Zasu Pitts
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).
Known For
Credits
- 1964 · The Big Parade of Comedy as Mirabelle in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
- 1963 · It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as Gertie - Switchboard Operator
- 1963 · Burke's Law as Mrs. Bowie
- 1963 · The Thrill of It All as Olivia
- 1961 · Teenage Millionaire as Aunt Theodora
- 1960 · Guestward, Ho! as
- 1959 · The Dennis O'Keefe Show as
- 1959 · Disneyland '59 as Self
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Daphne Whilom
- 1957 · This Could Be the Night as Mrs. Shea
- 1956 · The Gale Storm Show as
- 1955 · The Silent Partner as Selma
- 1955 · Screen Director's Playhouse as Selma
- 1955 · The 20th Century Fox Hour as
- 1954 · Francis Joins the WACS as Valerie Humpert
- 1953 · Private Secretary as
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Aunt Laura
- 1952 · Denver and Rio Grande as Jane Dwyer
- 1950 · Francis as Valerie Humpert
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- 1949 · Lum and Abner as
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as Belinda Pryde
- 1947 · Life with Father as Cousin Cora Cartwright
- 1947 · The Perfect Marriage as Rosa
- 1946 · Breakfast in Hollywood as Elvira Spriggens
- 1946 · Dear Miss Gloria as Guest star
- 1943 · Let's Face It as Cornelia Pigeon
- 1942 · Tish as Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)
- 1942 · So's Your Aunt Emma! as Aunt Emma Bates
- 1942 · The Bashful Bachelor as Geraldine
- 1942 · Mexican Spitfire at Sea as Miss Pepper
- 1941 · Weekend for Three as Anna, Craig's Maid
- 1941 · The Mexican Spitfire's Baby as Emily Pepper
- 1941 · Miss Polly as Pandora Polly
- 1941 · Uncle Joe as Julia Jordan
- 1941 · Niagara Falls as Emmy Sawyer
- 1941 · Broadway Limited as Myra Pottle
- 1940 · No, No, Nanette as Pauline Hastings
- 1940 · It All Came True as Miss Flint
- 1939 · Eternally Yours as Cary Bingham
- 1939 · Nurse Edith Cavell as Mme. Moulin
- 1939 · Mickey the Kid as Lilly Handy
- 1939 · Naughty But Nice as Aunt Penelope Hardwick
- 1939 · The Lady's from Kentucky as Dulcey Lee
- 1937 · 52nd Street as Letitia Rondell
- 1937 · Forty Naughty Girls as Hildegarde Withers
- 1937 · Wanted! as Winnie Oatfield
- 1936 · Sing Me a Love Song as Gwen Logan
- 1936 · The Plot Thickens as Hildegarde Withers
- 1936 · Mad Holiday as Mrs. Fay Kinney
- 1936 · 13 Hours by Air as Miss Harkins
- 1935 · The Affair of Susan as Susan Todd
- 1935 · Hot Tip as Belle McGill
- 1935 · She Gets Her Man as Esmeralda
- 1935 · Going Highbrow as Cora Upshaw
- 1935 · Spring Tonic as Maggie Conklin
- 1935 · Ruggles of Red Gap as Mrs. Judson
- 1934 · The Gay Bride as Mirabelle
- 1934 · Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Miss Hazy
- 1934 · Dames as Matilda Hemingway
- 1934 · Their Big Moment as Tillie Whim
- 1934 · Private Scandal as Miss Coates
- 1934 · Love Birds as Araminta Tootle
- 1934 · Sing and Like it as Annie Snodgrass
- 1934 · And She Learned About Dames as Herself
- 1934 · Three on a Honeymoon as Alice Mudge
- 1934 · Two Alone as Esthey Roberts
- 1934 · The Meanest Gal in Town as Tillie Prescott
- 1933 · Mr. Skitch as Maddie Skitch
- 1933 · Meet the Baron as Zasu
- 1933 · Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men as Sybby 'Sib'
- 1933 · Love, Honor and Oh, Baby! as Connie Clark
- 1933 · Her First Mate as Mary Horner
- 1933 · Professional Sweetheart as Elmerada de Leon
- 1933 · One Track Minds as
- 1933 · Hello, Sister! as Millie
- 1933 · Out All Night as Bonny
- 1933 · The Bargain of the Century as Zasu
- 1933 · The Vanishing Frontier as Aunt Sylvia
- 1933 · Maids a la Mode as Miss Pitts
- 1933 · Asleep in the Feet as Zasu
- 1933 · They Just Had to Get Married as Molly Hull
- 1933 · She Whoops To Conquer as Beula
- 1932 · Sneak Easily as Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
- 1932 · Madison Square Garden as Florrie
- 1932 · The Soilers as Zasu
- 1932 · Once in a Lifetime as Miss Leyton
