{{Short description|American actress (1895–1978)}} {{about|the American vaudeville actress|the geologic feature in the San Francisco Bay|Blossom Rock (San Francisco Bay)}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Blossom Rock | image = Blossom Rock.jpg | birth_name = Edith Marie Blossom McDonald | birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|08|21}} | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1978|01|14|1895|08|21}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Memory Slope #1183 | other_names = {{unbulleted list|Blossom Rock|Blossom MacDonald|Marie Blake}} | occupation = Actress, vaudevillian | years_active = 1923–1966 | spouse = {{marriage|Clarence Warren Rock|1926|1960|reason=died}}<ref name="inman">{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8185882/star22oct1964/| title=Addams' Grandmama Visits Haunted House| first=Julie| last=Inman| newspaper=The Indianapolis Star| date=October 22, 1964| access-date=February 3, 2018}}</ref> | relatives = Jeanette MacDonald <small>(sister)</small> }}
'''Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald''' (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as '''Blossom Rock''', was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as '''Marie Blake''' or '''Blossom MacDonald'''. Her younger sister was screen actress and singer Jeanette MacDonald.<ref name="faz">{{cite book| last=Mansour| first=David| title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century| year=2005| publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing| url=https://archive.org/details/fromabbatozoompo0000mans/page/190/mode/2up?q=%22blossom+rock%22| isbn=978-0-7407-9307-3| page=190| access-date=21 August 2025| language=en}}</ref> Rock is best known for her role as "Grandmama" on the 1960s macabre/black comedy sitcom ''The Addams Family''.<ref>{{cite news| last=Gross| first=Ed| date=2020-08-05| title=Here's What Happened to the Cast of 'The Addams Family' — and Not a Lot of it Was Good!| url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/the-addams-family-cast-a-look-at-their-lives-and-careers/| url-status=live| access-date=2021-05-08|magazine=Closer Weekly| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109034431/https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/the-addams-family-cast-a-look-at-their-lives-and-careers/| archive-date=November 9, 2019}}</ref>
==Personal life==
thumb|right|Blossom Rock with her sister Jeanette MacDonald
Blossom Rock was born on August 21, 1895, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite book| last=Rowan| first=Terry| title=Character-Based Film Series Part 1| date=September 16, 2016| publisher=Lulu.com| isbn=978-1-3654-2105-1| page=60| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCZNDQAAQBAJ&q=%22Edith+Marie+Blossom+MacDonald%22&pg=PA60| access-date=8 January 2017| language=en}}</ref> She was the second of three daughters born to Anna May (née Wright) and Daniel McDonald. The family later changed the spelling of their last name to MacDonald. As a youth, Blossom first performed in vaudeville with her younger sister, Jeanette. She had an elder sister, Elsie Wallace MacDonald, who had also been a vaudeville performer and then operated a dance school until 1962.<ref name="inman" />
She married actor Clarence Warren Rock, on September 26, 1926, in Manhattan,<ref name="ephp">{{cite news| title=J. MacDonald's Sis Plays Granny Addams| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8233387/el_paso_heraldpost/| newspaper=El Paso Herald-Post| date=July 17, 1965| page=30| via=Newspapers.com| access-date=January 7, 2017}}</ref> and they performed as a vaudeville act titled "Rock and Blossom" from 1925 to 1929.<ref name="inman" /><ref name="cox" /> Clarence Rock died in 1960, and the couple had no children.<ref>{{cite news| title=Obituaries: Clarence W. Rock| url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-obituar/179427975/| page=6| newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News| date=July 18, 1960| access-date=August 21, 2025}}</ref>
