Filmography
Actress (30 titles)
Soundtrack (5 titles)
1937Way Out West(performer: "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" 1913 - uncredited, "I Want to Be in Dixie" 1912 - uncredited)
Archive Footage (3 titles)
A Blog For Thelma Todd Thelma Todd was a star of silent movies and later the talkies. She is remembered as much today for her mysterious death as she is for her films. In this blog, we take a look at Thelma Todd, her movies, and various commentaries.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
SODA SQUIRT ( Flip the Frog )
Flip the Frog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
History
Flip was created by Ub Iwerks, animator for the Walt Disney Studios and a personal friend of Walt Disney in 1930, at the Iwerks Studios. After a series of disputes between the two, Iwerks left Disney and went on to accept an offer from Pat Powers to open a cartoon studio of his own and receive a salary of $300 a week, an offer that Disney couldn't match at the time. Iwerks was to produce new cartoons under Powers's Celebrity Pictures auspices and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The first series he was to produce was to feature a character called Tony the Frog, but Iwerks disliked the name and it was subsequently changed to Flip.Flip's debut short was Fiddlesticks (released on August 16, 1930). Although the short looks to be very much like one of Iwerks's Silly Symphony endeavors, it attracted public attention by being the first color sound cartoon ever produced. The short was produced in two-color Technicolor and is the only Flip cartoon known to have been processed in color. However, some evidence indicates that the second Flip short, Flying Fists, may have been produced in Technicolor as well, and some have speculated that the later Techno-Cracked (1933) may have been photographed in Cinecolor. The Cinecolor process was a new two-strip color process that came out in 1932 and was considered superior to the two-strip Technicolor process. Iwerks would go on to make extensive use of this process with his ComiColor Cartoon series.
Iwerks studio quickly began accumulating new talent, such as animators Fred Kopietz, Irv Spence, Grim Natwick, and Chuck Jones (who worked at the Iwerks studio as a cel-washer before going on to inbetweening and then animating at the Leon Schlesinger studio). After the first two cartoons, the appearance of Flip the Frog gradually became less froglike. This was done under the encouragement of MGM, who thought that the series would sell better if the character were more humanized. Flip's major redesign is attributed to Grim Natwick, who made a name for himself at the Fleischer Studios with the creation of Betty Boop. Natwick also had a hand in changing Flip's girlfriend. In earlier films, she was consistently a cat, but Natwick made Flip's new girlfriend, Fifi, a human who shared distinct similarities with Betty (even down to her spit curls).
The frog's personality also began to develop. As the series progressed, Flip became more of a down-and-out, Chaplin-esque character who always found himself in everyday conflicts surrounding the poverty-stricken atmosphere of the Great Depression. Owing to the influx of New York City animators to Iwerks's studio, such as Natwick, the shorts became increasingly risqué. In Room Runners (1932), Flip, out of cash and luck, attempts to sneak out of his hotel in order to avoid paying his past-due rent. Another gag has Flip watch a girl taking a shower through a keyhole. In The Office Boy, released the same year, Flip tries to secure a low-level office job and meets a shapely secretary. At one point in the short, a mischievous mouse that Flip tries to apprehend scoots up the secretary's skirt. In A Chinaman's Chance (1933), Flip and his dog track down the notorious Chinese criminal Chow Mein. While investigating in a Chinese laundry, Flip stumbles into an opium den, inhales the stuff via opium pipe, and begins hallucinating.
The character eventually wore out his welcome at MGM. His final short was Soda Squirt, released on October 12, 1933. Subsequently, Iwerks replaced the series with a new one starring an imaginative liar named Willie Whopper. Flip became largely forgotten by the public in the coming years. However, the character would make a small comeback when animation enthusiasts and historians began digging up the old Iwerks shorts. Most of the Flip cartoons are now available on DVD, in particular on the Cartoons That Time Forgot series.
