Jackie Joseph (born November 7, 1934) is a beloved American character actress, voice artist, and writer, a versatile comedic talent who is forever immortalized as the original Audrey in the cult classic The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).
Beginning her career as a singer and performer in the popular Billy Barnes Revues, Joseph became a familiar face on television. She is famously remembered for her role as Ramona Ankrum, the unlikely love interest of the rock-throwing mountain man Ernest T. Bass, on The Andy Griffith Show. She was also a regular on The Doris Day Show, playing Doris’s friend Jackie Parker, and provided the bubbly, sing-song voice for Melody Valentine in the classic animated series Josie and the Pussycats.
Decades after her B-movie stardom, she was introduced to a new generation of filmgoers as the hilariously flustered Sheila Futterman in the blockbuster horror-comedy Gremlins (1984) and its sequel. A dedicated advocate for her fellow performers, Joseph has been heavily involved with the Screen Actors Guild and also devotes her time to animal welfare organizations.
