Oh Get Out of Here You Crazy Fool...Bernice Clifton aka Alice Ghostley is Friday's Fun Fearless Female!

Bernice was hands down the funniest character on Designing Women, one of the funniest shows ever on television. She was a friend of Perky Sugarbaker, Julia and Suzanne's mother; when Perky moved to Japan, she put the girls in charge of making sure Bernice was okay. Bernice had a little "arterial flow problem" above the neck that causes her to behave rather outrageously.

Bernice lives in a retirement community called Hillcrest Leisure Land, and, since she is easily bored there, makes frequent visits to Sugarbakers for the afternoon. After a while, the ladies become used to Bernice's craziness and often delegate the responsibility of entertaining her to Anthony. During the time she spends with Anthony, she will serenade him with the song that he inspired her to write-"Black Man, Black Man."
Bernice's late husband, Louis Clifton, came from a circus family where he was billed as a "dancing fool." One of Louis' uncles was a fire-eater, a talent he taught to Bernice. Her father was a Southern Baptist minister and when "all her circuits are burning," Bernice is a scripture authority.
Having never had any children, Bernice thinks of Anthony and the ladies of Sugarbakers as if they were her own. Her odd behavior drives Suzanne absolutely crazy, and she often refers to Bernice as a "little fruitcake."

Bernice is very active, participating in senior citizen beauty contests and dance contests, but she has been known to loudly question the concept that growing old gives you a talent for arts and crafts. Therefore, Anthony ends up spending many afternoons shuttling Bernice around town as she tries to turn each trip away from the retirement village into a roller coaster of an event.

The actress who played Bernice so brilliantly was Alice Ghostley. Doesn't she look pretty here? She died after a long battle with colon cancer in 2007 at the age of 84. Alice played Stephanie Crawford, Dill Harris's Aunt in "To Kill a Mockingbird", one of my all-time favorite movies (and my favorite book ever).

Here are some of my favorite Bernice moments:

RIP Alice Ghostley--thank you for bringing such wonderful characters to television and movies. And thank you for reminding us that it is okay to be a little batty sometimes.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Elle Bunny