Molly Blake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Molly Blake
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| Born |
Molly Suzanne McClenaghan
14 August 1917 St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
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| Died | 9 June 2011 (aged 93) |
| Occupation | Illustrator, television presenter, author |
| Children | Susie Blake |
| Parent(s) |
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Molly Suzanne Blake (born McClenaghan; August 14, 1917 – June 9, 2011) was a talented British artist, television presenter, and writer. She was best known for her work on children's TV shows and for illustrating popular children's books.
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Molly Blake's Career Highlights
Molly Blake studied art at the Central School of Art and Design in London. This is where she learned many of the skills she would use throughout her life.
Illustrating Muffin the Mule
Molly's mother was Annette Mills, a famous actress and broadcaster. Annette was well-known for her puppet show, Muffin the Mule, which was very popular on BBC Television from 1946 to 1955. Molly helped create many of the drawings for the Muffin the Mule storybooks. One of her drawings of Muffin even appeared in Radio Times magazine in 1951.
Presenting Prudence Kitten
Annette Mills also had another puppet show featuring a glove puppet called "Prudence Kitten". After Annette passed away in 1955, Molly took over as the presenter of the show. Her first time presenting "Prudence Kitten" was on July 27, 1955. Molly also wrote books about Prudence Kitten, though other artists drew the pictures for those books.
A Portrait and Magazine Feature
In 1947, a famous photographer named John Gay took a portrait of Molly Blake. This photograph is now part of the collection at the National Portrait Gallery. She was also featured in an article in The Strand Magazine called "Eight Young Artists in Search of an Editor." The article mentioned that she was married and lived in Marylebone, London. Molly Blake passed away in 2011 when she was 93 years old.
Molly Blake's Family Connections
Molly Blake came from a family of talented people. Her uncle, who was her mother's younger brother, was the famous actor John Mills. This means that Molly was a cousin to John Mills' daughters, Juliet Mills and Hayley Mills, who are also well-known actors. Molly even illustrated a book called Far Morning, which was written by Mary Hayley Bell, John Mills' second wife.
Molly Blake's own daughter, Susie Blake, followed in the family's footsteps and became an actor too.