A character resembling Flip can be seen in one of the pictures in R.K. Maroon's office in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Flip the Frog Annual
In 1932, a Flip The Frog Annual was issued in England by Dean & Son Ltd. Published "by exclusive arrangement with Ub Iwerks, The Originator of The Film Character, Flip The Frog", it was drawn by Wilfred Haughton, who also drew the early Mickey Mouse Annuals for Deans. The Annual only ran for one edition, based on Flip's ending in 1933 and the lack of success with it. The earlier, more froglike character was used rather than the later version. The book contains 11 full cartoon strip stories, 4 colour plates and other one-page items that are not derived from any of his cartoons. All the adventures take place outside, unlike the cartoons, and feature additional characters, including a fox, a policeman, a girlfriend (Flap), an Uncle Flop (mentioned only), and others not shown in the cartoon films.Filmography
1930
| Film | Original release date | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Fiddlesticks in Technicolor (2-strip) | August 16, 1930 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 |
| Flying Fists1 | September 6 | ? |
| The Village Barber | September 27 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 |
| Little Orphan Willie | October 18 | Return of the 30's Characters |
| The Cuckoo Murder Case | October 18 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Puddle Pranks | December | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 |
1931
| Film | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|
| The Village Smitty | January 31, 1931 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 |
| The Soup Song | January 31 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 |
| Laughing Gas | March 14 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Ragtime Romeo | May 2 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| The New Car | July 25 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Movie Mad | August 29 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| The Village Specialist | September 12 | ? |
| Jail Birds | September 26 | ? |
| Africa Squeaks | October 17 | ? |
| Spooks | December 21 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
1932
| Film | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|
| The Milkman | February 20, 1932 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Fire! Fire! | March 5 | ? |
| What a Life! | March 26 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Puppy Love | April 30 | ? |
| School Days | May 14 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| The Bully | June 18 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| The Office Boy | July 16 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Room Runners | August 13 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Stormy Seas | August 22 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Circus | August 27 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| The Goal Rush | October 3 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| The Pony Express | October 27 | ? |
| The Music Lesson | October 29 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 |
| Nurse Maid | November 26 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Funny Face | December 24 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
1933
| Film | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|
| Coo Coo the Magician | January 21, 1933 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Flip's Lunch Room | April 3 | ? |
| Techno-Cracked 1 | May 8 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Bulloney | May 30 | ? |
| A Chinaman's Chance | June 24 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
| Pale-Face | August 12 | ? |
| Soda Squirt | October 12 | Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 |
Availability
27 of Flip's cartoons are included in the two DVD collections "Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 1 and 2." Another early Flip short, "Little Orphan Willie", while not included on either of those DVDs, is included on the budget DVD collection "Return of the 30's Characters" from Thunderbean.- Further reading
- Iwerks, Leslie and Kenworthy, John. (2001): The Hand Behind the Mouse. Disney Editions.
- Maltin, Leonard (1987): Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin Books.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1993): The Great Cartoon Directors. Da Capo Press.
- Flip The Frog Annual (1932). Dean & Son, London.
- Flip The Frog Monthly (1935). Nat & Co., London.
See also
The Flip the Frog cartoons did have a recurring girl character, who varied somewhat from cartoon to cartoon, but generally resembled Betty Boop in appearence.
THE OFFICE BOY
ROOM RUNNERS
The regular girl character did not appear in SODA SQUIRT, which featured Mae West, along with Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Joe E. Brown, all of whom worked with Thelma Todd. It makes you wonder if they might have been thinking about Thelma Todd and then used Mae West in place of her.
Also appearing in this cartoon were John Barrymore as Rasputin and Fredric March as Mr. Hyde. All of these characters also appeared in Disney's MICKEY'S GALA PREMIERE, which was released the same year. Flip the Frog tended to be very similar to Mickey Mouse, not surprisingly as many of the other cartoon characters at the time tended to be like Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse was a smash hit and his cartoons were very popular at the time.
Watch SODA SQUIRT on youtube:
Ubbe Iwerks at "The Great Thirties":
http://www.thegreat1930s.com/ubiwerks/
Download SODA SQUIRT at the Internet Archive:
http://archive.org/details/FlipTheFrog-SodaSquirt1933
MICKEY'S GALA PREMIERE depicted some of the same movie stars:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/03/mickeys-gala-premeir.html
Saturday, May 26, 2012
WHISPERING WHOOPIE
Producer: Hal Roach
Director: James W. Horne
Music: Leroy Shield (uncredited)
Cast: Charley Chase (Charley), Thelma Todd (Miss Todd), Anita Garvin (Miss Garvin), Dolores Brinkman (Miss Brinkman), Kay Deslys (Miss Deslys), Eddie Dunn (Ricketts, the Butler), Dell Henderson (Mr. Henderson), Carl Stockdale (Mr. Stockdale), Tenen Holtz (Mr. Holtz), Edward Dillon (Mr. Richmond, the Landlord).