- 1932 · The Crooked Circle as Nora Rafferty
- 1932 · Alum and Eve as Zasu
- 1932 · Blondie of the Follies as Gertie
- 1932 · Show Business as Zasu
- 1932 · Back Street as Mrs. Dole
- 1932 · Roar of the Dragon as Gabby Woman
- 1932 · Make Me a Star as Mrs. Scudder
- 1932 · Is My Face Red? as Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
- 1932 · The Old Bull as Zasu
- 1932 · Westward Passage as Mrs. Truesdale
- 1932 · Strangers of the Evening as Sybil Smith
- 1932 · The Trial of Vivienne Ware as Gladys Fairweather
- 1932 · Strictly Unreliable as Pitts
- 1932 · Destry Rides Again as Temperance Worker
- 1932 · Shopworn as Aunt Dot
- 1932 · Red Noses as Miss Pitts
- 1932 · Steady Company as Dot
- 1932 · Sealskins as Zasu Pitts
- 1932 · Broken Lullaby as Anna, Holderlin's Maid
- 1932 · The Unexpected Father as Polly Perkins
- 1931 · On the Loose as Zasu
- 1931 · The Secret Witness as Bella
- 1931 · War Mamas as Zasu
- 1931 · The Guardsman as Liesl
- 1931 · The Pajama Party as Zasu
- 1931 · Penrod and Sam as Mrs. Bassett
- 1931 · The Big Gamble as Nora Dugan
- 1931 · Catch-As Catch-Can as ZaSu
- 1931 · Their Mad Moment as Miss Dibbs
- 1931 · A Woman of Experience as Katie
- 1931 · Let's Do Things as Zasu Pitts
- 1931 · Seed as Jennie
- 1931 · Beyond Victory as Fritzi Mobley
- 1931 · The Bad Sister as Minnie
- 1931 · Finn and Hattie as Mrs. Hattie Haddock
- 1930 · Passion Flower as Mrs. Harney
- 1930 · Free Love as Ada, the Maid
- 1930 · War Nurse as Cushie
- 1930 · Sin Takes a Holiday as Annie
- 1930 · River's End as Louise
- 1930 · The Lottery Bride as Hilda
- 1930 · Monte Carlo as Bertha
- 1930 · The Squealer as Bella
- 1930 · Little Accident as Monica
- 1930 · The Devil's Holiday as Ethel
- 1930 · Honey as Mayme
- 1930 · No, No, Nanette as Pauline Hastings
- 1929 · The Honeymoon as Caecilia
- 1929 · This Thing Called Love as Clara Bertrand
- 1929 · The Locked Door as Telephone Girl
- 1929 · Paris as Harriet
- 1929 · Oh, Yeah! as The Elk
- 1929 · Her Private Life as Timmins
- 1929 · The Argyle Case as Mrs. Wyatt
- 1929 · Twin Beds as Tillie
- 1929 · The Squall as Lena
- 1929 · The Dummy as Rose Gleason
- 1928 · Sins of the Fathers as Mother Spengler
- 1928 · The Wedding March as Cecelia Schweisser
- 1928 · Buck Privates as Hulda
- 1928 · 13 Washington Square as The Maid
- 1928 · Wife Savers as Germaine
- 1927 · Casey at the Bat as Camille
- 1926 · Dreams of Monte Carlo as Hope Durant
- 1926 · Risky Business as Agnes Wheaton
- 1926 · Sunny Side Up as Evelyn
- 1926 · The Great Love as Nancy
- 1926 · What Happened to Jones as Hilda (as Zazu Pitts)
- 1926 · Mannequin as Annie Pogani
- 1925 · Lazybones as Ruth Fanning
- 1925 · Thunder Mountain as Mandy Coulter
- 1925 · Pretty Ladies as Maggie Keenan
- 1925 · 1925 Studio Tour as Self
- 1925 · Old Shoes as
- 1925 · The Great Divide as Polly Jordan
- 1924 · Greed as Trina
- 1924 · Secrets of the Night as Celia Stebbins
- 1924 · The Fast Set as Mona
- 1924 · Changing Husbands as Delia
- 1924 · The Goldfish as Amelia Pugsley
- 1923 · Tea- With a Kick! as 'Brainy' Jones
- 1923 · Hollywood as Zasu Pitts
- 1923 · Three Wise Fools as Mickey
- 1923 · Mary of the Movies as Zasu Pitts (uncredited)
- 1923 · Souls for Sale as Self - Celebrity Actress in Commissary
- 1923 · Poor Men's Wives as Apple Annie
- 1922 · For the Defense as Jennie Dunn
- 1922 · A Daughter of Luxury as Mary Cosgrove
- 1921 · Patsy as Patsy
- 1920 · Heart of Twenty as Katie Abbott
- 1920 · Seeing It Through as Betty Lawrence
- 1919 · The Other Half as Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid
- 1919 · Better Times as Nancy Scroggs
- 1918 · A Lady's Name as Emily
- 1918 · The Talk of the Town as
- 1918 · A Society Sensation as Mary
- 1918 · How Could You, Jean? as Oscar's Sweetheart
- 1917 · A Modern Musketeer as A Kansas Belle (uncredited)
- 1917 · A Little Princess as Becky
- 1917 · '49–'17 as Party Guest (uncredited)
- 1917 · Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm as Undetermined Role (uncredited)