A Tribute to Edna May Oliver

As you can see by the picture, Edna was not beautiful, but she more than made up for it by her excellent acting and hilarious "tongue in cheek" humor. To see an example of this, check out the 1940 version (my absolute favorite) of "Pride and Prejudice". In this excellent version of P and P, Edna plays a stuffy old rich lady to the max! Her timing is excellent. Watch for the scene when she's entertaining Lizzy for the first time.

In other films, though never the main star, Edna was great in her own right. She was nominated for best supporting actress in the movie "Drums along the Mohawk" and I read another quote that she was great in a movie, "Laugh and Get Rich". I want to thank Jenny in New Hampshire for actually sending me a copy! Wow! There are some great people out there in internet land. Tony, in Calif., sent me several movies. Thanks, Tony! Also, thanks to Jim who also offered to send me a copy. God bless you all! You're great!

I had a hard time at first finding information on Edna as I thought she was British. She had done such a spectacular job of faking a British accent, that I had no clue that she was actually an American actress! She was born Edna May Nutter, November 2nd, 1883 in Malden, Mass. Her parents were Charles and Ida M. Nutter. Edna had two brothers.

Edna died on her birthday, Nov. 2nd, 1942. It seems that there was only one other person with her when she died, her best friend the actress Virginia Hammond who flew down to be with Edna. In a book I found, Virginia said that shortly after she arrived, Edna passed away peacefully. "She had gotten a lung infection and wasn't aware that she was so deathly sick."

Edna as the aunt in "Little Women", with Katherine Hepburn. (1933)

Classic actress Esther Ralston said, "I went to see Edna in some musical play. She had a magnificent singing voice, an operatic voice. I went backstage to see her and said, 'For Heaven's sake! With a voice like yours what are you doing in these comedy roles?' She said, 'With a face like a horse, what can I do but play comedy?' I worked with Edna on the filming of "Lucky Devil" & "The American Venus" and she was just priceless and so funny! She would make one of those funny faces right in the middle of a serious scene and I would break up, of course. The director, Frank Tuttle, would say, 'Now you've got to--you've got to--don't look at her or something!"

(Lois Wilson said) "It was Edna's first film I believe. Richard and I had seen her in a play and he said, 'Now she'd be wonderful, marvelous in our picture!" (Icebound, 1924) Of course, he was always proud that she did her first picture with us. She was just as witty off-stage as on. She was a great comedienne and a woman with a very fine mind."

A critics comment on Edna's role in "Man from Mexico", 1914) "By far the best performance in the film is Edna May Oliver's portrayal of a hymnal-seller with a taste for racey speakeasies." Does anyone know if a copy of this still exists? I would appreciate any information you can give. Thanks!

Edna tried out for both parts of the good witch and the bad witch in "Wizard of Oz".

Not having physical beauty did not bother her. Edna accepted what she'd been given in life and as a result developed a wonderful, positive attitude that influenced everyone who knew her. Having so many contemporary "beauties" to compete with was no hindrance. Edna's natural "funnyness", non-malicious sense of humor and acting talent, opened many doors for her. Making people laugh was Edna's special talent. Making them happy made her happy. So may it be for us all. Thanks, Edna.

If you would like to visit Edna's grave a place a virtual "flower", please go here: Find-A-Grave: Edna May Oliver