Zasu Pitts
Known for: Acting
Zasu Pitts (January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) 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).
Filmography
Series
Perry Mason
Daphne Whilom
1957
Series
The Philco Television Playhouse
Belinda Pryde
1948
Series
Burke's Law
Mrs. Bowie
1963
Series
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Series
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Series
The Gale Storm Show
1956
Series
Screen Director's Playhouse
Selma
1955
Film
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Gertie - Switchboard Operator
1963
Series
Private Secretary
1953
Series
Guestward, Ho!
1960
Film
Greed
Trina
1924
Series
The Dennis O'Keefe Show
1959
Series
General Electric Theater
Aunt Laura
1953
Film
Life with Father
Cousin Cora Cartwright
1947
Film
The Thrill of It All
Olivia
1963
Film
Francis
Valerie Humpert
1950
Film
Mr. Skitch
Maddie Skitch
1933
Film
Love Birds
Araminta Tootle
1934
Film
Shopworn
Aunt Dot
1932
Film
Ruggles of Red Gap
Mrs. Judson
1935
Film
Souls for Sale
Self - Celebrity Actress in Commissary
1923
Film
Westward Passage
Mrs. Truesdale
1932
Film
Passion Flower
Mrs. Harney
1930
Film
The Big Parade of Comedy
Mirabelle in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
1964
Film
Hello, Sister!
Millie
1933
Film
Back Street
Mrs. Dole
1932
Film
Eternally Yours
Mrs. Bingham
1939
Film
The Gay Bride
Mirabelle
1934
Film
The Bad Sister
Minnie
1931
Film
Naughty but Nice
Aunt Penelope Hardwick
1939
Film
Broken Lullaby
Anna, Holderlin's Maid
1932
Film
The Plot Thickens
Hildegarde Withers
1936
Film
No, No, Nanette
Pauline Hastings
1940
Film
Wife Savers
Germaine
1928
Film
Professional Sweetheart
Elmerada
1933
Film
Disneyland '59
Self
1959
Film
Meet the Baron
Zasu
1933
Film
It All Came True
Miss Flint
1940
Film
Hollywood
Zasu Pitts
1923
Film
Hot Tip
Belle McGill
1935
Film
Broadway Limited
Myra Pottle
1941
Film
Nurse Edith Cavell
Mme. Moulin
1939
Film
Forty Naughty Girls
Hildegarde Withers
1937
Film
The Wedding March
Cecelia Schweisser
1928
Film
Blondie of the Follies
Gertie
1932
Film
Is Matrimony a Failure?
Mrs. Wilbur
1922
Film
Monte Carlo
Bertha
1930
Film
1925 Studio Tour
Self
1925
Film
Seed
Jennie
1931
Film
A Little Princess
Becky
1917
Film
Oh, Yeah!
The Elk
1929
Film
Casey at the Bat
Camille
1927
Film
Denver and Rio Grande
Jane Dwyer
1952
Film
Changing Husbands
Delia
1924
Film
This Could Be the Night
Mrs. Shea
1957
Film
Let's Face It
Cornelia Pigeon
1943
Film
So's Your Aunt Emma!
Aunt Emma Bates
1942
Film
Three on a Honeymoon
Alice Mudge
1934
Film
Private Scandal
Miss Coates
1934
Film
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
1917
Film
The Big Gamble
Nora Dugan
1931
Film
Dames
Matilda Hemingway
1934
Film
Francis Joins the WACS
Valerie Humpert
1954
Film
Alum and Eve
Zasu
1932
Film
The Locked Door
Telephone Girl
1929
Film
Sin Takes a Holiday
Annie
1930
Film
Her First Mate
Mary Horner
1933
Film
The Bashful Bachelor
Geraldine
1942
Film
Breakfast in Hollywood
Elvira Spriggens
1946
Film
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
Gladys Fairweather
1932
Film
The Squall
Lena
1929
Film
Her Private Life
Timmins
1929
Film
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Miss Hazy
1934
Film
Two Alone
Esthey Roberts
1934
Film
The Perfect Marriage
Rosa
1947
Film
Make Me a Star
Mrs. Scudder
1932
Old Shoes
1925
Film
The Devil's Holiday
Ethel
1930
Film
Roar of the Dragon
Gabby Woman
1932
Film
Weekend for Three
Anna, Craig's Maid
1941
Film
13 Hours by Air
Miss Harkins
1936
Film
Strangers of the Evening
Sybil Smith
1932
Film
Is My Face Red?
Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
1932
Film
Three Wise Fools
Mickey
1923
Film
No, No, Nanette
Pauline Hastings
1930
Film
Niagara Falls
Emmy Sawyer
1941
Film
The Crooked Circle
Nora Rafferty
1932
Film
War Mamas
Zasu
1931
Film
Out All Night
Bonny
1933
Film
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
Connie Clark
1933
Film
A Woman of Experience
Katie
1931
Film
The Pajama Party
Zasu
1931
Film
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
Judy
1925
Film
Miss Polly
Pandora Polly
1941
Film
Little Accident
Monica
1930
Film
Youth to Youth
Emily
1922
Film
Madison Square Garden
Florrie
1932
Film
Wages for Wives
Luella Logan
1925
Film
Beyond Victory
Fritzi Mobley
1931
Film
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
Emily Pepper
1941
Film
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
Sybby 'Sib'
1933
Film
The Goldfish
Amelia Pugsley
1924
Film
River's End
Louise
1930
Film
Mannequin
Annie Pogani
1926
Film
Buck Privates
Hulda
1928
Film
Finn and Hattie
Mrs. Hattie Haddock
1931
Film
The Secret Witness
Bella
1931
Film
What Happened to Jones?
