014, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penny Lane

Wasn't that an episode on The Andy Griffith Show?

RIP Ms Canfield

Yes, in Season 4 of TAGS called A Date for Gomer.

Coffeecup · 02-21-2014, 09:52 PM

She was honest in her work for Green Acres. "The work seemed so easy and I felt guilty for was so easy" . Not many television performers would say that. Wow!!

BachelorCat · 07-31-2014, 07:25 AM

She was one of my favorites on Green Acres. I also liked her as Harriet Kravitz on Bewitched, and enjoyed seeing her in other shows. She turned up either in an Alfred Hitchcock or Thriller episode, as a secretary in a book company. I could swear I read that her son turned up as a student in class in one of the Hooterville High scenes. No mention of him in the opening post.

Bonniegirl · 07-31-2014, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BachelorCat

She was one of my favorites on Green Acres. I also liked her as Harriet Kravitz on Bewitched, and enjoyed seeing her in other shows. She turned up either in an Alfred Hitchcock or Thriller episode, as a secretary in a book company. I could swear I read that her son turned up as a student in class in one of the Hooterville High scenes. No mention of him in the opening post.

I liked her too. She was such a cool, down to earth lady!

I mentioned The Ziffels as my fav Green Acres characters, well Ralph Monroe (Mary Grace) is on the top of my list too.

Remember how she mooned over Hank Kimble? And they ended up getting married in one epp. He was a very nervous, reluctant groom!

Ended up it wasn't official, because Sam Drucker's justice of the Peace permit expired! ! It was a really funny epp!

I love your cat profile picture! I love cats . My father has a grey tabby that looks like that cat!

BachelorCat · 08-02-2014, 12:43 PM

Thanks bonniegirl62, his name's TomTiger, he adopted me in December '03. His striping was slightly more visible then, now he's mostly grey.

I remember a few of the Ralph/Hank things, they do make a cute couple! I believe it was a Thriller ep I saw Mary Grace in, the plot was that a man incorporated book titles and plots into his murderous hijinks. It was pretty much a comedy episode. Also, someone got hold of the Andy Griffith scene where she was dancing with Gomer, and substituted Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" for the music. It's no longer on YouTube.

02-17-2014, 10:41 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,381	Actress Mary Grace Canfield (Ralph Monroe) 1924-2014 The New York native also appeared, in movies and in the television shows 'Bewitched,' 'General Hospital' and 'The Love Boat.' Link Mary Grace Canfield, a character actress best known as part of the daffy Ralph-and-Alf brother-sister carpenter team on the TV comedy "Green Acres," died Saturday in a Santa Barbara hospice. She was 89. The cause was lung cancer, her daughter Phoebe Alexiades said. On "Green Acres," Canfield was Ralph Monroe, who, with her brother Alf, was perennially working on the bedroom of a city slicker couple (Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor) at their newly acquired farm near Hooterville. She was a down-home gal in bib overalls and a white painter's cap worn backward, a funny, plain-spoken woman doing "man's work" before feminism made the term quaint. The show ran from 1965 to 1971. Looking back at it, Canfield had mixed feelings. "To be remembered for Ralph kind of upsets me — only in the sense that it was so easy and undemanding," she said in a 2006 interview with the Bangor Daily News in Maine, where she lived for many years. "It's being known for something easy to do instead of something you worked hard to achieve." Canfield also appeared on TV in "Bewitched," "General Hospital," "The Love Boat" and other shows. In a memorable 1963 episode of "The Andy Griffith Show," she was Gomer Pyle's blind date; the two socially awkward, lovable bumpkins defied everyone's expectations and had a wonderful time, jitterbugging. Born in Rochester, N.Y., on Sept. 3, 1924, Canfield attended an acting school run by famed teacher Jason Deeter in Rose Valley, Pa. "I didn't want to go to college because I knew exactly what I wanted to do," she said. "Later, when I asked my parents what they thought of this little skinny girl wanting to be an actress, they said they were so relieved that I wanted to do something.'' Canfield appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway plays before heading to Hollywood. Her early TV shows included "The Hathaways," a 1961-62 sitcom about a Los Angeles couple and their three performing chimps. Canfield played the housekeeper. Her film work includes a role as the ironically named Angelica, a sourpuss upstairs maid in "Pollyanna" (1960). In "Something Wicked This Way Comes," a 1983 adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story, she plays a seventh-grade teacher whose world is shattered by a diabolical traveling circus. Canfield lived in Montecito from 1968 to 1984 and then moved to Sedgwick, Maine. She had fallen in love with the state during summer stock productions there years before, her daughter said. She relocated to Santa Barbara in 2011, when her health was declining. Her first marriage, to Charles Carey, ended in divorce in 1955. In addition to daughter Phoebe, Canfield is survived by John Bischof, her husband of 25 years; daughter Alison Carey; and three grandsons.
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

