Actress. Born Edna May Nutter at Boston, Mass., she was one of the most recognizable character actresses of the 1930s. Early in life she had musical aspirations and planned to study in Italy, however, family and financial difficulties led her to the Boston stage in 1911. Between acting jobs she found work as a dressmaker and milliner, but by 1923, she found steady work in Hollywood, taking on supporting parts, often cast as the stuffy matriarch or the prudish spinster. Memorable roles include that of Tracy Wyatt in Cimarron (1931), Sarah Austin in Laugh and Get Rich (1931), and her star-turn as Miss Withers in The Penguin Pool Murders (1932). She held her own in classic roles in Romeo and Juliet, opposite Norma Shearer and John Barrymore, and David Copperfield with Lionel Barrymore and W.C. Fields. Despite several great performances, she was only recognized by the Academy once toward the end of her life with a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Drums Along the Mohawk. She lost to Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind. Oliver married D.W. Pratt in 1928 and they divorced three and 1/2 years later. She died on her 59th birthday after being ill for several weeks. Virginia Hammond, who was at her bedside at time of death told the press that her friend 'just went peacefully asleep.'
Actress. Born Edna May Nutter at Boston, Mass., she was one of the most recognizable character actresses of the 1930s. Early in life she had musical aspirations and planned to study in Italy, however, family and financial difficulties led her to the Boston stage in 1911. Between acting jobs she found work as a dressmaker and milliner, but by 1923, she found steady work in Hollywood, taking on supporting parts, often cast as the stuffy matriarch or the prudish spinster. Memorable roles include that of Tracy Wyatt in Cimarron (1931), Sarah Austin in Laugh and Get Rich (1931), and her star-turn as Miss Withers in The Penguin Pool Murders (1932). She held her own in classic roles in Romeo and Juliet, opposite Norma Shearer and John Barrymore, and David Copperfield with Lionel Barrymore and W.C. Fields. Despite several great performances, she was only recognized by the Academy once toward the end of her life with a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Drums Along the Mohawk. She lost to Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind. Oliver married D.W. Pratt in 1928 and they divorced three and 1/2 years later. She died on her 59th birthday after being ill for several weeks. Virginia Hammond, who was at her bedside at time of death told the press that her friend 'just went peacefully asleep.'
Bio by: Patrick R
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Edna May Oliver
Nov. 9, 1883
Nov. 9, 1942
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