BW-21m.
The plot of this film involves Charley Chase hiring three "good-time girls" ( Thelma Todd, Anita Garvin, and Kay Deslys ) to help him secure a real estate deal by working their charms on three stuffy businessmen. The initially stuffy businessmen loosen up during the course of the party and start a seltzer water fight. A good time is had by all and Charley Chase manages to secure the deal by the fadeout.
Charlie Chase sings "Smile When The Raindrops Fall" in the film, which was written by Alice Keating Howlett and Will Livernash. The song became a sort of unofficial theme song for him and the title was later used by Andy Edmonds and Brian Anthony for their Charley Chase biography, which was published in 1998.
Watch WHISPERING WHOOPEE at youtube:
Download WHISPERING WHOOPEE at the Internet Archive:
http://archive.org/details/WhisperingWhoopee
SMILE WHEN THE RAINDROPS FALL by Brian Anthony and Andy Edmonds:
http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue05/reviews/chase.htm
The World Of Charley Chase:
http://www.charley-chase.com/
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Rosina Lawrence
Rosina Lawrence may be best known as "Our Gang's" schoolteacher
and for working with Laurel and Hardy in WAY OUT WEST.
They also put her into what had been the Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly series towards the end, after Thelma Todd had been replaced by Lyda Roberti.
The most detailed account I have for the life of Rosina Lawrence is this obituary from THE INDEPENDENT:
Rosina Lawrence was an actress, singer and dancer in many films of the 1930s, primarily for Fox and Hal Roach studios.
Two of Roach's biggest names were Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy: Lawrence gave her best-remembered performance, as the heroine, Mary Roberts, in Laurel and Hardy's 1937 vehicle Way Out West. This is the film where the comedians perform a duet to "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" with, at its conclusion, a gag in which Lawrence's soprano voice is dubbed over that of Stan Laurel. The recording was issued on disc in 1975 (reaching No 2 in the UK charts) but without label credit to Lawrence.Lawrence was born in Canada to British parents in 1912; her childhood was spent variously in Canada, Boston, Great Britain and Los Angeles, where her father, George F. Lawrence, worked as a builder of film sets. The young Rosina learnt dancing as part of a then revolutionary means of combating a leg injury. She performed in stage productions during school holidays, and then sought professional tuition, taking singing lessons and studying under the renowned Shakespearian actor Joseph DeGrasse.Lawrence made her film debut at the age of 10 in Lady of Quality (1923), starring Virginia Valli; subsequent stage musicals and vaudeville work led to a second screen role, in Angels of Broadway (1927). In addition to her dancing in the film, her hands were used to double in close-ups for those of the star, Leatrice Joy (the first of several such jobs Lawrence was to perform). Her other early films include Paramount on Parade (1930), Will Rogers's A Connecticut Yankee (1931), Dance Team (1932), with Sally Eilers, Disorderly Conduct (1932), with Spencer Tracy and Reckless (1935), starring Jean Harlow.During a return to vaudeville in 1934, Lawrence had met a father-and-daughter act called the Dancing Cansinos, the younger of whom became known later as Rita Hayworth. Both she and Lawrence were signed by Fox, where Lawrence appeared in five films: Ten Dollar Raise and Your Uncle Dudley (both 1935), with Edward Everett Horton; Welcome Home (1935); Music is Magic (1935), with Bebe Daniels and Alice Faye; and Charlie Chan's Secret (1936).Her career at Fox was terminated when the studio's merger with 20th Century ended all existing contracts. Her luck did not improve when, in 1936, MGM excised her two best production numbers from their overlong biopic The Great Ziegfeld. She may still be glimpsed in the final cut, as Sally Manners, the character based on the stage star Marilyn Miller.Her fortunes improved when, the same year, she was signed by the producer Hal Roach. Lawrence joined his "Our Gang" comedies (known later as "The Little Rascals") as the schoolteacher; she may be seen in several of these, including the series' only Oscar-winner, Bored of Education (1936), and the Gang's feature-length