==Career== Rock adopted the name '''Marie Blake''' for her film career, beginning as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in ''My Dear Miss Aldrich''. Her first credited major part was ''Love Finds Andy Hardy'' (1938), and she then played her most notable onscreen role as Sally, the hospital switchboard operator, in the nine films that comprised MGM's popular ''Dr. Kildare'' series from 1938 to 1942.<ref name="cox">{{cite book| first=Stephen| last=Cox| author-link=Stephen Cox (writer)| title=The Addams Chronicles: An Altogether Ooky Look at the Addams Family| year=1991| publisher=Harper Paperbacks| page=119| url=https://archive.org/details/addamschronicles0000coxs/page/118/mode/2up?q=kildare| isbn=978-0-0609-6897-7}}</ref> She once had the same agent as Irene Ryan, whose similar career later caused Rock to fire him.<ref name="inman" />
Rock returned to using her real name in the 1950s, and later gained her biggest fame by playing "Grandmama" on the ABC sitcom ''The Addams Family'', which was originally broadcast from 1964 to 1966.<ref name="cox" /> In October 1964, she made a public appearance in character at a haunted house at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.<ref name="inman" /><ref>{{cite web| url=https://thehistory.childrensmuseum.org/timeline/chapter-3| title=Chapter 3 - 1964-1982| work=The Children's Museum of Indianapolis| access-date=February 3, 2018| archive-date=February 4, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204124129/https://thehistory.childrensmuseum.org/timeline/chapter-3| url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Illness and death== Rock suffered a stroke in December 1967 that affected her speech and prevented her from reuniting with fellow castmates for the 1977 television film ''Halloween with the New Addams Family''. However, she reportedly watched the film from the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.<ref name="cox" /> She died at age 82 on January 14, 1978, in Los Angeles, and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale<ref>{{cite book| last1=Wilson| first1=Scott| title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons| edition=3d (2 volume set)| year=2016| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-0-7864-7992-4| pages=637–638| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-DgDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Blossom+Rock%22+actress&pg=PA637| access-date=21 August 2025| language=en}}</ref>
==Selected filmography== {{Div col}} * ''My Dear Miss Aldrich'' (1937) as Telephone Operator (scenes deleted) * ''Thoroughbreds Don't Cry'' (1937) as Hospital Telephone Operator (uncredited) * ''Mannequin'' (1937) as Mrs. Schwartz (uncredited) * ''Love Is a Headache'' (1938) as Hillier's Secretary (uncredited) * ''Woman Against Woman'' (1938) as Miss Van Horn — Ellen's New Nursemaid (uncredited) * ''Love Finds Andy Hardy'' (1938) as Augusta * ''Rich Man, Poor Girl'' (1938) as Mrs. Gussler * ''Three Loves Has Nancy'' (1938) as Second Woman Getting Autograph (uncredited) * ''Vacation from Love'' (1938) as Bill's Receptionist (uncredited) * ''Young Dr. Kildare'' (1938) as Miss Sally Green (uncredited) * ''Dramatic School'' (1938) as Annette * ''The Ice Follies of 1939'' (1939) as Effie Lane — Tolliver's Secretary (uncredited) * ''Blind Alley'' (1939) as Harriet * ''Calling Dr. Kildare'' (1939) as Sally * ''The Women'' (1939) as Stockroom Girl (uncredited) * ''The Secret of Dr. Kildare'' (1939) as Sally — Telephone Operator * ''Day-Time Wife'' (1939) as Singing Telegram Operator (uncredited) * ''A Child Is Born'' (1939) as Ethel — Reception Nurse (uncredited) * ''Judge Hardy and Son'' (1939) as Augusta McBride * ''Alfalfa's Aunt'' (1939 MGM Short) as Aunt Penelope * ''The Man Who Wouldn't Talk'' (1940) as (uncredited) * ''Dr. Kildare's Strange Case'' (1940) as Sally, Hospital Switchboard Operator * ''Sailor's Lady'' (1940) as Beauty Operator (uncredited) * ''They Drive by Night'' (1940) as Waitress (uncredited) * ''Dr. Kildare Goes Home'' (1940) as Sally * ''They Knew What They Wanted'' (1940) as Waitress (uncredited) * ''Li'l Abner'' (1940) as Miss Lulubell * ''Gallant Sons'' (1940) as Woman Helping to Look For Ring (uncredited) * ''Dr. Kildare's Crisis'' (1940) as Sally, Hospital Receptionist * ''Jennie'' (1940) as Minor Role * ''You're the One'' (1941) as Beauty Shop Operator * ''Here Comes Happiness'' (1941) as Clara * ''The People vs. Dr. Kildare'' (1941) as Sally * ''Caught in the