Behind the Scenes: Reta Shaw’s Journey Through Stage, Radio and TV

Reta Shaw’s artistic path began in South Paris, Maine, where she was born on 13 September 1912 to an orchestra leader and a family that encouraged creative pursuits. Her younger sister, Margaret Shaw, later entered the acting world as well.

After graduating from Paris High School in 1929—earning both the Alumni Prize and a varsity letter for managing the girls’ track team—Shaw enrolled at the Leland Powers School of the Theatre in Boston. The formal training she received there prepared her for a versatile career that spanned stage, radio, and television.

Early on, Shaw took on multiple roles in professional theatre: performer, music director, and educator. She directed Claire Kummer’s one‑act play “Sod Your Old Antique” for a studio workshop, performed comedic sketches in nightclubs, and served with the Red Cross Entertainment Unit during World II, entertaining troops abroad.

Shaw’s transition to the small screen started in 1960 with the role of Tillie Langloff on the TV series “Pollyanna.” Subsequent appearances included housekeeper Thelma on “The Tab Hunter Show,” a housekeeper on “Ekabod and Me,” and the landlady Mrs. Stansfield on “Oh! Those Bells.” Her most memorable television work was as Martha Grant, the diligent housekeeper on “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” a sitcom set in the imagined New England fishing community of Maine’s Skunker Bay.

In cinema, Shaw portrayed the eccentric occult leader Hecily Maxwell in the 1966 feature “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.” Guest‑starring roles followed on series such as “The Man from UNCLE,” where she played Agent Miss Weather‑spoon, and “I Spy,” appearing as undercover agent Bessie.

Shaw married actor William Forester; the couple’s daughter, Katherine Annie Forester, was born before the marriage ended. Reta Shaw died of emphysema on 12 September 1982 in Encino, California, at the age of 69.