Zasu Pitts
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).
Acting (177 movies)
Greed
1924
Blondie of the Follies
1932
The Thrill of It All
1963
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
Thunder Mountain
1925
13 Washington Square
1928
The Squealer
1930
Ruggles of Red Gap
1935
Life with Father
1947
The Talk of the Town
1918
Francis
1950
The Big Gamble
1931
52nd Street
1937
Dames
1934
The Honeymoon
1929
The Dummy
1929
Wife Savers
1928
It All Came True
1940
The Locked Door
1929
Dear Miss Gloria
1946
On the Loose
1931
Oh, Yeah!
1929
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1934
Changing Husbands
1924
Eternally Yours
1939
The Guardsman
1931
What Happened to Jones?
1926
This Could Be the Night
1957
The Plot Thickens
1936
Once in a Lifetime
1932
Shopworn
1932
Hollywood
1923
Monte Carlo
1930
The Bad Sister
1931
The Crooked Circle
1932
Strangers of the Evening
1932
Forty Naughty Girls
1937
Mad Holiday
1936
A Little Princess
1917
Meet the Baron
1933
So's Your Aunt Emma!
1942
Make Me a Star
1932
Going Highbrow
1935
Denver and Rio Grande
1952
The Bashful Bachelor
1942
Niagara Falls
1941
Broadway Limited
1941
The Lottery Bride
1930
Sin Takes a Holiday
1930
Westward Passage
1932
Pretty Ladies
1925
The Squall
1929
Passion Flower
1930
Sing and Like It
1934
Let's Face It
1943
Spring Tonic
1935
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
1942
The Gay Bride
1934
Professional Sweetheart
1933
Seed
1931
Uncle Joe
1941
Teenage Millionaire
1961
Destry Rides Again
1932
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
1933
Weekend for Three
1941
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
1941
Mr. Skitch
1933
13 Hours by Air
1936
The Meanest Gal in Town
1934
Nurse Edith Cavell
1939
Two Alone
1934
River's End
1930
The Devil's Holiday
1930
Finn and Hattie
1931
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
1932
Hello, Sister!
1933
Is My Face Red?
1932
Her First Mate
1933
Roar of the Dragon
1932
The Bargain of the Century
1933
The Fast Set
1924
Show Business
1932
Sealskins
1932
Asleep in the Feet
1933
Risky Business
1926
Beyond Victory
1931
Madison Square Garden
1932
Steady Company
1932
Catch-As Catch-Can
1931
Casey at the Bat
1927
Red Noses
1932
Penrod and Sam
1931
Lazybones
1925
A Woman of Experience
1931
Tish
1942
Maids a la Mode
1933
The Affair of Susan
1935
Sing Me a Love Song
1936
The Other Half
1919
The Vanishing Frontier
1933
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