Blake was a first cousin of actor Milburn Stone (her mother and his father were brother and sister), who played the role of Doc Adams on "Gunsmoke" Western series. She did not begin to study acting until she was 50 years old, when she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse and took advantage of whatever influence or contacts Milburn Stone had to land acting roles. In the middle 1950s, Blake appeared on Rod Cameron's "City Detective" and in Ray Milland's sitcom "Meet Mr. McNutley", renamed in the second season as "The Ray Milland Show". Blake appeared in four episodes of the NBC sitcom "It's a Great Life" (1954–1956) and twice on CBS's "December Bride", with Spring Byington.