General Spanky (1936). Also at Roach, she appeared in Mr Cinderella (1936) with Jack Haley, and played the wife of the star comedian Charlie Chase in two 1936 shorts, Neighborhood House and On the Wrong Trek. She worked with Chase once more in the feature-length Kelly the Second (1936). The "Kelly" of the title was Patsy Kelly, with whom Lawrence also appeared in a short subject, Pan Handlers (1936), and the feature films Nobody's Baby (1936) and Pick a Star (1937, to which Laurel and Hardy contributed two guest sequences).In 1938, Roach sent her to Italy to star in a planned co- production of Rigoletto; when this fell through, a different Italian studio cast her as a visiting American girl in a 1939 film In Compagne e Caduta una Stella (released in the United States in 1947 as In the Country Fell a Star). On its completion, war broke out in Europe and she returned to the United States.Lawrence retired from show business on her marriage to a Brooklyn lawyer and judge, Juvenal Marchisio, with whom she had three children. Following her husband's death in 1973, she became one of the most sought-after guests of a world-wide society of Laurel and Hardy admirers, the Sons of the Desert. It was at one of their gatherings, in England during 1984, that she became close to John McCabe, an actor and college professor who is the authorised biographer of Laurel and Hardy. Lawrence married McCabe in New York in 1987.Rosina Lawrence never quite reached major stardom, despite her great beauty and considerable talents, both as a singer and dancer. It is possible that this gentle, soft-spoken woman lacked the aggression to promote herself fully within a notoriously hard-boiled industry. Her attitude was, however, sanguine: "It was all fun," she recalled in later years, "and I loved every minute of it."Rosina Lawrence, actress: born Westboro, Ontario 30 December 1912; married first Juvenal Marchisio (died 1973; one son, two daughters), 1987 John McCabe; died New York 23 June 1997.
* * *
Rosina Lawrence had dubbed in the songs for Jaqueline Wells in THE BOHEMIAN GIRL, which was Thelma Todd's last feature film appearance.
Jaqueline Wells
Jaqueline Wells was also considered for WAY OUT WEST, but eventually the part went to Rosina Lawrence. Again Rosina Lawrence dubbed in a singing voice, this time for Stan Laurel in one of the gags.
Hal Roach evidently expected big things for Rosina Lawrence. But somehow, she never became a big star.
With Frances Lee and Louise Green
Rosina Lawrence
second from left, with Frances Grant, Rita Hayworth, and Barbara Blane
03 Nov 1937, Los Angeles, California, USA — Original caption: Actress Celebrates “Discovery” At Soda Fountain. Anne Shirley (Mrs. John Payne), Carol Stone, Rosina Lawrence, Lana Turner, Vicki Lester and Natalie Draper (Mrs. Tom Brown) are pictured (left to right) as they sipped a “pumpkin soda” at the party given by Miss Turner in the Hollywood, California, soda fountain where she was “discovered” and given a movie contract a year ago. Miss Turner was sitting in the same spot when she was approached with film offer.
Anne Shirley, Carol Stone, Rosina Lawrence, Lana Turner, Vicki Lester and Natalie Draper drink soda out of a pumpkin.
WAY OUT WEST, foreign poster.
PICK A STAR, foreign poster.
Rosina Lawrence's last film, made in Italy.
In 1979, Rosina Lawrence attended a Sons of the Desert meeting and was photographed with Anita Garvin and Red Stanley ( Garvin's husband ).
THE BOHEMIAN GIRL - Jacqueline Wells' singing voice was dubbed by Rosina Lawrence.
Bill Capello's Blog:
http://billcappello.blogspot.com/2008/02/rosina-lawrence.html
Interview with Rosina Lawrence:
http://www.nuttynutnewsnetwork.co.uk/Rosina%20Lawrence%202.html
Interviews with Rosina Lawrence:
http://nuttynutnewsnetwork.co.uk/Rosina%20Lawrence.html
Remembering Rosina Lawrence ( WAY OUT WEST site ):
http://www.wayoutwest.org/wowfeature/rosina.html
WAY OUT WEST ( movie ) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Out_West_(1937_film)
Our Gang Follies ( Fan Club ):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OurGangFollies/
Laurel and Hardy Discussion Group:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/LHDG/
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Zasu Pitts
Zasu Pitts was teamed with Thelma Todd by Hal Roach in an attempt to come up with a distaff version of
the team of Laurel and Hardy.
