episode of The Andy Griffith Show as an attractive lawyer in Raleigh named Lee Drake, who Sheriff Andy Taylor has to give a deposition to on a case in Mayberry involving a Raleigh resident. She guest-starred in a 1974 episode of Cannon and in a 1978 episode of Family, a series in which her daughter, Meredith Baxter, co-starred. Later career As demand for her work in network television and films waned, Whitney Blake became a Los Angeles television talk-show host. Later, Blake moved into directing and producing. For later generations, Blake may be best known for her work in co-creating the television series One Day at a Time with her husband, Allan Manings. The sitcom ran for nine seasons on the CBS network and made household names of its stars: Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli, and Pat Harrington. Personal life Blake married Tom Baxter in early 1944. They had three children: sons, Richard Whitney Baxter and Brian Thomas Baxter and daughter, Meredith Ann Baxter. In 1988, her son Brian began co-ownership (with Blake) in a Minneapolis bookstore, Baxter's Books, which closed in 1998. Her daughter, Meredith, became an actress, starring in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties. In 1957, Blake married talent agent Jack X Fields; they divorced in 1967. Singer Whitney Houston (1963-2012) was named after Blake, as stated in the 2018 documentary Whitney. From August 24, 1968, until her death in 2002, she was married to writer/collaborator Allan Manings. Illness and death On Whitney Blake's 76th birthday, her children took Blake and Manings to dinner. Later that evening, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She expressed confidence that she would beat the disease, but died seven months later. She experienced great discomfort during her final months. Manings told Meredith, his stepdaughter, that the most difficult day was when he told Whitney that he had to accept hospice care for her; that’s when she realized that her condition was terminal. Blake died at her home on September 28, 2002, in Edgartown, Massachusetts. She was cremated, and her ashes were kept by her family. Manings also suffered from esophageal cancer and died eight years later. Filmography References External links Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen 1926 births 2002 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses Film producers from California American television actresses Television producers from California American women television producers Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts