Whitney Blake was the kind of presence that defined an era of television without ever feeling like a relic of it. You probably know her best as "Missy," the elegant interior decorator Dorothy Baxter on the hit 1960s sitcom Hazel. Or, if you’re a trivia buff, you know she’s the woman who co-created One Day at a Time, a show that basically re-wrote the rules for how we talk about single motherhood on screen. Honestly, it’s rare to find someone who successfully pivoted from being a "blonde leading lady" in film noir to a powerhouse producer and activist.
She wasn't just a face. She was a force.
Looking back at Whitney Blake movies and tv shows, you see a career that mirrored the massive shifts in American culture. From the gritty, cigarette-smoke-filled rooms of early detective dramas to the brightly colored, idealistic living rooms of 1960s sitcoms, she navigated it all with a specific kind of intelligence. It wasn't just about being the "wife" or the "mother" on screen; it was about how she used those platforms to eventually change the industry from the inside.
The Early Days: Noir, Guns, and Perry Mason
Before she was the patient Dorothy Baxter, Blake was cutting her teeth in the world of 1950s crime dramas. Most people don't realize she was actually the very first defendant Perry Mason ever took on. In the 1957 series premiere, "The Case of the Restless Redhead," she played Evelyn Bagby. It’s a classic setup: a woman is being framed, she’s desperate, and Raymond Burr has to save the day.
Blake had this way of playing "damsel in distress" that didn't feel weak. She felt like a real person caught in a bad situation.
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That same year, she jumped into the world of Mickey Spillane with My Gun Is Quick. She played Nancy Williams in this hard-boiled film noir. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a time capsule of 1957—shadows, trench coats, and moral ambiguity. She also worked with Jack Webb in the 1959 newspaper drama -30-. It’s a fast-paced, dialogue-heavy film that really showed off her range. She wasn't just a "pretty face" for the camera; she could hold her own in the rapid-fire, rat-a-tat delivery Webb was famous for.
The Hazel Phenomenon and the "Missy" Persona
Then came Hazel. This show was a juggernaut. Running from 1961 to 1965 on NBC (before a final season on CBS that she wasn't part of), it followed the life of a bossy but lovable maid played by Shirley Booth.
Blake played Dorothy "Missy" Baxter.
While the show was technically about the maid, Dorothy was the heart of the home. Blake brought a quiet dignity to the role. She wasn't just the domestic foil to Hazel’s antics; she was a career woman—an interior decorator—at a time when most TV moms were strictly "homemakers." It was a subtle distinction, but it mattered. It gave her character an identity outside of just being "George’s wife."
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Interestingly, the show was a pioneer in color broadcasting. Because RCA owned NBC, they used Hazel to sell color TV sets. Blake and the rest of the cast were beamed into living rooms in vibrant, saturated hues that made the show feel modern and aspirational. But after four seasons, the network decided to "retool" the show. Blake and her on-screen husband Don DeFore were written out, replaced by a younger couple. It was a classic Hollywood move, but Blake didn't let it slow her down.
Breaking the Mold: One Day at a Time
If Blake had stopped after Hazel, she’d still be remembered. But what she did next is what actually cemented her legacy. She looked at her own life—a divorced mother of three, including daughter and future star Meredith Baxter—and realized that the "perfect" families she saw on TV didn't reflect reality.
She teamed up with her husband, Allan Manings, and developed One Day at a Time.
This wasn't just another sitcom. It was the first time a major network show focused on a divorced woman (Ann Romano, played by Bonnie Franklin) raising teenage daughters on her own. It dealt with things like birth control, sexual harassment, and the sheer exhaustion of being a single parent.
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Blake didn't just write scripts; she infused the show with her own lived experience. She was an activist for civil rights and women's rights, and she used her creative power to push those conversations into the mainstream. Without her vision, we might not have had shows like Murphy Brown or Maude. She broke the "Missy" mold to show a more honest version of American womanhood.
Notable Guest Spots and Later Work
Even as she moved into producing, Blake never fully left acting. Her filmography is a literal "who's who" of classic television. You can spot her in:
- Gunsmoke (she played several different characters across different seasons)
- The Andy Griffith Show (as lawyer Lee Drake)
- Maverick (acting opposite James Garner)
- Batman (she even appeared in an episode with Catwoman!)
One of her final film roles was in the 1978 movie The Betsy, starring alongside the legendary Laurence Olivier. It was a long way from the soundstages of Hazel, but it showed that she still had that screen presence.
The Impact on the Next Generation
It’s impossible to talk about Whitney Blake without mentioning her daughter, Meredith Baxter. Most people know Meredith from Family Ties, where she played the iconic 1980s mom, Elyse Keaton. There’s something poetic about that. Whitney played the 1960s mom, then created the show that paved the way for the realistic 1970s/80s mom that her daughter eventually played.
Whitney Blake died in 2002 at the age of 76, but her influence is everywhere. Every time you see a TV show that features a complex, non-traditional family, you’re seeing a bit of her handiwork.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of her career, here is what you should do next:
- Watch the "Restless Redhead" episode of Perry Mason. It’s the very first episode of the series. Watch how she plays the "innocent" defendant—it's a masterclass in 1950s TV acting and sets the tone for the entire legendary series.
- Track the shift in her roles. Compare her performance in My Gun Is Quick (1957) with her role in Hazel (1961). The transition from noir "dame" to suburban "Missy" shows just how much the "ideal" American woman changed in just four years.
- Look for the "Whitney Blake Connection" in One Day at a Time. When you watch the original series (or even the 2017 reboot), notice the themes of female independence. Those are direct reflections of Blake’s own struggles and triumphs as a single mother in the 1950s.
- Research her work with Women in Film. She wasn't just a member; she was an activist. Understanding her behind-the-scenes work gives you a much better perspective on why she chose the roles she did later in her life.