Person Details

Birthday: 1883-11-09 14:52:21

Death: 1942-11-09 14:52:21

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Malden, Massachusetts, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 24

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

Biography

​ She was born Edna May Nutter, a child of solid New England stock, on 9th November 1883 in Malden, Massachusetts. The daughter of Ida May and Charles Edward Nutter, Edna was a descendant of the 6th American president John Quincy Adams. Miss Oliver took an early interest in the stage, and she would quit school at the age of 14 to pursue her ambitions in the theater. Despite abandoning traditional schooling, Edna continued to study the performing arts, including speech and piano. One of her first jobs was as pianist with an all female orchestra which toured America around the turn of the century. By 1917 she had achieved success on Broadway in the hit play "Oh, Boy". By 1923 she had appeared in her first film. Edna May Oliver seems to have been born to play the classics of American and British literature. Some of her most memorable film roles were in adaptations of works of Charles Dickens. Although some have described her as plain or "horse faced", Edna May Oliver's comedic talents lent a beautiful droll warmth to her characters. She was usually called upon to play less glamorous roles such as a spinsters, but she played them with such soul, wit, and depth that to this day she remains one of the best loved of Hollywood's character actresses. A fine example of her comedic talent can be found in Laugh and Get Rich (1931). Here we find her playing a role almost autobiographical in nature, that of a proud woman with Boston roots who has married "down". As the plot unwinds, she is invited to a society gala despite her modest circumstances. At the gala she becomes tipsy. With a frolicsome air Edna May seems to use the role to gently mock her real self. Her slightly drunk character seizes upon a bit of flattery, and alluding to her old New England family, proudly proclaims to each who will listen, "I am a Cranston. That explains everything!". In real life, Edna May Oliver was a Nutter, and perhaps that explains everything. Edna May Oliver married stock broker David Pratt in 1928, but the marriage ended in divorce five years later. In 1939 she received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Widow McKlennar in the picture Drums Along the Mohawk (1939). That was to be one of her last films. Miss Oliver was struck ill in August of 1942. Although she seemed to recover briefly, she was re-admitted to Los Angeles's Cedars of Lebanon hospital in October Her dear friend actress Virginia Hammond flew out from New York to stay by her bedside. Edna May Oliver died on her 59th birthday, 9th November 1942. Virginia Hammond was with her and said, "She died without ever being aware of the gravity of her condition. She just went peacefully asleep."

Most Famous Work

Pride and Prejudice
Average
7

Pride and Prejudice

(1940) Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Drums Along the Mohawk
Average
6

Drums Along the Mohawk

(1939) Mrs. Mc Klennar
Little Women
Average
7

Little Women

(1933) Aunt March
Cimarron
Average
6

Cimarron

(1931) Mrs. Tracy Wyatt
Romeo and Juliet
Average
6

Romeo and Juliet

(1936) Juliet's Nurse
Alice in Wonderland
Average
6

Alice in Wonderland

(1933) Red Queen
David Copperfield
Average
7

David Copperfield

(1935) Aunt Betsey Trotwood
Only Yesterday
Average
7

Only Yesterday

(1933) Leona

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
1941 Sarah MacMillan
1940 Lady Catherine de Bourgh
1939 Mrs. Mc Klennar
Countess de Mavon
Aunt Phoebe
Maggie Sutton
1938 Sarah Wendling
Mrs. Kunkel
1937 Queen of Romanza
Mrs. Atherton
Aunt Ben Wood
1936 Juliet's Nurse
1935 Miss Pross
Fanny 'Grandma' Townsend
Hildegarde Withers
Aunt Betsey Trotwood
1934 Maude Stanley
Hildegarde Withers
Augusta Pritchard, Cabot's sister
Harriet Spottiswood
1933 Red Queen
Aunt March
Leona
Dean Primrose
Malvina Wormser
Dr. Prodwell
Madame Talma
1932 Miss Hildegarde Martha Withers
Matilda Blake
Violet Jones
Mrs. Livingston Baldwin Crane
1931 Fanny Foley
Bessie Tate
Aunt Minnie Van Varden
Sarah Cranston Austin
Mrs. Tracy Wyatt
1930 Mrs. Marshall
1929 Miss Streeter
1926 J.W. Smith
Mrs. Niles
1925 Amelia Pincent
Mrs. McDee
N/A
1924 Mrs. Trapes
Hannah
Benson's Secretary
1923 Hetty
Mrs. Dornham
Year Character Movie/Tv

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