I was surprised at the comment by the reviewer "Pullman Pumpy" that he/she? couldn't find anything on Whitney Blake considering that she was in over 80 movies/TV shows; was one of the writers on "One Day At A Time"; and was the mother of Meredith Baxter.
shareIn addition to (as you cited) having written several dozen episodes of the Norman Lear-produced television sitcom "One Day At a Time," Whitney Blake (along with third husband Allan Manings) was also actually a co-creator of "One Day At a Time," which was based, in part, on her experiences as a divorced parent of the 1950s.
You are also correct Blake was hardly an obscure talent, having appeared in the very first episode of "Perry Mason" and several films and television programs (including the leading TV westerns "Bonanza," "Maverick," and "The Virginian"). I also recall Blake playing a female attorney (a relevant plot device in the episode) in one of the last season's episodes ("Andy's Trip to Raleigh") of "The Andy Griffith Show."
But Blake's best-known role, undoubtedly, was that of "Mrs. George ('Dorothy'/'Missy'/'Mrs. B') Baxter," co-starring with Shirley Booth in the Screen Gems television sitcom "Hazel."
One may definitely see Blake in the face of her daughter, actress Meredith Baxter (nee "Baxter Birney"). And both mother and daughter also acted together in the 1974 made-for-TV film "The Stranger Who Looks Like Me."
Blake was one of the most charming and classy actresses to grace the screen--silver or small.