Zasu Pitts
female
Born on January 02, 1894 (131 years old)
Passed Away on June 07, 1963
From Parsons, Kansas, USA
Known for Acting
Biography
Zasu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the advent of sound films. She may be best known for her performance in Erich von Stroheim's epic silent film Greed. Based on her performance, von Stroheim labeled Pitts "the greatest dramatic actress". He also featured her in his films The Honeymoon (1928), The Wedding March (1928), War Nurse (1930) and Walking Down Broadway, released as Hello, Sister! (1933). However, for the most part, with the advent of sound Pitts was mostly relegated to comedy parts. A bitter disappointment was when she was replaced in the classic war drama All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) by Beryl Mercer after her initial appearance in previews drew unintentional laughs, despite her intense performance. She had viewers rolling in the aisles in Finn and Hattie (1931), The Guardsman (1931), Blondie of the Follies (1932), Sing and Like It (1934) and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). In 1936 and 1937 she portrayed Hildegarde Withers in two movies, succeeding Edna May Oliver as the spinster sleuth, but they were not well received. In the 1950s she started focusing on television. This culminated in her best known series role, playing second banana to Gale Storm on CBS's The Gale Storm Show (1956) (also known as Oh, Susannah) in the role of Elvira Nugent ("Nugie"), the shipboard beautician. In 1961, Pitts was cast opposite Earle Hodgins in the episode "Lonesome's Gal" on the ABC sitcom, Guestward, Ho!, set on a dude ranch in New Mexico. In 1962, Pitts appeared in an episode of CBS's Perry Mason, "The Case of the Absent Artist". Her final role was as Gertie, the switchboard operator in the Stanley Kramer comedy epic It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).
Cast Credits
- 1964
- 1963
- 1961
- 1960
- 1959
- 1957
- 1956
- 1955
- 1954
- 1953
- 1952
- 1950
- 1949
- 1948
- 1947
- 1946
- 1943
- 1942
- 1941
- 1940
- 1939
- 1937
- 1936
- 1935
- 1934
Dames
as
Matilda Hemingway
1934
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as
Miss Hazy
1934
Sing and Like It
as
Annie Snodgrass
1934
The Gay Bride
as
Mirabelle
1934
The Meanest Gal in Town
as
Tillie Prescott
1934
Two Alone
as
Esthey Roberts
1934
Their Big Moment
as
Tillie Whim
1934
Private Scandal
as
Miss Coates
1934
Love Birds
as
Araminta Tootle
1934
Three on a Honeymoon
as
Alice Mudge
1934
And She Learned About Dames
as
Herself
1934
- 1933
Meet the Baron
as
Zasu
1933
Professional Sweetheart
as
Elmerada
1933
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
as
Sybby 'Sib'
1933
Mr. Skitch
as
Maddie Skitch
1933
Hello, Sister!
as
Millie
1933
Her First Mate
as
Mary Horner
1933
The Bargain of the Century
as
Zasu
1933
Asleep in the Feet
as
Zasu
1933
Maids a la Mode
as
Miss Pitts
1933
- no image
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
as
Connie Clark
1933
The Vanishing Frontier
as
Aunt Sylvia
1933
Out All Night
as
Bonny
1933
One Track Minds
as
Zasu Pitts
1933
She Whoops To Conquer
as
Beula
1933
They Just Had to Get Married
as
Molly Hull
1933
- 1932
Blondie of the Follies
as
Gertie
1932
Once in a Lifetime
as
Miss Leyton
1932
Shopworn
as
Aunt Dot
1932
Strangers of the Evening
as
Sybil Smith
1932
The Crooked Circle
as
Nora Rafferty
1932
Make Me a Star
as
Mrs. Scudder
1932
Westward Passage
as
Mrs. Truesdale
1932
Destry Rides Again
as
Temperance Worker
1932
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
as
Gladys Fairweather
1932
Is My Face Red?
as
Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
1932
Roar of the Dragon
as
Gabby Woman
1932
Sealskins
as
Zasu Pitts
1932
Show Business
as
Zasu
1932
Madison Square Garden
as
Florrie
1932
Steady Company
as
Dot
1932
Red Noses
as
Miss Pitts
1932
The Soilers
as
Zasu
1932
The Old Bull
as
Zasu
1932
Strictly Unreliable
as
Pitts
1932
Sneak Easily
as
Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
1932
Alum and Eve
as
Zasu
1932
Broken Lullaby
as
Anna, Holderlin's Maid
1932
Back Street
as
Mrs. Dole
1932
The Unexpected Father
as
Polly Perkins
1932
- 1931
The Big Gamble
as
Nora Dugan
1931
On the Loose
as
Zasu
1931
The Guardsman
as
Liesl
1931
The Bad Sister
as
Minnie
1931
Seed
as
Jennie
1931
Finn and Hattie
as
Mrs. Hattie Haddock
1931
Beyond Victory
as
Fritzi Mobley
1931
Catch-As Catch-Can
as
ZaSu
1931
Penrod and Sam
as
Mrs. Bassett
1931
A Woman of Experience
as
Katie
1931
War Mamas
as
Zasu
1931
The Pajama Party
as
Zasu
1931
Let's Do Things
as
Zasu Pitts
1931
The Secret Witness
as
Bella
1931
Their Mad Moment
as
Miss Dibbs
1931
- 1930
The Squealer
as
Bella
1930
Monte Carlo
as
Bertha
1930
The Lottery Bride
as
Hilda
1930
Sin Takes a Holiday
as
Annie
1930
Passion Flower
as
Mrs. Harney
1930
River's End
as
Louise
1930
The Devil's Holiday
as
Ethel
1930
No, No, Nanette
as
Pauline Hastings
1930
War Nurse
as
Cushie
1930
Honey
as
Mayme
1930
Little Accident
as
Monica
1930
Free Love
as
Ada, the Maid
1930
- 1929
- 1928
- 1927
- 1926
- 1925
- 1924
- 1923
- 1922
- 1921
- 1920
- 1919
- 1918
- 1917
A Little Princess
as
Becky
1917
A Modern Musketeer
as
A Kansas Belle (uncredited)
1917
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
as
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
1917
'49–'17
as
Party Guest (uncredited)
1917
- no image
Uneasy Money
as
Suza - the Editor's Assistant
1917
Tillie of the Nine Lives
1917
- no image
A Desert Dilemma
1917
- no image
His Fatal Beauty
as
Perscilla
1917
