Zasu Pitts
Born
January 2, 1894
Died
June 7, 1963 (69 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
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).
Known For
The Big Parade of Comedy
Mirabelle in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
1964
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Gertie - Switchboard Operator
1963
Burke's Law
Mrs. Bowie · (1 episode)
1963
The Thrill of It All
Olivia
1963
Teenage Millionaire
Aunt Theodora
1961
Guestward, Ho!
(1 episode)
1960
The Dennis O'Keefe Show
(1 episode)
1959
Disneyland '59
Self
1959
Perry Mason
Daphne Whilom · (1 episode)
1957
This Could Be the Night
Mrs. Shea
1957
The Gale Storm Show
(126 episodes)
1956
The Silent Partner
Selma
1955
The 20th Century Fox Hour
(1 episode)
1955
Screen Director's Playhouse
Selma · (1 episode)
1955
Francis Joins the WACS
Valerie Humpert
1954
General Electric Theater
Aunt Laura · (1 episode)
1953
Private Secretary
(1 episode)
1953
Denver and Rio Grande
Jane Dwyer
1952
Francis
Valerie Humpert
1950
What's My Line?
Self · (1 episode)
1950
Lum and Abner
1949
The Philco Television Playhouse
Belinda Pryde · (1 episode)
1948
Life with Father
Cousin Cora Cartwright
1947
The Perfect Marriage
Rosa
1947
Breakfast in Hollywood
Elvira Spriggens
1946
Dear Miss Gloria
Guest star
1946
Let's Face It
Cornelia Pigeon
1943
Tish
Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)
1942
So's Your Aunt Emma!
Aunt Emma Bates
1942
The Bashful Bachelor
Geraldine
1942
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
Miss Pepper
1942
Weekend for Three
Anna, Craig's Maid
1941
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
Emily Pepper
1941
Miss Polly
Pandora Polly
1941
Uncle Joe
Julia Jordan
1941
Niagara Falls
Emmy Sawyer
1941
Broadway Limited
Myra Pottle
1941
No, No, Nanette
Pauline Hastings
1940
It All Came True
Miss Flint
1940
Eternally Yours
Cary Bingham
1939
Nurse Edith Cavell
Mme. Moulin
1939
Mickey the Kid
Lilly Handy
1939
Naughty But Nice
Aunt Penelope Hardwick
1939
The Lady's from Kentucky
Dulcey Lee
1939
52nd Street
Letitia Rondell
1937
Forty Naughty Girls
Hildegarde Withers
1937
Wanted!
Winnie Oatfield
1937
Sing Me a Love Song
Gwen Logan
1936
The Plot Thickens
Hildegarde Withers
1936
Mad Holiday
Mrs. Fay Kinney
1936
13 Hours by Air
Miss Harkins
1936
The Affair of Susan
Susan Todd
1935
Hot Tip
Belle McGill
1935
She Gets Her Man
Esmeralda
1935
Going Highbrow
Cora Upshaw
1935
Spring Tonic
Maggie Conklin
1935
Ruggles of Red Gap
Mrs. Judson
1935
The Gay Bride
Mirabelle
1934
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Miss Hazy
1934
Dames
Matilda Hemingway
1934
Their Big Moment
Tillie Whim
1934
Private Scandal
Miss Coates
1934
Love Birds
Araminta Tootle
1934
Sing and Like It
Annie Snodgrass
1934
And She Learned About Dames
Herself
1934
Three on a Honeymoon
Alice Mudge
1934
Two Alone
Esthey Roberts
1934
The Meanest Gal in Town
Tillie Prescott
1934
Mr. Skitch
Maddie Skitch
1933
Meet the Baron
Zasu
1933
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
Sybby 'Sib'
1933
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
Connie Clark
1933
Her First Mate
Mary Horner
1933
Professional Sweetheart
Elmerada
1933
One Track Minds
Zasu Pitts
1933
Hello, Sister!
Millie
1933
The Bargain of the Century
Zasu
1933
Out All Night
Bonny
1933
The Vanishing Frontier
Aunt Sylvia
1933
Maids a la Mode
Miss Pitts
1933
Asleep in the Feet
Zasu
1933
They Just Had to Get Married
Molly Hull
1933
She Whoops To Conquer
Beula
1933
Sneak Easily
Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
1932
Madison Square Garden
Florrie
1932
The Soilers
Zasu
1932
Once in a Lifetime
Miss Leyton
1932
The Crooked Circle
Nora Rafferty
1932
Alum and Eve
Zasu
1932
Blondie of the Follies
Gertie
1932
Show Business
Zasu
1932
Back Street
Mrs. Dole
1932
Roar of the Dragon
Gabby Woman
1932
Make Me a Star
Mrs. Scudder
1932
Is My Face Red?
Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
1932
The Old Bull
Zasu
1932
Westward Passage
Mrs. Truesdale
1932
Strangers of the Evening
Sybil Smith
1932
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
Gladys Fairweather
1932
Strictly Unreliable
Pitts
1932
Destry Rides Again
Temperance Worker
1932
Shopworn
Aunt Dot
1932
Red Noses
Miss Pitts
1932
Steady Company
Dot
1932
Sealskins
Zasu Pitts
1932
Broken Lullaby
Anna, Holderlin's Maid
1932
The Unexpected Father
Polly Perkins
1932
On the Loose
Zasu
1931
The Secret Witness
Bella
1931
War Mamas
Zasu
1931
The Guardsman
Liesl
1931
The Pajama Party
Zasu
1931
Penrod and Sam
Mrs. Bassett
1931
The Big Gamble
Nora Dugan
1931
Catch-As Catch-Can
ZaSu
1931
Their Mad Moment
Miss Dibbs
1931
A Woman of Experience
Katie
1931
Let's Do Things
Zasu Pitts
1931
Seed
Jennie
1931
Beyond Victory
Fritzi Mobley
1931
The Bad Sister
Minnie
1931
Finn and Hattie
Mrs. Hattie Haddock
1931
Passion Flower
Mrs. Harney
1930
Free Love
Ada, the Maid
1930
War Nurse
Cushie
1930
Sin Takes a Holiday
Annie
1930
River's End
Louise
1930
The Lottery Bride
Hilda
1930
Monte Carlo
Bertha
1930
The Squealer
Bella
1930
Little Accident
Monica
1930
The Devil's Holiday
Ethel
1930
Honey
Mayme
1930
No, No, Nanette
Pauline Hastings
1930
The Honeymoon
Caecilia
1929
This Thing Called Love
Clara Bertrand
1929
The Locked Door
Telephone Girl
1929
Paris
Harriet
1929
Oh, Yeah!
The Elk
1929
Her Private Life
Timmins
1929
The Argyle Case
Mrs. Wyatt
1929
Twin Beds
Tillie
1929
The Squall
Lena
1929
The Dummy
Rose Gleason
1929
Sins of the Fathers
Mother Spengler
1928
The Wedding March
Cecelia Schweisser
1928
Buck Privates
Hulda
1928
13 Washington Square
The Maid
1928
Wife Savers
Germaine
1928
Casey at the Bat
Camille
1927
Her Big Night
Gladys Smith
1926
Risky Business
Agnes Wheaton
1926
Sunny Side Up
Evelyn
1926
The Great Love
Nancy
1926
Early to Wed
Mrs. Dugan
1926
Monte Carlo
Hope Durant
1926
What Happened to Jones
Hilda (as Zazu Pitts)
1926
Mannequin
Annie Pogani
1926
Wages for Wives
Luella Logan
1925
Lazybones
Ruth Fanning
1925
Thunder Mountain
Mandy Coulter
1925
Pretty Ladies
Maggie Keenan
1925
1925 Studio Tour
Self
1925
Old Shoes
1925
The Great Divide
Polly Jordan
1925
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
Judy
1925
Greed
Trina
1924
Secrets of the Night
Celia Stebbins
1924
The Fast Set
Mona
1924
Changing Husbands
Delia
1924
The Goldfish
Amelia Pugsley
1924
West of the Water Tower
Dessie Arnhalt
1924
Tea- With a Kick!
'Brainy' Jones
1923
Hollywood
Zasu Pitts
1923
Three Wise Fools
Mickey
1923
Mary of the Movies
Zasu Pitts (uncredited)
1923
Souls for Sale
Self - Celebrity Actress in Commissary
1923
Poor Men's Wives
Apple Annie
1923
For the Defense
Jennie Dunn
1922
A Daughter of Luxury
Mary Cosgrove
1922
Patsy
Patsy
1921
Heart of Twenty
Katie Abbott
1920
Seeing It Through
Betty Lawrence
1920
Poor Relations
Daisy Perkins
1919
The Other Half
Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid
1919
Better Times
Nancy Scroggs
1919
Men, Women, and Money
Katie Jones
1919
A Lady's Name
Emily
1918
The Talk of the Town
1918
A Society Sensation
Mary
1918
How Could You, Jean?
Oscar's Sweetheart
1918
A Modern Musketeer
A Kansas Belle (uncredited)
1917
A Little Princess
Becky
1917
'49–'17
Party Guest (uncredited)
1917
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
1917
His Fatal Beauty
Perscilla
1917
A Desert Dilemma
1917
Tillie of the Nine Lives
1917
Uneasy Money
Suza - the Editor's Assistant
1917