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IMDbPro

Edna May Oliver(1883-1942)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Edna May Oliver in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:39
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
6 Videos
99+ Photos
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 2nd American president John Adams and his son, the 6th American president John Quincy Adams. In addition, her father's stepfather, Samuel Oliver, had a mother named Julia Adams who was descended from another John Adams (born 1724). 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."
BornNovember 9, 1883
DiedNovember 9, 1942(59)
BornNovember 9, 1883
DiedNovember 9, 1942(59)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Photos107

Edgar Kennedy, Edna May Oliver, Bert Wheeler, and Robert Woolsey in Hold 'Em Jail (1932)
Ginger Rogers, Donald MacBride, and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Bruce Mitchell and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Walter Brennan, Ginger Rogers, and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Ginger Rogers and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Clarence Derwent, Edna May Oliver, and Victor Varconi in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Fred Astaire, Walter Brennan, Ginger Rogers, and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Elspeth Dudgeon, Leonid Kinskey, and Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Edna May Oliver in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)

Known for

David Copperfield (1935)
David Copperfield
7.4
  • Aunt Betsey
  • 1935
James Gleason and Edna May Oliver in Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
Penguin Pool Murder
6.9
  • Miss Withers
  • 1932
Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
Drums Along the Mohawk
7.0
  • Mrs. Mc Klennar
  • 1939
James Gleason and Edna May Oliver in Murder on the Blackboard (1934)
Murder on the Blackboard
6.7
  • Hildegarde Withers
  • 1934

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Joseph Cotten and Merle Oberon in Lydia (1941)
    Lydia
  • Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson in Pride and Prejudice (1940)
    Pride and Prejudice
  • Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
    Drums Along the Mohawk
  • Anna Neagle in Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
    Nurse Edith Cavell
  • Tyrone Power, Mary Healy, Sonja Henie, and Rudy Vallee in Second Fiddle (1939)
    Second Fiddle
  • Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
    The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
  • Shirley Temple, Jimmy Durante, Phyllis Brooks, George Murphy, and Edna May Oliver in Little Miss Broadway (1938)
    Little Miss Broadway
    • (as Edna Mae Oliver)
  • Robert Young and Florence Rice in Paradise for Three (1938)
    Paradise for Three
  • Rosalie (1937)
    Rosalie
  • Maureen O'Sullivan, Rita Johnson, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Pidgeon in My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937)
    My Dear Miss Aldrich
  • Parnell (1937)
    Parnell
  • Romeo and Juliet (1936)
    Romeo and Juliet
  • Elizabeth Allan, Ronald Colman, and Donald Woods in A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
    A Tale of Two Cities
  • No More Ladies (1935)
    No More Ladies
  • James Gleason and Edna May Oliver in Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)
    Murder on a Honeymoon

Soundtrack

  • Billie Burke, Buster Crabbe, Reginald Denny, Joan Marsh, Grant Mitchell, Marian Nixon, Edna May Oliver, and Gloria Shea in We're Rich Again (1934)
    We're Rich Again
    • (uncredited)
  • Charlotte Henry in Alice in Wonderland (1933)
    Alice in Wonderland
    • (uncredited)
  • Richard Dix and Ann Harding in The Conquerors (1932)
    The Conquerors
    • (uncredited)
  • Hugh Herbert, Louise Mackintosh, and Edna May Oliver in Laugh and Get Rich (1931)
    Laugh and Get Rich
    • (uncredited)

Videos6

Official Trailer
Trailer 3:26
Official Trailer
Romeo and Juliet
Trailer 3:36
Romeo and Juliet
Pride and Prejudice
Trailer 2:39
Pride and Prejudice
A Tale of Two Cities
Trailer 1:24
A Tale of Two Cities
Drums Along The Mohawk
Trailer 2:18
Drums Along The Mohawk
Little Women
Trailer 3:01
Little Women

Personal details

Edit
    • November 9, 1883
    • Malden, Massachusetts, USA
    • November 9, 1942
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(intestinal disorder)
    • January 24, 1928 - August 10, 1931 (divorced)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Portrayals
    • 11 Articles
    • 6 Pictorials
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    She was a direct descendant of John Quincy Adams.
  • Quotes
    [when asked one day why, since she possessed a fine singing voice, she never went into musicals or opera] What? With a horse face like mine? What else can I do but play comedy?

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