Madge Blake
(1899 - 1969)She was a short, plump, matronly little lady with twinkly eyes, a warm smile and a sweet warbly voice. Her best known role was that of Aunt Harriet Cooper, Bruce Wayne's Aunt on the "Batman" TV series (1966-68). Born in Kinsley, Kansas on May 31, 1899 the daughter of a Methodist circuit rider her father discouraged her from acting. It wasn't until years later as a grandmother that she fulfilled a lifelong dream. She studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. After a training period in the theatre, she made her film debut in 1949 in "Adam's Rib" with Hepburn and Tracy, in an uncredited role as Mrs. Bonner. Among her other film credits were: "A Life of Her Own" (1950); "Queen for a Day" (1951) as Mrs. Kimpel; "Finders Keepers" (1951); "An American in Paris" (1951) with Gene Kelly, as Edna Mae Bestram; "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) with Kirk Douglas, as Mrs. Rosser; "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) as Dora Bailey; "The Long, Long Trailer"(1954) as Aunt Anastacia; "Brigadoon" (1954) as Mrs. McIntosh; "Sergeants 3" (1962); "Follow Me, Boys!" (1966) as Cora Anderson and "Batman" (1966) again as Aunt Harriet, her final film. Besides being a regular on the "Batman" TV series, she also starred as Flora MacMichael on "The Real McCoys" (1957-63) with Walter Brennan; "Leave it to Beaver" (1957-63) as Mrs. Mondello; "The Joey Bishop Show" (1961-62) as Mrs. Barnes and guested on many series including: "I Love Lucy"; "Mr. Lucky"; "Lassie"; "The Dick Van Dyke Show"; "The Addams Family" and "Bewitched." She died on February 19, 1969 in Pasadena, California of a heart attack at age 69.
From Great Character Actors, Page 3.
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