Draft'' (1941) as Nurse with Castor Oil (uncredited) * ''Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day'' (1941) as Sally * ''Remember the Day'' (1941) as Miss Cartwright * ''Blue, White and Perfect'' (1942) as Ethel * ''Dr. Kildare's Victory'' (1942) as Sally * ''The Wife Takes a Flyer'' (1942) as Frieda (uncredited) * ''A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen'' (1942) as Motel Landlady (uncredited) * ''Small Town Deb'' (1942) as Beauty Operator * ''Calling Dr. Gillespie'' (1942) as Sally, Receptionist * ''Give Out, Sisters'' (1942) as Biandina Waverly * ''I Married a Witch'' (1942) as Purity Sykes (uncredited) * ''Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant'' (1942) as Sally * ''Good Morning, Judge'' (1943) as Nicky Clark * ''Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case'' (1943) as Sally * ''All by Myself'' (1943) as Miss Ryan (uncredited) * ''Campus Rhythm'' (1943) as Susie Smith — Hartman's Secretary * ''Whispering Footsteps'' (1943) as Sally Lukens, boarder * ''Make Your Own Bed'' (1944) as Woman Jerry Mistakes for Susan (uncredited) * ''South of Dixie'' (1944) as Ruby * ''Sensations of 1945'' (1944) as Miss Grear (uncredited) * ''Gildersleeve's Ghost'' (1944) as Harriet Morgan * ''The Unwritten Code'' (1944) as Nurse (uncredited) * ''Roughly Speaking'' (1945) as Nurse (uncredited) * ''Keep Your Powder Dry'' (1945) as WAC Supply Corporal (uncredited) * ''Between Two Women'' (1945) as Sally * ''Pillow to Post'' (1945) as Wilbur's Mother (scenes deleted) * ''Christmas in Connecticut'' (1945) as Mrs. Wright (uncredited) * ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' (1945) as Royce's Secretary (uncredited) * ''Gentleman Joe Palooka'' (1946) as Maid * ''Fun on a Weekend'' (1947) as Mr. Prigee's Secretary (uncredited) * ''Dark Delusion'' (1947) as Sally * ''Christmas Eve'' (1947) as Reporter (uncredited) * ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' (1947) as Minnie Ames * ''The Gangster'' (1947) as House Mistress (uncredited) * ''An Innocent Affair'' (1948) as Hilda — the Maid * ''The Girl from Manhattan'' (1948) as Committeewoman (uncredited) * ''The Snake Pit'' (1948) as Patient Awaiting Staff (uncredited) * ''Bad Boy'' (1949) as Miss Worth (uncredited) * ''Alimony'' (1949) as Mrs. Nesbitt * ''Angels in Disguise'' (1949) as Millie (uncredited) * ''Chicago Deadline'' (1949) as Telephone Operataor (uncredited) * ''Sons of New Mexico'' (1949) as Hannah Dobbs * ''Paid in Full'' (1950) as Tired Woman Patient (uncredited) * ''A Woman of Distinction'' (1950) as Wax Operator (uncredited) * ''Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle'' (1950) as Prunella, Humphrey's Sister (uncredited) * ''Love Nest'' (1951) as Mrs. Quigg (uncredited) * ''F.B.I. Girl'' (1951) as Landlady * ''Gobs and Gals'' (1952) as Bertram's Mother * ''The Star'' (1952) as Annie, Stones' Maid (uncredited) * ''Small Town Girl'' (1953) as Customer (uncredited) * ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) as Marie (uncredited) * ''The Human Jungle'' (1954) as Mrs. Ashton (uncredited) * ''Hilda Crane'' (1956) as Clara — Mrs. Crane's Housekeeper * ''The Desperados Are in Town'' (1956) as Mrs. Green (uncredited) * ''She Devil'' (1957) as Hannah — the Housekeeper * ''The Way to the Gold'' (1957) as Mrs. Lattimer * ''From the Terrace'' (1960) as Nellie (uncredited) * ''Swingin' Along'' (1961) as Woman in Apartment No. 1 (uncredited) * ''Snow White and the Three Stooges'' (1961) as Servant (uncredited) * ''The Second Time Around'' (1961) as Mrs. Vera Collins * ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' (1964, TV series, episode "How to Succeed in Business Without Crying") as Mother Gilhooley * ''The Best Man'' (1964) as Cleaning Woman * ''The Addams Family'' (1964–1966, TV series) as Grandmama {{Div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0086641|name=Blossom Rock}} * {{TCMDb name}} (as Marie Blake) * {{IBDB name}} (as Blossom MacDonald) * {{Find a Grave | 6684}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Blossom}} Category:1895 births Category:1978 deaths Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American vaudeville performers Category:Actresses from Philadelphia Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players