Zasu Pitts
Age: N/A | From: Parsons, Kansas, USA
Person Details
Birthday:
Aliases: Zazu Pitts , Eliza Susan Pitts , ZaSu Pitts , Za Su Pitts
Gender: Female
Place of birth: Parsons, Kansas, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 55
TV Involvements: 3
Most Famous Work
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).
Most Famous Work
Perry Mason
(1957) Daphne Whilom
The Philco Television Playhouse
(1948) Belinda Pryde
Burke's Law
(1963) Mrs. Bowie
Greed
(1924) Trina
Broken Lullaby
(1932) Anna, Holderlin's Maid
The Bad Sister
(1931) Minnie
Shopworn
(1932) Aunt Dot
Roar of the Dragon
(1932) Gabby WomanActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Mirabelle in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage) | |
| 1963 | Gertie - Switchboard Operator | |
| Mrs. Bowie | ||
| Olivia | ||
| 1961 | Aunt Theodora | |
| 1960 | N/A | |
| 1959 | N/A | |
| Self | ||
| 1957 | Daphne Whilom | |
| Mrs. Shea | ||
| 1956 | N/A | |
| 1955 | Selma | |
| N/A | ||
| Selma | ||
| 1954 | Valerie Humpert | |
| 1953 | Aunt Laura | |
| N/A | ||
| 1952 | Jane Dwyer | |
| 1950 | Valerie Humpert | |
| Self - Mystery Guest | ||
| 1949 | N/A | |
| 1948 | Belinda Pryde | |
| 1947 | Cousin Cora Cartwright | |
| Rosa | ||
| 1946 | Elvira Spriggens | |
| Guest star | ||
| 1943 | Cornelia Pigeon | |
| 1942 | Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts) | |
| Aunt Emma Bates | ||
| Geraldine | ||
| Miss Pepper | ||
| 1941 | Anna, Craig's Maid | |
| Emily Pepper | ||
| Pandora Polly | ||
| Julia Jordan | ||
| Emmy Sawyer | ||
| Myra Pottle | ||
| 1940 | Pauline Hastings | |
| Miss Flint | ||
| 1939 | Cary Bingham | |
| Mme. Moulin | ||
| Lilly Handy | ||
| Aunt Penelope Hardwick | ||
| Dulcey Lee | ||
| 1937 | Letitia Rondell | |
| Hildegarde Withers | ||
| Winnie Oatfield | ||
| 1936 | Gwen Logan | |
| Hildegarde Withers | ||
| Mrs. Fay Kinney | ||
| Miss Harkins | ||
| 1935 | Susan Todd | |
| Belle McGill | ||
| Esmeralda | ||
| Cora Upshaw | ||
| Maggie Conklin | ||
| Mrs. Judson | ||
| 1934 | Mirabelle | |
| Miss Hazy | ||
| Matilda Hemingway | ||
| Tillie Whim | ||
| Miss Coates | ||
| Araminta Tootle | ||
| Annie Snodgrass | ||
| Herself | ||
| Alice Mudge | ||
| Esthey Roberts | ||
| Tillie Prescott | ||
| 1933 | Maddie Skitch | |
| Zasu | ||
| Sybby 'Sib' | ||
| Connie Clark | ||
| Mary Horner | ||
| Elmerada de Leon | ||
| N/A | ||
| Millie | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Bonny | ||
| Aunt Sylvia | ||
| Miss Pitts | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Molly Hull | ||
| Beula | ||
| 1932 | Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury | |
| Florrie | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Miss Leyton | ||
| Nora Rafferty | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Gertie | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Mrs. Dole | ||
| Gabby Woman | ||
| Mrs. Scudder | ||
| Morning Gazette Telephone Operator | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Mrs. Truesdale | ||
| Sybil Smith | ||
| Gladys Fairweather | ||
| Pitts | ||
| Temperance Worker | ||
| Aunt Dot | ||
| Miss Pitts | ||
| Dot | ||
| Zasu Pitts | ||
| Anna, Holderlin's Maid | ||
| Polly Perkins | ||
| 1931 | Zasu | |
| Bella | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Liesl | ||
| Zasu | ||
| Mrs. Bassett | ||
| Nora Dugan | ||
| ZaSu | ||
| Miss Dibbs | ||
| Katie | ||
| Zasu Pitts | ||
| Jennie | ||
| Fritzi Mobley | ||
| Minnie | ||
| Mrs. Hattie Haddock | ||
| 1930 | Mrs. Harney | |
| Ada, the Maid | ||
| Cushie | ||
| Annie | ||
| Louise | ||
| Hilda | ||
| Bertha | ||
| Bella | ||
| Monica | ||
| Ethel | ||
| Mayme | ||
| Pauline Hastings | ||
| 1929 | Caecilia | |
| Clara Bertrand | ||
| Telephone Girl | ||
| Harriet | ||
| The Elk | ||
| Timmins | ||
| Mrs. Wyatt | ||
| Tillie | ||
| Lena | ||
| Rose Gleason | ||
| 1928 | Mother Spengler | |
| Cecelia Schweisser | ||
| Hulda | ||
| The Maid | ||
| Germaine | ||
| 1927 | Camille | |
| 1926 | Hope Durant | |
| Agnes Wheaton | ||
| Evelyn | ||
| Nancy | ||
| Mrs. Dugan | ||
| Hilda (as Zazu Pitts) | ||
| Annie Pogani | ||
| 1925 | Luella Logan | |
| Ruth Fanning | ||
| Mandy Coulter | ||
| Maggie Keenan | ||
| Self | ||
| N/A | ||
| Polly Jordan | ||
| 1924 | Trina | |
| Celia Stebbins | ||
| Mona | ||
| Delia | ||
| Amelia Pugsley | ||
| 1923 | 'Brainy' Jones | |
| Zasu Pitts | ||
| Mickey | ||
| Zasu Pitts (uncredited) | ||
| Self - Celebrity Actress in Commissary | ||
| Apple Annie | ||
| 1922 | Jennie Dunn | |
| Mary Cosgrove | ||
| 1921 | Patsy | |
| 1920 | Katie Abbott | |
| Betty Lawrence | ||
| 1919 | Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid | |
| Nancy Scroggs | ||
| 1918 | Emily | |
| N/A | ||
| Mary | ||
| Oscar's Sweetheart | ||
| 1917 | A Kansas Belle (uncredited) | |
| Becky | ||
| Party Guest (uncredited) | ||
| Undetermined Role (uncredited) | ||
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
