{{short description|American character actress}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person | name = Florence MacMichael | image = Florence MacMichael the Kirkwoods Mister Ed (cropped).JPG | caption = MacMichael in ''Mister Ed'' (1963) | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|4|26|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1999|5|28|1919|4|26|mf=yes}} | death_place = Cambria, San Luis Obispo County, California, U.S. | occupation = Actress | spouse = Sebryn Myers (19??–1992{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}; his death)<br/>James McCoy | children = 2 }}
'''Florence MacMichael''' (April 26, 1919 – May 28, 1999)<ref name=Resting_Places>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA466|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons|author=Scott Wilson|publisher=McFarland|page=466|year=2016|isbn=978-1476625997}}</ref> was an American character actress of stage, film and television, best known for playing Winnie Kirkwood in the television series ''Mister Ed''.
==Early life and education== MacMichael was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, to Mary (née Wahl) and Roy A. MacMichael.<ref name=Resting_Places/><ref name=Herald_Mail>{{citation|url=http://articles.herald-mail.com/1999-06-03/news/25121522_1_cambria-telephone-operator-pasadena-playhouse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321063142/http://articles.herald-mail.com/1999-06-03/news/25121522_1_cambria-telephone-operator-pasadena-playhouse|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 21, 2018|title=Obituaries: Florence M. McCoy|journal=Herald Mail|date=June 4, 1999|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref> She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.<ref name=Herald_Mail/>
==Career== MacMichael began her entertainment career on local radio and theatre and later on Broadway.<ref name=Herald_Mail /><ref name=Andy_Griffith/> A major role in the Broadway play ''Out of the Frying Pan'' led to her first film role in its 1943 adaptation, ''Young and Willing''.<ref name=Herald_Mail/><ref>{{citation|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/779|title=Young and Willing (1943)|publisher=AFI|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref><ref name=BFI/> Some of her subsequent film credits include ''Woman Obsessed'' (1959), ''The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit'' (1968) and ''Welcome Home, Soldier Boys'' (1972).<ref name=Andy_Griffith/><ref name=BFI>{{citation|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba8a3dd78|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320171443/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba8a3dd78|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 20, 2018|title=Florence Macmichael perofile|publisher=BFI|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref>
On television MacMichael was cast in a recurring role as Florence Pearson in the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' (1960–1961),<ref name=Andy_Griffith /> as Winnie Kirkwood in ''Mister Ed'' (1963–1965),<ref name=Andy_Griffith /><ref>{{citation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VKS1-aBvXawC&pg=PT267 |title=The Encyclopedia of TV Pets |author=Ken Beck, Jim Clark |publisher=Thomas Nelson |year=2002 |isbn=1418557374}}</ref> and as Barney Fife's girlfriend in two episodes of ''The Andy Griffith Show''.<ref name=Andy_Griffith>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcr6UMkvVPwC&pg=PT50 |title=The Definitive Andy Griffith Show Reference|author=Dale Robinson, David Fernandes |publisher=McFarland |year=2012 |isbn=978-1476601878}}</ref> She also performed in several episodes of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', on ''The Twilight Zone '' episode "Mr. Bevis", on the Western series ''The Tall Man'' in "Millionaire MacBean", as well as on other television series such ''Bachelor Father'', ''Dennis the Menace'', ''The Donna Reed Show'', and ''Alcoa Premiere''.<ref name=Andy_Griffith /><ref name=BFI /><ref name=Resting_Places />
MacMichael was active in local theater as both an actress and director. She was the founder of the Sierra Madre Studio Players and worked too at the Pasadena Playhouse.<ref name=Herald_Mail /> By the late 1970s, she began teaching stage acting at the Pasadena Repertory Theatre inside The Hotel Carver. One of her more notable exercises in instructing method acting was to have her students perform like a slice of bacon frying on a hot skillet.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
==Personal life== MacMichael was married twice, first to Sebryn Myers and then to James McCoy. She had two children, a son and a daughter. In 1999, at age 80, she died in Cambria in San Luis Obispo County, California.<ref name=Resting_Places/><ref name=Herald_Mail/>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1943|| ''Young and Willing'' || Muriel Foster || |- |1959|| ''Woman Obsessed'' || Mrs. Bedelia Gibbs || |- |1960|| ''Let's Make Love'' || Receptionist || Uncredited |- |1961|| ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' || Mrs. Simmons || Season 6 Episode 21: "The Kiss-Off" |- |1961|| ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' || Mrs. Hackett || Season 6 Episode 33: "A Secret Life" |- |1961|| ''The Children's Hour'' || Minor Role || Uncredited |- |1962|| ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' || Alice || Season 7 Episode 27: "Act of Faith" |- |1962|| ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' || Daisy || Season 1 Episode 7: "Annabel" |- |1968|| ''The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit'' || Catherine || |- |1971|| ''Welcome Home, Soldier Boys'' || Danny's Mother || (final film role) |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|0533985}} * {{IBDB name|50830}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:MacMichael, Florence}} Category:1919 births Category:1999 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Actresses from Maryland Category:20th-century American actresses