Today is the 105th birthday of Sandra Gould. Who doesn’t love Gladys Kravitz, the nosy neighbor from “Bewitched?” Always peeking through the curtains, seeing something she cannot wrap her head around and screaming “ABNER!” That poor, poor Abner. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.
NAME: Sandra Gould
DATE OF BIRTH: July 23, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH: New York City, New York
DATE OF DEATH: July 20, 1999
PLACE OF DEATH: Burbank, CA
BEST KNOWN FOR: Sandra Gould was an American actress, who appeared mainly in television. Among her many credits was a regular role on the sitcom Bewitched as the second Gladys Kravitz.
Gould began acting in films with an uncredited role in T-Men (1947). She appeared in several uncredited roles for the remainder of the decade, and received her first screen credit with The Story of Molly X (1949).
In 1953, Gould appeared as a guest in an episode of Letter to Loretta with Loretta Young. She continued to guest star in the 1950s and 1960s in such television series as I Love Lucy, December Bride, Maverick, The Flintstones, The Twilight Zone, The Lucy Show, Burke’s Law, I Dream of Jeannie, Love, American Style , Gilligan’s Island and Mister Ed. She played a prominent supporting role in the film The Ghost and Mr. Chicken in 1966.
In 1963, Gould released a comedy single record entitled Hello Melvin (This Is Mama) as an answer to Allan Sherman’s hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”.
In September 1966, Gould replaced actress-comedienne Alice Pearce in the role of Gladys Kravitz, the nosy neighbor of Samantha Stephens (played by Elizabeth Montgomery) on the ABC-TV situation comedy Bewitched. Although Gould had no physical resemblance to Pearce, her over-the-top performance and shrill voice helped her land the role, and she remained with the series throughout the rest of its run. After Bewitched was canceled in 1972, she reprised the role of Gladys five years later in a spin-off of the series called Tabitha.
Gould also made appearances on TV shows including The Brady Bunch, Adam-12, Punky Brewster, Friends and Veronica’s Closet. She also appeared in the movie, Skatetown U.S.A., in 1979.
Gould wrote two books, “Always Say Maybe” and “Sexpots and Pans”, published by Golden Press.
