Olive Blakeney (August 21, 1894 – October 21, 1959) was an American actress.

Early years

Blakeney was born in Newport, Kentucky and attended the Cincinnati School of Expression.

Career

Blakeney made her screen debut in England in 1932. In the early 1910s, she acted with the Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Stock Company. In 1914, she was engaged with the Lucille La Verne stock theater company. After working as William Gaxton's partner in vaudeville, she acted on stage in England. While there, she helped to introduce the play Broadway to British audiences. Her Broadway credits include The Royal Family (1951) and The Browning Version / Harlequinade (1949). Blakeney portrayed Mrs. Alice Aldrich, the mother of Henry Aldrich, in eight (seven of which were consecutive) films about The Aldrich Family. (She played a related role, Mary Aldrich, in a ninth related film, Henry and Dizzy.) On television, she played the housekeeper in the syndicated medical drama Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal (1955–1956) and guest-starred in "The Mothers," a 1957 episode of the CBS situation comedy Mr. Adams and Eve, and "Mr. Tutt," also known as "Strange Counsel," a 1958 episode of Colgate Theatre.

Personal life

Blakeney was married to Bernard Nedell and was the mother of Betty Lou Lydon and mother-in-law of Jimmy Lydon, who played her son in all but the first of the Henry Aldrich films. Blakeney died at the age of 65 due to complications of cancer on October 21, 1959, in Encino, California. She was cremated and interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in California.

Partial filmography