Film Snail

Zasu Pitts

Born · January 2, 1894

Died · June 7, 1963 (69 years old)

Known For: Acting

Place of Birth: Parsons, Kansas, USA

Bio

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)

6.3

1964

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Gertie - Switchboard Operator

7.0

1963

Burke's Law

Mrs. Bowie · (1 episode)

6.0

1963

The Thrill of It All

Olivia

7.0

1963

Teenage Millionaire

Aunt Theodora

4.5

1961

Guestward, Ho!

(1 episode)

4.0

1960

The Dennis O'Keefe Show

(1 episode)

5.0

1959

Disneyland '59

Self

6.5

1959

Perry Mason

Daphne Whilom · (1 episode)

7.7

1957

This Could Be the Night

6.0

1953

Private Secretary

(1 episode)

5.0

1953

Denver and Rio Grande

Jane Dwyer

5.5

1952

Francis

Valerie Humpert

5.5

1950

What's My Line?

Self · (1 episode)

6.8

1950

Lum and Abner

0.0

1949

The Philco Television Playhouse

Belinda Pryde · (1 episode)

6.0

1948

Life with Father

Cousin Cora Cartwright

6.5

1947

The Perfect Marriage

Rosa

4.0

1947

Breakfast in Hollywood

Elvira Spriggens

5.0

1946

Dear Miss Gloria

Guest star

0.0

1946

Let's Face It

Cornelia Pigeon

4.5

1943

Tish

Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)

5.7

1942

So's Your Aunt Emma!

Aunt Emma Bates

6.5

1942

The Bashful Bachelor

Geraldine

4.5

1942

Mexican Spitfire at Sea

Miss Pepper

3.0

1942

Weekend for Three

Anna, Craig's Maid

5.7

1941

The Mexican Spitfire's Baby

Emily Pepper

4.3

1941

Miss Polly

Pandora Polly

5.0

1941

Uncle Joe

Julia Jordan

6.0

1941

Niagara Falls

Emmy Sawyer

6.8

1941

Broadway Limited

Myra Pottle

5.1

1941

No, No, Nanette

Pauline Hastings

6.0

1940

It All Came True

Miss Flint

5.8

1940

Eternally Yours

Cary Bingham

5.6

1939

Nurse Edith Cavell

Mme. Moulin

6.4

1939

Mickey the Kid

Lilly Handy

0.0

1939

Naughty But Nice

Aunt Penelope Hardwick

6.2

1939

The Lady's from Kentucky

Dulcey Lee

0.0

1939

52nd Street

Letitia Rondell

0.0

1937

Forty Naughty Girls

Hildegarde Withers

5.2

1937

Wanted!

Winnie Oatfield

0.0

1937

Sing Me a Love Song

Gwen Logan

0.0

1936

The Plot Thickens

Hildegarde Withers

6.2

1936

Mad Holiday

Mrs. Fay Kinney

6.0

1936

13 Hours by Air

Miss Harkins

4.3

1936

The Affair of Susan

Susan Todd

0.0

1935

Hot Tip

Belle McGill

5.0

1935

She Gets Her Man

Esmeralda

0.0

1935

Going Highbrow

Cora Upshaw

6.0

1935

Spring Tonic

Maggie Conklin

5.3

1935

Ruggles of Red Gap

Mrs. Judson

7.1

1935

The Gay Bride

Mirabelle

5.8

1934

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

Miss Hazy

6.0

1934

Dames

Matilda Hemingway

6.3

1934

Their Big Moment

Tillie Whim

4.5

1934

Private Scandal

Miss Coates

0.0

1934

Love Birds

Araminta Tootle

6.0

1934

Sing and Like It

Annie Snodgrass

4.3

1934

And She Learned About Dames

Herself

6.0

1934

Three on a Honeymoon

Alice Mudge

0.0

1934

Two Alone

Esthey Roberts

7.0

1934

The Meanest Gal in Town

Tillie Prescott

6.5

1934

Mr. Skitch

Maddie Skitch

6.0

1933

Meet the Baron

Zasu

4.3

1933

Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men

Sybby 'Sib'

7.3

1933

Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!

Connie Clark

0.0

1933

Her First Mate

Mary Horner

0.0

1933

Professional Sweetheart

Elmerada de Leon

5.0

1933

One Track Minds

0.0

1933

Hello, Sister!

Millie

6.0

1933

The Bargain of the Century

Zasu

1.5

1933

Out All Night

Bonny

6.0

1933

The Vanishing Frontier

Aunt Sylvia

0.0

1933

Maids a la Mode

Miss Pitts

0.0

1933

Asleep in the Feet

Zasu

1.0

1933

They Just Had to Get Married

Molly Hull

0.0

1933

She Whoops To Conquer

Beula

0.0

1933

Sneak Easily

Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury

0.0

1932

Madison Square Garden

Florrie

6.2

1932

The Soilers

Zasu

6.2

1932

Once in a Lifetime

Miss Leyton

7.0

1932

The Crooked Circle

Nora Rafferty

4.8

1932

Alum and Eve

Zasu

7.0

1932

Blondie of the Follies

Gertie

6.0

1932

Show Business

Zasu

6.0

1932

Back Street

Mrs. Dole

6.1

1932

Roar of the Dragon

Gabby Woman

6.2

1932

Make Me a Star

Mrs. Scudder

5.5

1932

Is My Face Red?

