Blossom Rock

Blossom Rock
Born Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald
(1895-08-21)August 21, 1895
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died January 14, 1978(1978-01-14) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Memory Slope #1183
Occupation Actress
Years active 1923–1966
Spouse(s) Clarence Warren Rock[1] (1926-1960; widowed)

Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, television, and film, and comedian. She was occasionally billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. Her younger sister was screen actress and singer Jeanette MacDonald.[2]

Personal life

Blossom Rock was born on August 21, 1895, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] She was the second of three daughters born to Anna May (née Wright; July, 1871 – May 16, 1947) and Daniel MacDonald (April, 1869 – August 8, 1924). As a youth, she performed on the vaudeville stage with her younger sister, Jeanette, and later with her husband, actor Clarence Warren Rock,[4] whom she married in September 26, 1926 in Manhattan. They had no children. Rock had an elder sister, Elsie MacDonald, who had also been a vaudeville performer and then operated a dance school until 1962.[1]

Career

Rock adopted the name Marie Blake for her film career, starting in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in My Dear Miss Aldrich. Her first credited major part was Love Finds Andy Hardy. She became better known, however, as Sally, the hospital switchboard operator in the Dr. Kildare film series.[5] She once had the same agent as Irene Ryan, for which she later fired him due to the similarity of their careers.[1]

Rock returned to using her real name in the 1950s, and later gained her biggest fame by playing "Grandmama" on the ABC series The Addams Family, which ran from 1964 to 1966.[5] In October 1964, she made a public appearance at a haunted house at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.[1][6]

Illness and death

Rock suffered a stroke in the 1970s that affected her speech and prevented her from reuniting with her fellow Addams Family castmates for the 1977 television film Halloween with the New Addams Family, but she watched the film from the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.[5] She died on January 14, 1978, in Los Angeles, California, at age 82, and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[7]

Selected filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Inman, Julie (October 22, 1964). "Addams' Grandmama Visits Haunted House". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  2. ↑ Mansour, David (2011). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 9780740793073. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Rowan, Terry. character-Based Film Series Part 1. Lulu.com. p. 60. ISBN 9781365421051. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "J. MacDonald's Sis Plays Granny Addams". El Paso Herald-Post. Texas, El Paso. July 17, 1965. p. 30. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Cox, Stephen (1998). The Addams Chronicles: An Altogether Ooky Look at the Addams Family. Cumberland House Publishing (2nd Edition). ISBN 1888952911.
  6. ↑ Staff. "Chapter 3 - 1964-1982". The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. (2 volume set). McFarland. pp. 637–638. ISBN 9780786479924. Retrieved 8 January 2017.


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