ZaSu Pitts
The sound era saw Zasu Pitts' screen work largely limited to comedy roles.
Watch this on youtube to hear the correct pronunciation of her name:
h
Zasu Pitts at the Reynolds Brothers site:
http://www.reynoldsbrothers.net/index.php/site/about/zasu_pitts
Zasu Pitts at Golden Silents:
http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/zasupitts.html
Zasu Pitts site on tumbler:
http://zasupittsfan.tumblr.com/
Candy Hits By Zasu Pitts ( recipes ):
http://community.tasteofhome.com/community_forums/f/30/p/246238/247589.aspx
Zasu Pitts and Gale Storm on television:
http://cruiselinehistory.com/tag/gale-storm/
Gale Storm Fan Site:
http://www.galestorm.tv/
"Our Club" ( Silent movie actresses club, Zasu Pitts was a member ):
http://felixinhollywood.blogspot.com/2010/03/our-club.html
ZaSu Pitts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ZaSu Pitts | |
|---|---|
 Pitts in trailer for the film Tish (1942) | |
| Born | January 3, 1894 Parsons, Kansas |
| Died | June 7, 1963 (aged 69) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1917-1963 |
| Spouse | Tom Gallery (m.1920-1933; divorced) John E. Woodall (m.1933-1963; her death) |
ZaSu Pitts (
/ˈseɪzuː ˈpɪts/;[1] January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963)[2] was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.
/ˈseɪzuː ˈpɪts/;[1] January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963)[2] was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.Biography
Early life
ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas, to Rulandus and Nellie (née Shay) Pitts; she was the third of four children. Her father, who had lost a leg while serving in the 76th New York Infantry Regiment in the Civil War, had settled the family in Kansas by the time ZaSu was born.[3]
The names of her father's sisters, Eliza and Susan, became the basis for ZaSu's unique first name, which has been (incorrectly) spelled as Zazu Pitts in many film credits and articles. Though the name is commonly mispronounced /ˈzæzuː/ ZAZ-oo or /ˈzeɪsuː/ ZAY-soo, or /ˈzeɪzuː/ ZAY-zoo, in her 1963 book Candy Hits (p. 15),[citation needed] Pitts herself gives the correct pronunciation as "Say Zoo" (/ˈseɪzuː/), recounting that Mary Pickford predicted, "[M]any will mispronounce it," and adding, "How right [she] was."
In 1903, when she was nine years old, the family moved to Santa Cruz, California, seeking a warmer climate and better job opportunities. Her childhood home at 208 Lincoln Street still stands. She attended Santa Cruz High School, where she participated in school theatricals.[4]
Career
Pitts made her stage debut in 1914–15 doing school and local community theater in Santa Cruz, California. Going to Los Angeles in 1916 she spent many months imploring studio casting offices for work as a film extra. Finally she was discovered for substantive roles in films by pioneer screenwriter Frances Marion. Marion cast Pitts as an orphaned slavey (child of work) in the silent film, The Little Princess (1917), starring Mary Pickford.
Years later, Pitts became a leading lady in Erich von Stroheim's epic masterpiece, Greed (1924); based on this performance, von Stroheim labeled Pitts "the greatest dramatic actress". Von Stroheim also featured her in his films Sins of the Fathers (1928), The Wedding March (1928), War Nurse (1930) and Walking Down Broadway, which was re-edited by Alfred L. Werker and released as Hello, Sister! (1933). She earned praise in all those films.
Circa 1920
Pitts grew in popularity following a series of Universal one-reeler comedies and earned her first feature-length lead in King Vidor's Better Times (1919). The following year she met and married actor Tom Gallery. The couple paired in several films, including Bright Eyes (1921), Heart of Twenty (1920), Patsy (1921) and A Daughter of Luxury (1922). Their daughter, Ann, was born in 1922.
In 1924, the actress, now a reputable comedy farceuse, was given the greatest tragic role of her career in Erich von Stroheim's epic classic, Greed (1924), a twelve-hour-plus picture, edited to under four hours. The surprise casting initially shocked Hollywood, but showed that Pitts could draw tears with her doleful demeanor as well as laughs. The movie has gained respect over time, having failed initially at the box office due to its extensive cutting.
