Zasu Pitts
Acting
Born January 2, 1894 · Parsons, Kansas, USA
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).
Films (195)
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
The Thrill of It All
1963
Teenage Millionaire
1961
Disneyland '59
1959
This Could Be the Night
1957
Francis Joins the WACS
1954
Denver and Rio Grande
1952
Francis
1950
Lum and Abner
1949
Life with Father
1947
The Perfect Marriage
1947
Breakfast in Hollywood
1946
Dear Miss Gloria
1946
Let's Face It
1943
Tish
1942
So's Your Aunt Emma!
1942
The Bashful Bachelor
1942
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
1942
Weekend for Three
1941
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
1941
Miss Polly
1941
Uncle Joe
1941
Niagara Falls
1941
Broadway Limited
1941
No, No, Nanette
1940
It All Came True
1940
Eternally Yours
1939
Nurse Edith Cavell
1939
Mickey the Kid
1939
Naughty But Nice
1939
The Lady's from Kentucky
1939
52nd Street
1937
Forty Naughty Girls
1937
Wanted!
1937
Sing Me a Love Song
1936
The Plot Thickens
1936
Mad Holiday
1936
13 Hours by Air
1936
The Affair of Susan
1935
Hot Tip
1935
She Gets Her Man
1935
Going Highbrow
1935
Spring Tonic
1935
Ruggles of Red Gap
1935
The Gay Bride
1934
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1934
Dames
1934
Their Big Moment
1934
Private Scandal
1934
Love Birds
1934
Sing and Like It
1934
And She Learned About Dames
1934
Three on a Honeymoon
1934
Two Alone
1934
The Meanest Gal in Town
1934
Mr. Skitch
1933
Meet the Baron
1933
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
1933
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
1933
Her First Mate
1933
Professional Sweetheart
1933
One Track Minds
1933
Hello, Sister!
1933
The Bargain of the Century
1933
Out All Night
1933
The Vanishing Frontier
1933
Maids a la Mode
1933
Asleep in the Feet
1933
They Just Had to Get Married
1933
She Whoops To Conquer
1933
Mother's Helper
1933
Sneak Easily
1932
Madison Square Garden
1932
The Soilers
1932
Once in a Lifetime
1932
The Crooked Circle
1932
Alum and Eve
1932
Blondie of the Follies
1932
Show Business
1932
Back Street
1932
Roar of the Dragon
1932
Make Me a Star
1932
Is My Face Red?
1932
The Old Bull
1932
Westward Passage
1932
Strangers of the Evening
1932
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
1932
Strictly Unreliable
1932
Destry Rides Again
1932
Shopworn
1932
Red Noses
1932
Steady Company
1932
Sealskins
1932
Broken Lullaby
1932
The Unexpected Father
1932
On the Loose
1931
The Secret Witness
1931
War Mamas
1931
The Guardsman
1931
The Pajama Party
1931
Penrod and Sam
1931
The Big Gamble
1931
Catch-As Catch-Can
1931
Their Mad Moment
1931
A Woman of Experience
1931
Let's Do Things
1931
Seed
1931
Beyond Victory
1931
The Bad Sister
1931
Finn and Hattie
1931
Passion Flower
1930
Free Love
1930
War Nurse
1930
Sin Takes a Holiday
1930
River's End
1930
The Lottery Bride
1930
Monte Carlo
1930
The Squealer
1930
Little Accident
1930
The Devil's Holiday
1930
Honey
1930
No, No, Nanette
1930
The Honeymoon
1929
This Thing Called Love
1929
The Locked Door
1929
Paris
1929
Oh, Yeah!
1929
Her Private Life
1929
The Argyle Case
1929
Twin Beds
1929
The Squall
1929
The Dummy
1929
Sins of the Fathers
1928
The Wedding March
1928
Buck Privates
1928
13 Washington Square
1928
Wife Savers
1928
Casey at the Bat
1927
Her Big Night
1926
Risky Business
1926
Sunny Side Up
1926
The Great Love
1926
Early to Wed
1926
Monte Carlo
1926
What Happened to Jones?
1926
Mannequin
1926
Wages for Wives
1925
Lazybones
1925
Thunder Mountain
1925
Pretty Ladies
1925
A Woman's Faith
1925
1925 Studio Tour
1925
Old Shoes
1925
The Great Divide
1925
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
1925
Greed
1924
Secrets of the Night
1924
The Fast Set
1924
Changing Husbands
1924
The Goldfish
1924
Daughters of Today
1924
West of the Water Tower
1924
Tea- With a Kick!
1923
Hollywood
1923
Three Wise Fools
1923
Mary of the Movies
1923
Souls for Sale
1923
The Girl Who Came Back
1923
Poor Men's Wives
1923
Youth to Youth
1922
For the Defense
1922
Is Matrimony a Failure?
1922
A Daughter of Luxury
1922
Patsy
1921
Heart of Twenty
1920
Seeing It Through
1920
Poor Relations
1919
The Other Half
1919
Better Times
1919
Men, Women, and Money
1919
As the Sun Went Down
1919
A Lady's Name
1918
The Talk of the Town
1918
A Society Sensation
1918
How Could You, Jean?
1918
A Modern Musketeer
1917
A Little Princess
1917
'49–'17
1917
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1917
His Fatal Beauty
1917
A Desert Dilemma
1917
Tillie of the Nine Lives
1917
Uneasy Money
1917
Why They Left Home
1917