Morning Gazette Telephone Operator

5.0

1932

The Old Bull

Zasu

3.0

1932

Westward Passage

Mrs. Truesdale

5.8

1932

Strangers of the Evening

Sybil Smith

4.8

1932

The Trial of Vivienne Ware

Gladys Fairweather

0.0

1932

Strictly Unreliable

Pitts

5.5

1932

Destry Rides Again

Temperance Worker

3.5

1932

Shopworn

Aunt Dot

6.5

1932

Red Noses

Miss Pitts

7.0

1932

Steady Company

Dot

0.0

1932

Sealskins

Zasu Pitts

5.5

1932

Broken Lullaby

Anna, Holderlin's Maid

7.5

1932

The Unexpected Father

Polly Perkins

0.0

1932

On the Loose

Zasu

6.8

1931

The Secret Witness

Bella

3.0

1931

War Mamas

Zasu

0.0

1931

The Guardsman

Liesl

5.3

1931

The Pajama Party

Zasu

7.0

1931

Penrod and Sam

Mrs. Bassett

6.0

1931

The Big Gamble

Nora Dugan

6.0

1931

Catch-As Catch-Can

ZaSu

1.0

1931

Their Mad Moment

Miss Dibbs

5.0

1931

A Woman of Experience

Katie

5.2

1931

Let's Do Things

Zasu Pitts

0.0

1931

Seed

Jennie

6.0

1931

Beyond Victory

Fritzi Mobley

0.0

1931

The Bad Sister

Minnie

5.4

1931

Finn and Hattie

Mrs. Hattie Haddock

5.3

1931

Passion Flower

Mrs. Harney

5.6

1930

Free Love

Ada, the Maid

8.0

1930

War Nurse

Cushie

5.1

1930

Sin Takes a Holiday

Annie

5.8

1930

River's End

Louise

6.2

1930

The Lottery Bride

Hilda

4.7

1930

Monte Carlo

Bertha

6.3

1930

The Squealer

Bella

6.0

1930

Little Accident

Monica

0.0

1930

The Devil's Holiday

Ethel

6.4

1930

Honey

Mayme

5.0

1930

No, No, Nanette

Pauline Hastings

6.0

1930

The Honeymoon

Caecilia

0.0

1929

This Thing Called Love

Clara Bertrand

0.0

1929

The Locked Door

Telephone Girl

5.9

1929

Paris

Harriet

0.0

1929

Oh, Yeah!

The Elk

4.3

1929

Her Private Life

Timmins

1.0

1929

The Argyle Case

Mrs. Wyatt

0.0

1929

Twin Beds

Tillie

0.0

1929

The Squall

Lena

3.4

1929

The Dummy

Rose Gleason

0.0

1929

Sins of the Fathers

Mother Spengler

6.0

1928

The Wedding March

Cecelia Schweisser

7.0

1928

Buck Privates

Hulda

0.0

1928

13 Washington Square

The Maid

5.2

1928

Wife Savers

Germaine

0.0

1928

Casey at the Bat

Camille

6.0

1927

Risky Business

Agnes Wheaton

6.0

1926

Sunny Side Up

Evelyn

0.0

1926

The Great Love

Nancy

0.0

1926

Early to Wed

Mrs. Dugan

0.0

1926

Monte Carlo

Hope Durant

0.0

1926

What Happened to Jones

Hilda (as Zazu Pitts)

5.8

1926

Mannequin

Annie Pogani

0.0

1926

Wages for Wives

Luella Logan

0.0

1925

Lazybones

Ruth Fanning

6.5

1925

Thunder Mountain

Mandy Coulter

0.0

1925

Pretty Ladies

Maggie Keenan

4.7

1925

1925 Studio Tour

Self

6.2

1925

Old Shoes

0.0

1925

The Great Divide

0.0

1923

For the Defense

Jennie Dunn

0.0

1922

A Daughter of Luxury

Mary Cosgrove

0.0

1922

Patsy

0.0

1921

Heart of Twenty

Katie Abbott

0.0

1920

Seeing It Through

Betty Lawrence

0.0

1920

The Other Half

Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid

5.0

1919

Better Times

Nancy Scroggs

0.0

1919

A Lady's Name

Emily

0.0

1918

Undetermined Role (uncredited)

5.8

1917

Tillie of the Nine Lives

0.0

1917

Uneasy Money

Suza - the Editor's Assistant

0.0

1917