{{Short description|British actress (1905–1983)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Olive Mercer | image = Olive Mercer as Mrs Yeatman.jpg | caption = Mercer as Mrs. Yeatman in ''Dad's Army'' | birth_name = Olive Maude Adams | birth_date = 15 September 1905 | birth_place = Hendon, Middlesex | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1983|1|2|1905|09|15}} | death_place = Hillingdon, Middlesex | education = | occupation = Actress | years_active = | known_for = playing Mrs. Yeatman, the wife of Maurice Yeatman, the Verger in ''Dad's Army'' | spouse = | children = }}
'''Olive Mercer''' (15 September 1905 – 2 January 1983), born '''Olive Maude Adams''', was a British television actress perhaps best known for playing Mrs. Yeatman, the wife of Maurice Yeatman, the Verger in ''Dad's Army''. ==Early life== Born in 1905 in Hendon in then the country of Middlesex, now the London Borough of Barnet.<ref>[https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/2352/rg14_07039_0113_03?pid=39878406&backurl=http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DqzP36%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3DOlive%2520maude%2520%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3DAdams%2520%26gsln_x%3D0%26msbdy%3D1905%26msbpn__ftp%3DHendon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msbpn%3D85849%26msbpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C85849%257C0%257C0%257C%26msgdy%3D1931%26msddy%3D1983%26msdpn__ftp%3DHillingdon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msdpn%3D1671186%26msdpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C1671186%257C0%257C0%257C%26mssng%3DCharles%2520%26mssns%3DMercer%26cp%3D0%26catbucket%3Drstp%26MSAV%3D1%26uidh%3Drc8%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D39878406%26dbid%3D2352%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D13&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=qzP36&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true 1911 Census Record for Olive Maude Adams] - Ancestry.com {{subscription required}}</ref> She was the daughter of Henry James Adams (born 1875), a theatre ticket agent,<ref>[https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/1558/31280_198447-00339?pid=4964454&backurl=http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DqzP35%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3DOlive%2520maude%2520%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3DAdams%2520%26gsln_x%3D0%26msbdy%3D1905%26msbpn__ftp%3DHendon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msbpn%3D85849%26msbpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C85849%257C0%257C0%257C%26msgdy%3D1931%26msddy%3D1983%26msdpn__ftp%3DHillingdon,%2520Middlesex,%2520England%26msdpn%3D1671186%26msdpn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C0%257C3257%257C3251%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C5275%257C1671186%257C0%257C0%257C%26mssng%3DCharles%2520%26mssns%3DMercer%26cp%3D0%26catbucket%3Drstp%26MSAV%3D1%26uidh%3Drc8%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D4964454%26recoff%3D8%25209%252010%252030%252043%26dbid%3D1558%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D9&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=qzP35&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true Baptism of Olive Maude Adams] - 26 November 1905, Willesden, London - Ancestry.com {{subscription required}}</ref> and Fanny Maria (née Dunnett, 1875–1961).<ref>[https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/78057780/person/30378521128/story Family of Olive Maude Adams] - Ancestry.com {{subscription required}}</ref>
== Career == She often played stern older women in situation comedies, including ''On the Buses'', ''Billy Liar,'' ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', and ''The Ronnie Barker Yearbook'' (1971).
However, she is best known for playing Mrs. Yeatman, the wife of Maurice Yeatman, the Verger, in nine episodes from the third to the ninth series of ''Dad's Army'' from 1969 to 1977.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Olive Mercer (1905-1983) {{!}} Actress |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580293/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321114823/https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0580293/ |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |access-date=14 January 2022 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref> In his book: ''The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army'', entertainment journalist Richard Webber lists Mrs. Yeatman's first name as Anthea, however Webber notes that over the course of the series, her first name is also given as Beryl, or Tracey, and that in early scripts, before any recording, she is referred to as Mrs. Harman. <ref>{{cite book |last=Webber |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/completeazofdads0000webb |title=The Complete A-Z of Dad's Army |date=2000 |publisher=Orion Books Ltd. |isbn=0-75284-637-X |location=London |page=230 |access-date=January 15, 2026 |url-access=registration}}</ref>
As well as TV, she also starred in film, appearing uncredited in ''A Clockwork Orange'' (1971) as the Old Lady at Duke of York, and as the Cleaner in ''Sex and the Other Woman'' (1972).<ref name=":1" />
== Personal life and death == In 1931, she married Charles Harry Mercer;<ref>[http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=qzP37&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Olive%20maude%20&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Adams%20&gsln_x=0&msbdy=1905&msbpn__ftp=Hendon,%20Middlesex,%20England&msbpn=85849&msbpn_PInfo=8-%7C0%7C0%7C3257%7C3251%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C5275%7C85849%7C0%7C0%7C&msgdy=1931&msddy=1983&msdpn__ftp=Hillingdon,%20Middlesex,%20England&msdpn=1671186&msdpn_PInfo=8-%7C0%7C0%7C3257%7C3251%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C5275%7C1671186%7C0%7C0%7C&mssng=Charles%20&mssns=Mercer&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=1&uidh=rc8&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=54262438&dbid=8753&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1 Olive M Adams in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005] - Ancestry.com {{subscription required}}</ref> they remained married until her death. Olive Mercer died in Hillingdon in 1983. {{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0580293}} *[http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoXszbLRR53sA2tJNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dolive%2Bmercer%26fr%3Dyfp-t-702%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D1&w=522&h=600&imgurl=www.probertencyclopaedia.com%2Fphotolib%2Fpeople%2FOlive%2520Mercer%2520%28PD%29.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.probertencyclopaedia.com%2Fphotolib%2Fpeople%2FOlive%2520Mercer%2520%28PD%29.htm&size=34KB&name=%3Cb%3EOlive+Mercer+%3C%2Fb%3E%28PD%29+from+the+NSDK+Photo+Library&p=olive+mercer&oid=01d67b43535c889139478480415db0c7&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-702&tt=%3Cb%3EOlive+Mercer+%3C%2Fb%3E%28PD%29+from+the+NSDK+Photo+Library&b=0&ni=96&no=1&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12d6qs58n&sigb=13dokbrqb&sigi=1266a3o7b&.crumb=eHpd.1rxuXw&fr=yfp-t-702 Photos of Olive Mercer] at Yahoo
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Olive}} Category:British television actresses Category:1905 births Category:1983 deaths Category:20th-century British actresses Category:Actors from the London Borough of Barnet Category:People from Hendon