Hope Summers (June 7, 1902 – July 22, 1979) was an American character actress known for her work on The Andy Griffith Show playing Clara Edwards. She was born Sarah Hope Summers in Mattoon, Illinois, the daughter of John W. and Jennie B. (Burks) Summers, and raised in Illinois and in Walla Walla, Washington.

A regional actress who had often performed in one-woman shows, Summers was past 50 when she came to Hollywood to begin her career as a character player. She made her television debut in 1951 on the series Hawkin Falls, Population 6200 but it was not until the late 1950's when she kicked off a career as one of the most in-demand character performers on television.

Summers first attracted attention in 1958 in the semi-regular role as Hattie Denton on the western series The Rifleman. She guest starred on dozens of series including Wagon Train, Divorce Court, Hazel, Gunsmoke, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, Hawaii Five-0, M*A*S*H, Starsky and Hutch, Welcome Back Kotter, and Little House on the Prairie but will be forever known for her work as Clara Edwards, Aunt Bee's slightly gossipy best friend on The Andy Griffith Show. Summers made 36 appearances on the program during the 1960's (in earlier episodes her character was called Bertha) as well as five appearances on the post-Griffith spinoff Mayberry R.F.D..

Her film work usually was in quite small parts, occasionally unbilled, but she had a good-sized role in the most unGriffith-like Rosemary's Baby in 1968. She was still a very active actress until the year before her death from congestive heart failure at age 83 in 1979. She died in Woodland Hills, California.

Versatile, dark-haired actress Hope Summers could portray a friendly neighbor or companion as she did for Frances Bavier's Aunt Bee character on many episodes of "Andy Griffith Show, The" (1960), or a deceptive threat as her witch character proved to be to Mia Farrow's quivering pregnant wife in Rosemary's Baby (1968). Born in 1896 (some sources indicate 1901 or 1902) in Mattoon, Illinois, Hope developed an early interest in the theater. Graduating from Northwestern School of Speech in Evanston, Illinois, she subsequently taught speech and diction there. This, in turn, led to her head position of the Speech Department at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, teaching students privately on the side as well. In the 1930s Hope began to focus on acting. She found work in community and stock theaters in Illinois and earned some notice for putting on one-woman shows such as "Backstage of Broadway." She made use of her vocal eloquence by building up her resumé on radio, performing in scores of dramatic shows including "Authors' Playhouse," "First Night," "Ma Perkins" and "Step-Mother." In 1950 Hope transferred her talents to the new medium of television and earned a regular role on the comedy series "Hawkins Falls, Population 6200" (1950). By the age of 50, she was customarily called upon to play slightly older than she was, appearing in a number of minuscule matron roles in such films as Zero Hour! (1957), Hound-Dog Man (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960), Spencer's Mountain (1963), Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The (1966), Charley Varrick (1973) and her last, Foul Play (1978). She never had any major stand-out roles in movies; TV would be a more prolific choice of medium. Her gently stern, old-fashioned looks allowed her to be a part of many small-town settings, including "Dennis the Menace" (1959) and "Petticoat Junction" (1963), and in various western locales such as "Maverick" (1957) and "Wagon Train" (1957). Hope was a rustic regular for many years on "Rifleman, The" (1958). Usually assigned to play teachers, nurses and other helpful, nurturing types, her characters were also known to be inveterate gossips. Hope worked until close to the end, passing away from heart failure in 1979.