02-18-2014, 02:49 PM	#5
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,453	Mary Grace Canfield
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

02-19-2014, 09:36 AM	#6
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,133	R.I.P. Mary Grace.
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02-20-2014, 11:52 AM	#10
loaferman Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 23, 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 642	She was a great actress RIP.
	__________________ “It was ‘Will and Grace,’ it was the social media. Literally. That’s what changed peoples’ attitudes. That’s why I was so certain that the vast majority of people would embrace and rapidly embrace” gay marriage, Biden said. “Think behind of all that, I bet you 85 percent of those changes, whether it’s in Hollywood or social media are a consequence of Jewish leaders in the industry. The influence is immense, the influence is immense." -Vice President Joe Biden May 2013

02-18-2014, 09:28 AM	#2
Willbo Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 10, 2012 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 862	Love her as Ralph. I kind of wish she had stayed on as Harriett Kravitz but then we would have not had Ralph. She will be missed.

02-18-2014, 10:49 AM	#3
installLSC Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 19, 2013 Location: United States Posts: 271	Well that's what made Green Acres so great; take something that could have easily been a one note joke and have a good actor give it their all. Will watch the "Alf and Ralph Break Up" episode in her honor.

02-18-2014, 12:09 PM	#4
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,381	With the exception of Tom Lester, all the primary cast members are gone now.

02-19-2014, 11:27 AM	#7
howilu Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: St. Louis Park, MN Posts: 1,961	It's sad that another Green Acres cast member passed away. But I'll always remember Ralph's memorable line "Howdy Doody!" May Mary Grace Canfield rest in peace.

02-20-2014, 01:18 AM	#8
ThisLittlePiggy Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Nov 02, 2013 Posts: 84,391	I love the episode where she's the blind date with Gomer Pyle. I feel like watching it right now in her memory.

02-21-2014, 09:52 PM	#12
Coffeecup coffeecup. Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 17, 2003 Location: snoozeville Posts: 3,183	She was honest in her work for Green Acres. "The work seemed so easy and I felt guilty for was so easy" . Not many television performers would say that. Wow!!

07-31-2014, 07:25 AM	#13
BachelorCat Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 18, 2013 Location: River Park, Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 44	She was one of my favorites on Green Acres. I also liked her as Harriet Kravitz on Bewitched, and enjoyed seeing her in other shows. She turned up either in an Alfred Hitchcock or Thriller episode, as a secretary in a book company. I could swear I read that her son turned up as a student in class in one of the Hooterville High scenes. No mention of him in the opening post.

08-02-2014, 12:43 PM	#15
BachelorCat Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 18, 2013 Location: River Park, Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 44	Thanks bonniegirl62, his name's TomTiger, he adopted me in December '03. His striping was slightly more visible then, now he's mostly grey. I remember a few of the Ralph/Hank things, they do make a cute couple! I believe it was a Thriller ep I saw Mary Grace in, the plot was that a man incorporated book titles and plots into his murderous hijinks. It was pretty much a comedy episode. Also, someone got hold of the Andy Griffith scene where she was dancing with Gomer, and substituted Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" for the music. It's no longer on YouTube.