Grandmama

table, tr, td { I was the second daughter of Daniel and Anne MacDonald; my father was a contractor and sneaky, but loveable politician. Early on, my older sister Elsie, younger sister Jeanette MacDonald, and I were given theatrical training. Blossom and Jeanette played Philadelphia vaudeville houses while still youngsters.I went to New York where I wed the handsome Clarence Rock in 1926; We toured in vaudeville for three years. When vaudeville died I toured with my husband in "Grand Hotel" and, in 1936, played a streetwalker in "Dead End." The MGM talent agent who saw me in this signed me to the same studio as my now-famous sister Jeanette. They re-named me Marie Blake, I debuted in Joan Crawford's Mannequin (1937) and, in 1938, I became established as Sally the phone operator in the Dr. Kildare series. After the last of these in 1947, I left MGM, freelancing and doing bit parts. I appeared in television often, becoming widely known through the part of Grandmama in "The Addams Family" (1964) series.My husband was night manager at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for fifteen years, dying in 1960. After retiring, I lived at the Motion Picture Country Home. Then I died.