Hilda (as Zazu Pitts)
1926
Film
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
Miss Pepper
1942
Film
On the Loose
Zasu
1931
Film
Pretty Ladies
Maggie Keenan
1925
Film
Uncle Joe
Julia Jordan
1941
Film
Mad Holiday
Mrs. Fay Kinney
1936
Film
Sunny Side Up
Evelyn
1926
Film
Mickey the Kid
Lilly Handy
1939
Film
And She Learned About Dames
Herself
1934
Film
Better Times
Nancy Scroggs
1919
Film
The Fast Set
Mona
1924
Film
Their Big Moment
Tillie Whim
1934
Patsy
Patsy
1921
Film
Sing Me a Love Song
Gwen Logan
1936
Film
Destry Rides Again
Temperance Worker
1932
Film
Show Business
Zasu
1932
Film
The Meanest Gal in Town
Tillie Prescott
1934
Film
Spring Tonic
Maggie Conklin
1935
Film
Men, Women, and Money
Katie Jones
1919
Film
She Gets Her Man
Esmeralda
1935
Film
Let's Do Things
Zasu Pitts
1931
Film
The Old Bull
Zasu
1932
Film
Going Highbrow
Cora Upshaw
1935
Film
The Other Half
Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid
1919
Film
Risky Business
Agnes Wheaton
1926
Film
'49–'17
Party Guest (uncredited)
1917
Film
They Just Had to Get Married
Molly Hull
1933
Film
The Honeymoon
Caecilia
1929
Film
Early to Wed
Mrs. Dugan
1926
Film
Secrets of the Night
Celia Stebbins
1924
Film
The Lottery Bride
Hilda
1930
Film
Tea- With a Kick!
'Brainy' Jones
1923
Film
The Argyle Case
Mrs. Wyatt
1929
Film
Sing and Like It
Annie Snodgrass
1934
Film
One Track Minds
Zasu Pitts
1933
Film
Sneak Easily
Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
1932
Film
The Guardsman
Liesl
1931
Film
Free Love
Ada, the Maid
1930
Film
War Nurse
Cushie
1930
Film
The Great Divide
Polly Jordan
1925
Film
Steady Company
Dot
1932
Film
Monte Carlo
Hope Durant
1926
Film
For the Defense
Jennie Dunn
1922
Film
The Unexpected Father
Polly Perkins
1932
Film
This Thing Called Love
Clara Bertrand
1929
Film
52nd Street
Letitia Rondell
1937
Film
The Dummy
Rose Gleason
1929
Film
Teenage Millionaire
Aunt Theodora
1961
Film
A Modern Musketeer
A Kansas Belle (uncredited)
1917
Film
The Vanishing Frontier
Aunt Sylvia
1933
Film
The Squealer
Bella
1930
Film
Tish
Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)
1942
Film
Penrod and Sam
Mrs. Bassett
1931
Film
Poor Relations
Daisy Perkins
1919
Film
A Society Sensation
Mary
1918
Film
A Lady's Name
Emily
1918
Seeing It Through
Betty Lawrence
1920
Film
Once in a Lifetime
Miss Leyton
1932
Film
The Lady's from Kentucky
Dulcey Lee
1939
Film
Their Mad Moment
Miss Dibbs
1931
Film
Lazybones
Ruth Fanning
1925
Film
Sins of the Fathers
Mother Spengler
1928
Film
Thunder Mountain
Mandy Coulter
1925
Film
Mary of the Movies
Zasu Pitts (uncredited)
1923
Film
Asleep in the Feet
Zasu
1933
Film
The Bargain of the Century
Zasu
1933
A Woman's Faith
Blanche Odile
1925
Film
The Soilers
Zasu
1932
Film
Sealskins
Zasu Pitts
1932
Film
Twin Beds
Tillie
1929
Film
Strictly Unreliable
Pitts
1932
Film
Red Noses
Miss Pitts
1932
Film
Her Big Night
Gladys Smith
1926
Film
Catch-As Catch-Can
ZaSu
1931
Film
The Affair of Susan
Susan Todd
1935
Film
The Girl Who Came Back
Anastasia Muldoon
1923
Film
The Talk of the Town
1918
Film
Honey
Mayme
1930
A Daughter of Luxury
Mary Cosgrove
1922
Mother's Helper
1933
Film
How Could You, Jean?
Oscar's Sweetheart
1918
Film
Lum and Abner
1949
Film
13 Washington Square
The Maid
1928
Film
Maids a la Mode
Miss Pitts
1933
Film
Poor Men's Wives
Apple Annie
1923
Film
Wanted!
Winnie Oatfield
1937
His Fatal Beauty
Perscilla
1917
Uneasy Money
Suza - the Editor's Assistant
1917
Film
As the Sun Went Down
Sal Sue
1919
Film
Dear Miss Gloria
Guest star
1946
Film
Paris
Harriet
1929
Heart of Twenty
Katie Abbott
1920
Film
Daughters of Today
Lorena
1924
Film
West of the Water Tower
Dessie Arnhalt
1924
Film
The Great Love
Nancy
1926
Why They Left Home
Mary Mandrake
1917
A Desert Dilemma
1917
Film
Tillie of the Nine Lives
1917
Film
She Whoops To Conquer
Beula
1933