Olive Blakeney

Olive Blakeney (August 21, 1894 – October 21, 1959) was an American actress born in Newport, Kentucky, who built a career spanning stage, film, and television across several decades. She received her training at the Cincinnati School of Expression before entering the professional theater world.

Blakeney began her stage career in the early 1910s with the Pittsfield Stock Company in Massachusetts and in 1914 joined the Lucille La Verne stock theater company. She subsequently partnered with William Gaxton in vaudeville before transitioning to stage work in England, where she was among those who introduced the play Broadway to British audiences. Her screen career also began abroad, with her film debut taking place in England in 1932.

Her Broadway appearances came later in her career, with credits including The Browning Version and Harlequinade in 1949 and The Royal Family in 1951. On screen, Blakeney became closely associated with The Aldrich Family film series, in which she portrayed Mrs. Alice Aldrich, the mother of Henry Aldrich, in eight films, seven of which were consecutive. She also appeared in a ninth related production, Henry and Dizzy, playing the character Mary Aldrich. Her daughter Betty Lou Lydon was married to Jimmy Lydon, who portrayed her son in all but the first of the Henry Aldrich films.

Her television work included a recurring role as the housekeeper on the syndicated medical drama Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal from 1955 to 1956. She also made guest appearances in a 1957 episode of the CBS situation comedy Mr. Adams and Eve and a 1958 episode of Colgate Theatre.

Blakeney was married to Bernard Nedell. She died on October 21, 1959, in Encino, California, at the age of 65 from complications of cancer. She was cremated and interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.