Pitts enjoyed her greatest fame in the 1930s, often starring in B movies and comedy shorts, teamed with Thelma Todd. She also played secondary parts in many films. Her stock persona (a fretful, flustered, worrisome spinster) made her instantly recognizable and was often imitated in cartoons and other films. She starred in a number of Hal Roach shorts and features, and co-starred in a series of feature-length comedies with Slim Summerville.
Switching between comedy shorts and features, by the advent of sound, she was relegated to comedy roles. 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 the intensity of her acting. She had viewers rolling in the aisles in The Dummy (1929), Finn and Hattie (1931), The Guardsman (1931), Blondie of the Follies (1932), Sing and Like It (1934) and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935).
In the 1940s, she also found work in vaudeville and on radio, trading quivery banter with Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, and Rudy Vallee, among others. She appeared several times on the earliest Fibber McGee and Molly show, playing a dizzy dame constantly looking for a husband. Her brief stint in the Hildegarde Withers mystery series, replacing Edna May Oliver, was not successful, however. In 1944 Pitts tackled Broadway, making her debut in the mystery, Ramshackle Inn. The play, written expressly for her, fared well, and she took the show on the road in later years. Post-war films continued to give Pitts the chance to play comic snoops and flighty relatives in such fare as Life with Father (1947), but in the 1950s she started focusing on TV.
This culminated in her best known series role, playing second banana to Gale Storm on The Gale Storm Show (1956) (also known as Oh, Susannah), as Elvira Nugent ("Nugie"), the shipboard beautician. Her last role was as a switchboard operator in the Stanley Kramer comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and, less than seven months after the filming of the last scene, she became that movie's second cast member to die after filming was completed.
Last years
Declining health dominated Pitts' later years, particularly after she was diagnosed with cancer in the mid-1950s. However, she continued to work until the very end – making brief appearances in The Thrill of It All (1963) with Doris Day and James Garner, and as a cameo switchboard operator in the sheriff's office in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Death
She died June 7, 1963, aged 69, in Hollywood and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.
Marriages
- Thomas Sarsfield Gallery (July 23, 1920 – May 2, 1933; divorced); two children: ZaSu Ann Gallery (natural) and Donald Michael "Sonny" Gallery (born as Marvin Carville La Marr), whom they adopted and renamed after the 1926 drug-related death of his mother and Pitts' friend, silent film actress Barbara La Marr.
- John Edward "Eddie" Woodall (October 8, 1933 – June 7, 1963; her death).
Legacy
- ZaSu Pitts was an excellent cook and collector of candy recipes, which culminated in a cookbook, Candy Hits by ZaSu Pitts, published posthumously in 1963.
- Mae Questel caricatured Pitts's voice and "oh, dear" mannerisms for the character Olive Oyl for the Fleischer Studios animated cartoon version of Popeye the Sailor.
- ZaSu Pitts has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 1994, she was honored with her image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.[4]
- In Parsons, Kansas, there is a star tile at the entrance to the Parsons Theatre to commemorate her.
- During the 1980s, a large R&B/Soul band based in San Francisco performed under the name "The ZaSu Pitts Memorial Orchestra"
- She was referenced by the comedic trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker in the 1982 police spoof comedy series Police Squad! episode "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)" (first aired on March 4, 1982). In that episode, lead character Frank Drebin exposes a suspect's secret identity by reciting that she was formerly "a brunette hitman known as Zasu Pitts".
- A street in Las Vegas, Nevada is named after her.
- Pitts is mentioned in the play and movie version of The Man Who Came to Dinner. The main character, Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley), orders his nurse to "Stop acting like ZaSu Pitts and explain yourself!"
- In a made-for-TV version of The Man Who Came to Dinner, in which Orson Welles played Whiteside, Pitts was cast as the nurse, Miss Preen, so the remark about "stop acting like ZaSu Pitts" was actually made directly to Pitts herself.
