Everybody's Housekeeper

The zaftig character actress Reta Shaw will always be remembered as the sassy or bossy housekeeper. Reta Shaw was born in Maine in 1912 and she studied acting at the Leland Powers School of Acting in Boston. Her career as an actress started in New York where she performed in musical comedies on Broadway. Shaw was in the original casts of "The Pajama Game", "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Annie Get Your Gun". She also appeared in movies like "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and "Escape to Witch Mountain" . Shaw was one of the Banks' servants in "Mary Poppins". It was on television that she really made her mark. She was almost always cast as the housekeeper or meddlesome neighbor. On the TV show "Bewitched" Ms. Shaw played Samantha's Aunt Hagatha. It was the role of Martha, the housekeeper on "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" that she will be most remembered for.
Reta Shaw died in 1982 she was 69 years old.