Other television series in which Backes performed later in the 1950s include Mr. and Mrs. North, Medic, Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Studio 57, Startime, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, The Real McCoys, in 13 episodes of Bachelor Father, on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Lux Video Theatre, M Squad, Hennesey, Law of the Plainsman, Leave It to Beaver, and Gunsmoke.

In those decades, she either appeared for the first time or returned to perform in more than 60 sitcoms, Westerns, detective, courtroom, and medical shows, anthology series, suspense programs, and made-for-television movies.

In a memorable scene in that episode, Olive—after writing down Deputy Barney Fife's extensive breakfast order at the counter—clutches her notepad to her chest, beams with a motherly smile, and says to him, "It does my heart good to see a thin person eat.

[8] She was cast in no fewer than a dozen feature films, continuing to display in those roles her ability to play a wide range of characters, such as a telephone operator, prison nurse, a farmer's wife, dentist, teacher, a newspaper gossip columnist, and women in other occupations.

(1958), It Started with a Kiss (1959), That Touch of Mink (1962), The Glory Guys (1965), The Third Day (1965), Snowball Express (1972), The Man from Independence (1974), Half a House (1975), Gable and Lombard (1976), and The Cat From Outer Space (1978).

She promoted the work and served on boards and committees of the United Nation's International Children's Emergency Fund, Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, Whidbey Animals' Improvement Foundation, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Theatre West, and Pioneer Broadcasters.

Backes was also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; and in 2008, the year after her death, SAG formally recognized her contributions to the industry at the guild's televised 14th annual awards ceremony.

After her retirement from acting in the late 1990s, Backes continued to devote her time to charities and to her lifelong passion for music, studying the works of the classical masters, as well as Broadway scores and early choral compositions.