Edna May Oliver, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Edna May Oliver
Acting

Edna May Oliver
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1883-11-08,Malden, Massachusetts, USA
Gender
Female
Biography
Edna May Oliver (November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. She was born Edna May Nutter 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."

Filmography

Alice in Wonderland

6.1

Alice in Wonderland
1933-12-18

5.5

Rosalie
1937-12-24

5.9

Ann Vickers
1933-09-26

5

Second Fiddle
1939-06-30

Romeo and Juliet

6.1

Romeo and Juliet
1936-09-03

David Copperfield

6.516

David Copperfield
1935-01-18

A Tale of Two Cities

6.7

A Tale of Two Cities
1935-12-25

6.729

Little Women
1933-11-24

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

7

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
1939-03-29

Drums Along the Mohawk

6.4

Drums Along the Mohawk
1939-11-10

6.4

Lydia
1941-09-18

Penguin Pool Murder

5.5

Penguin Pool Murder
1932-12-09

Murder on a Honeymoon

5.8

Murder on a Honeymoon
1935-02-22

Half Shot at Sunrise

6.2

Half Shot at Sunrise
1930-09-19

5.1

No More Ladies
1935-06-14

4.3

Meet the Baron
1933-10-20

The Saturday Night Kid

4.4

The Saturday Night Kid
1929-10-25

My Dear Miss Aldrich

6.1

My Dear Miss Aldrich
1937-09-17

The Last Gentleman

3

The Last Gentleman
1934-04-27

Murder on the Blackboard

5.3

Murder on the Blackboard
1934-06-15

0

The Poor Rich
1934-02-25

Laugh and Get Rich

4.7

Laugh and Get Rich
1931-03-27

Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl

7.7

Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl
1999-06-14

We're Rich Again

4

We're Rich Again
1934-07-13

Paradise for Three

6.8

Paradise for Three
1938-06-04

5.7

The Conquerors
1932-11-18

4.6

Parnell
1937-06-04

Nurse Edith Cavell

6.4

Nurse Edith Cavell
1939-08-31

7

Cracked Nuts
1931-04-18

Little Miss Broadway

6.6

Little Miss Broadway
1938-07-29

Ladies of the Jury

6.4

Ladies of the Jury
1932-02-02

6.8

Only Yesterday
1933-11-01

0

Icebound
1924-03-02

The Great Jasper

0

The Great Jasper
1933-03-03

5.536

Cimarron
1931-01-26

Fanny Foley Herself

0

Fanny Foley Herself
1931-10-09

6.8

Hold 'Em Jail
1932-08-19

Pride and Prejudice

6.9

Pride and Prejudice
1940-07-26

3

Newly Rich
1931-07-02

The American Venus

0

The American Venus
1926-01-31

It's Great to Be Alive

5

It's Great to Be Alive
1933-07-08

Let's Get Married

0

Let's Get Married
1926-03-01

Lovers in Quarantine

0

Lovers in Quarantine
1925-10-11

The Lucky Devil

6.5

The Lucky Devil
1925-07-13

Wife in Name Only

0

Wife in Name Only
1923-08-25

Three O'Clock in the Morning

0

Three O'Clock in the Morning
1923-12-01

6

Manhattan
1924-10-28

0

Restless Wives
1924-01-06

The Lady Who Lied

0

The Lady Who Lied
1925-07-12