Partial filmography
Below is a highly incomplete list. Full listings of all films (silent and sound), radio, stage, Broadway, television and vaudeville are indexed in the only authorized, complete biography by Gayle D. Haffner, HANDS With A HEART: The Personal Biography of Actress ZaSu Pitts (Outskirts Press, Inc., 2011)| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | The Little Princess | Becky | ||
| 1918 | How Could You Jean? | Oscar's Sweetheart | ||
| 1918 | The Talk of the Town | |||
| 1919 | Better Times | Nancy Scroggs | ||
| 1919 | The Other Half | Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid | ||
| 1919 | Poor Relations | Daisy Perkins | ||
| 1920 | Seeing It Through | Betty Lawrence | ||
| 1921 | Patsy | Patsy | ||
| 1922 | Youth to Youth | Emily | ||
| 1923 | Souls for Sale | Herself | Cameo role | |
| 1923 | Three Wise Fools | Mickey | ||
| 1923 | Hollywood | Herself | Cameo role | |
| 1924 | Daughters of Today | Lorena | ||
| 1924 | Triumph | A Factory Girl | ||
| 1924 | Changing Husbands | Delia | ||
| 1924 | Greed | Trina | ||
| 1925 | The Great Divide | Polly Jordan | ||
| 1925 | Pretty Ladies | Maggie Keenan | ||
| 1925 | The Great Love | Nancy | ||
| 1926 | Monte Carlo | Hope Durant | ||
| 1926 | Sunny Side Up | Evelyn | ||
| 1927 | Casey at the Bat | Camille | With Wallace Beery and Ford Sterling | |
| 1928 | The Wedding March | Cecelia Schweisser | ||
| 1929 | Paris | Harriet | ||
| 1929 | The Locked Door | Telephone Girl | ||
| 1929 | This Thing Called Love | Clara Bertrand | ||
| 1930 | No, No, Nanette | Pauline Hastings | ||
| 1930 | The Devil's Holiday | Ethel | ||
| 1930 | Monte Carlo | Bertha | ||
| 1931 | The Bad Sister | Minnie | ||
| 1931 | Seed | Jennie | ||
| 1931 | Penrod and Sam | Mrs. Bassett | Alternative title: The Adventures of Penrod and Sam | |
| 1931 | The Guardsman | Liesl, the Maid | ||
| 1931 | On the Loose | Zasu | Short subject | |
| 1932 | Broken Lullaby | Anna, Holderlin's Maid | ||
| 1932 | Shopworn | Aunt Dot | ||
| 1932 | Destry Rides Again | Temperance Worker | Alternative title: Justice Rides Again With Tom Mix | |
| 1932 | Westward Passage | Mrs. Truesdale | ||
| 1932 | Back Street | Mrs. Dole | ||
| 1932 | Blondie of the Follies | Gertie | ||
| 1932 | The Crooked Circle | Nora Rafferty | ||
| 1933 | They Just Had to Get Married | Molly Hull | ||
| 1933 | Hello, Sister! | Millie | ||
| 1933 | Meet the Baron | Zasu | ||
| 1933 | Mr. Skitch | Maddie Skitch | ||
| 1934 | Dames | Matilda Ounce Hemingway | ||
| 1934 | Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch | Miss Hazy | ||
| 1934 | The Gay Bride | Mirabelle | ||
| 1935 | Ruggles of Red Gap | Prunella Judson | With Charles Laughton and Charles Ruggles | |
| 1935 | Going Highbrow | |||
| 1936 | Thirteen Hours by Air | Miss Harkins | ||
| 1936 | The Plot Thickens | Hildegarde Withers | ||
| 1937 | Forty Naughty Girls | Hildegarde Withers | ||
| 1939 | The Lady's from Kentucky | Dulcey Lee | With George Raft and Ellen Drew | |
| 1939 | Eternally Yours | Mrs. Bingham | ||
| 1940 | It All Came True | Miss Flint | ||
| 1940 | No, No Nanette | Pauline Hastings | ||
| 1941 | Niagara Falls | Emmy Sawyer | ||
| 1942 | The Bashful Bachelor | Geraldine | ||
| 1942 | So's Your Aunt Emma | Aunt Emma | Alternative title: Meet the Mob | |
| 1943 | Let's Face It! | Cornelia Figeson | ||
| 1946 | Breakfast in Hollywood | Elvira Spriggens | ||
| 1947 | Life with Father | Cousin Cora Cartwright | With William Powell and Irene Dunne | |
| 1950 | Francis | Nurse Valerie Humpert | With Donald O'Connor and Patricia Medina | |
| 1952 | Denver and Rio Grande | Jane Dwyer | With Edmond O'Brien and Sterling Holloway | |
| 1954 | Francis Joins the WACS | Lt. Valerie Humpert | With Donald O'Connor, Julie Adams, and Mamie Van Doren | |
| 1957 | This Could Be the Night | Mrs. Katie Shea | With Jean Simmons and Tony Franciosa | |
