
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
| Title | Year | Job | 
|---|