I read the following article about Madge Blake who played the mother of
Larry Mondello on the Leave It To Beaver series. Toward the end of the article
it says she was offered the part of Aunt Bee but had to turn it down and
recommended her close friend, Frances Bavier, anyone hear this before? Her
is the article:
Madge Blake: Her career started when she was fifty and was the epitome of
what the perfect mother, sister or aunt should be both in physical
appearance and demeanor. She was short, plump, matronly with a warm smile and
a
sweet voice. She was born in Kinsley, Kansas the daughter of a Methodist
circuit rider. Madge Blake came to Los Angles with her family after her father
accepted a religious clerical position. Nearby Hollywood enhanced her desire
for a stage career, however, her father was stern in his discouragement and
becoming a movie star became only a dream. During World War II, she joined
millions of woman across the nation who filled the manpower shortage by
working to help the war effort. Both Madge and her husband worked for the
government and their job necessitated top secret clearance as they worked in
Utah during construction of the detonator for the atomic bomb. With all her
commitments completed and a grandmother, she pursued her dream and enrolled
at the Pasadena Playhouse and studied acting at age fifty. She started
performing in nearby Riverside appearing in stage productions where she was
noticed by Fannie Brice who paved the way toward an acting career. Madge made
her film debut in 1949 with an uncredited appearance in 'Adam's Rib' with
Kathern Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. A prolific twenty years of television
and movie appearances followed. Film credits: 'A Life of Her Own, Queen for a
Day, Finders Keepers, an American in Paris, The Bad and the Beautiful,
Singin in the Rain, The Long Trailer, Brigadoo, Sergeants 3, Follow Me, Boys
and her final film was Batman.' Television credits: 'The Real McCoys as
Flora MacMichael, Leave it to Beaver as Mrs Mondello, The Joey Bishop Show as
Mrs Barnes and Batman as Aunt Harriet.' Madge made guest appearances on many
television shows: 'I Love Lucy, Mr Lucky, Lassie, The Dick Van Dyke Show,
The Addams Family and Bewitched.' In a bit of trivia: She was offered the
role of Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffith Show but was unable to accept as she
was under contract with the Leave it Beaver show, but was able to recommend
her close friend Frances Bavier. Death put an end to her cherished second
career when she fell in her Pasadena home and sustained a fractured ankle.
She was admitted to Huntington Memorial Hospital where she passed away at
age 69, the result of a heart attack. She was interred beside her mother in
the family plot at Grand view Cemetery
In a message dated 6/27/2013 12:03:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
wbmutbb-requ...@wbmutbb.com writes:
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Today's Topics:
1. Andy Griffith Museum update (Jeff Koontz)
--
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 09:44:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeff Koontz hey2goo...@yahoo.com
To: wbmutbb@wbmutbb.com wbmutbb@wbmutbb.com
Subject: Andy Griffith Museum update
Message-ID:
1372265065.87090.yahoomail...@web121603.mail.ne1.yahoo.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
http://www.mtairynews.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Artist+bringing+-May
berry-+scenes+to+life%20id=22979524instance=top_stories
A nice article about some updates to the lower level of the Andy Griffith
Museum in the Mount Airy News.
It's BIG!
Jeff
http://www.andygriffithmuseum.com?
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