| 1961 | The Teenage Millionaire | Aunt Theodora | ||
| 1963 | The Thrill of It All | Olivia | With Doris Day and James Garner | |
| 1963 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Gertie–Switchboard Operator | With Spencer Tracy |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Best of Broadway | Miss Preen | Episode: "The Man Who Came to Dinner" |
| 1955 | Screen Directors Playhouse | Selma | Episode: "The Silent Partner" |
| 1956 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | Miss Appleton | Episode: "Mr. Belvedere" |
| 1956– 1960 | The Gale Storm Show | Elvira Nugent | 91 episodes |
| 1957 | Private Secretary | Aunt Martha | Episode: "Not Quite Paradise" |
| 1960 | The Dennis O'Keefe Show | Loretta Kimball | Episode: "Dimples" |
| 1961 | Guestward, Ho! | Episode: "Lonesome's Gal" | |
| 1961 | Perry Mason | Daphne Whilom | Episode: "The Case of the Absent Artist" |
| 1963 | Burke's Law | Mrs. Bowie | Episode: "Who Killed Holly Howard?" |
See also
Notes
- ^ Candy Hits by ZaSu Pitts; Duell, Sloan and Pearce; 1963; p. 15
- ^ Concerning Pitts' year of birth, about which the actress often dissembled, some sources cite 1894 (IMDB: Zasu Pitts, Find-a-Grave, Golden Silents, Who2, and InfoPlease), while other sources cite 1898 (Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion, 12th edition, HarperCollins, 1997, ISBN 0-00-255798-3 and TCM:Biography) or even 1900 (Allmovie:Overview and New York Times obituary (June 8, 1963))
- ^ "Rulandus Pitts biography on 76th NY Regiment site". Bpmlegal.com. http://www.bpmlegal.com/76NY/76pittsr.html. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ a b Barbara Giffen. "ZaSu Pitts: Actress 1898–1963". Santa Cruz Public Library. http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/241. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: ZaSu Pitts |
- HANDS WITH A HEART: The Personal Biography of Actress ZaSu Pitts (authorized biography); publisher's page
- ZaSu Pitts at the Internet Movie Database
- ZaSu Pitts at AllRovi
- ZaSu Pitts at the Internet Broadway Database
- Photographs and literature
A glamour shot from early in her career.
Zasu Pitts with Mary Pickford at the dawn of her career.
GREED, dramatic picture directed by Erich Von Stroheim.
In GREED, the characters in the story are obsessed with money, which ends in tragedy for all.
CATCH AS CATCH CAN
Neilan, Thelma Todd, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Zasu Pitts
CATCH AS CATCH CAN
Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts between shots
This I suppose is what was called "Lake Laurel and Hardy".
MRS WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH
with W. C. Fields.
THE PLOT THICKENS
FRANCIS
Donald O'Connor, Zasu Pitts
FRANCIS
Donald O'Connor, Zasu Pitts
OH SUSANNA
With Gale Storm
Kellogg's Corn Flakes Commercial
In which Superman saves breakfast by bringing her more corn flakes.
Book by Zasu Pitts
Zasu Pitts shows us how her mother derived her name from the names "Eliza" and "Susan".
Watch this on youtube to hear the correct pronunciation of her name:
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Zasu Pitts at the Reynolds Brothers site:
http://www.reynoldsbrothers.net/index.php/site/about/zasu_pitts
Zasu Pitts at Golden Silents:
http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/zasupitts.html
Zasu Pitts site on tumbler:
http://zasupittsfan.tumblr.com/
Candy Hits By Zasu Pitts ( recipes ):
http://community.tasteofhome.com/community_forums/f/30/p/246238/247589.aspx
Zasu Pitts and Gale Storm on television:
http://cruiselinehistory.com/tag/gale-storm/
Gale Storm Fan Site:
http://www.galestorm.tv/
"Our Club" ( Silent movie actresses club, Zasu Pitts was a member ):
http://felixinhollywood.blogspot.com/2010/03/our-club.html
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