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).
Filmography
all 184
Movies 173
self 16
TV Shows 11
The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Burke's Law (1963)
The Thrill of It All (1963)
Teenage Millionaire (1961)
Guestward, Ho! (1960)
The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959)
Disneyland '59 (1959)
Perry Mason (1957)
This Could Be the Night (1957)
The Gale Storm Show (1956)
Screen Director's Playhouse (1955)
The 20th Century Fox Hour (1955)
Francis Joins the WACS (1954)
General Electric Theater (1953)
Private Secretary (1953)
Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
Francis (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
Lum and Abner (1949)
The Philco Television Playhouse (1948)
Life with Father (1947)
The Perfect Marriage (1947)
Breakfast in Hollywood (1946)
Dear Miss Gloria (1946)
Let's Face It (1943)
Tish (1942)
So's Your Aunt Emma! (1942)
The Bashful Bachelor (1942)
Mexican Spitfire at Sea (1942)
Weekend for Three (1941)
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941)
Miss Polly (1941)
Uncle Joe (1941)
Niagara Falls (1941)
Broadway Limited (1941)
No, No, Nanette (1940)
It All Came True (1940)
Eternally Yours (1939)
Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
Mickey the Kid (1939)
Naughty But Nice (1939)
The Lady's from Kentucky (1939)
52nd Street (1937)
Forty Naughty Girls (1937)
Wanted! (1937)
Sing Me a Love Song (1936)
The Plot Thickens (1936)
Mad Holiday (1936)
13 Hours by Air (1936)
The Affair of Susan (1935)
Hot Tip (1935)
She Gets Her Man (1935)
Going Highbrow (1935)
Spring Tonic (1935)
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
The Gay Bride (1934)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934)
Dames (1934)
Their Big Moment (1934)
Love Birds (1934)
Sing and Like it (1934)
And She Learned About Dames (1934)
Three on a Honeymoon (1934)
Two Alone (1934)
The Meanest Gal in Town (1934)
Mr. Skitch (1933)
Meet the Baron (1933)
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933)
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby! (1933)
Her First Mate (1933)
Professional Sweetheart (1933)
One Track Minds (1933)
Hello, Sister! (1933)
The Bargain of the Century (1933)
Out All Night (1933)
The Vanishing Frontier (1933)
Maids a la Mode (1933)
Asleep in the Feet (1933)
They Just Had to Get Married (1933)
She Whoops To Conquer (1933)
Sneak Easily (1932)
Madison Square Garden (1932)
The Soilers (1932)
Once in a Lifetime (1932)
The Crooked Circle (1932)
Alum and Eve (1932)
Blondie of the Follies (1932)
Show Business (1932)
Back Street (1932)
Roar of the Dragon (1932)
Make Me a Star (1932)
Is My Face Red? (1932)
The Old Bull (1932)
Westward Passage (1932)
Strangers of the Evening (1932)
The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932)
Strictly Unreliable (1932)
Destry Rides Again (1932)
Shopworn (1932)
Red Noses (1932)
Steady Company (1932)
Sealskins (1932)
Broken Lullaby (1932)
The Unexpected Father (1932)
On the Loose (1931)
The Secret Witness (1931)
War Mamas (1931)
The Guardsman (1931)
The Pajama Party (1931)
Penrod and Sam (1931)
The Big Gamble (1931)
Catch-As Catch-Can (1931)
Their Mad Moment (1931)
A Woman of Experience (1931)
Let's Do Things (1931)
Seed (1931)
Beyond Victory (1931)
The Bad Sister (1931)
Finn and Hattie (1931)
Passion Flower (1930)
Free Love (1930)
War Nurse (1930)
Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
River's End (1930)
The Lottery Bride (1930)
Monte Carlo (1930)
The Squealer (1930)
Little Accident (1930)
The Devil's Holiday (1930)
Honey (1930)
No, No, Nanette (1930)
The Honeymoon (1929)
This Thing Called Love (1929)
The Locked Door (1929)
Paris (1929)
Oh, Yeah! (1929)
Her Private Life (1929)
The Squall (1929)
The Dummy (1929)
Sins of the Fathers (1928)
The Wedding March (1928)
Buck Privates (1928)
13 Washington Square (1928)
Wife Savers (1928)
Casey at the Bat (1927)
Dreams of Monte Carlo (1926)
Risky Business (1926)
Sunny Side Up (1926)
The Great Love (1926)
What Happened to Jones (1926)
Mannequin (1926)
Lazybones (1925)
Thunder Mountain (1925)
Pretty Ladies (1925)
1925 Studio Tour (1925)
Old Shoes (1925)
The Great Divide (1925)
Greed (1924)
Secrets of the Night (1924)
The Fast Set (1924)
Changing Husbands (1924)
The Goldfish (1924)
Tea- With a Kick! (1923)
Hollywood (1923)
Three Wise Fools (1923)
Mary of the Movies (1923)
Souls for Sale (1923)
Poor Men's Wives (1923)
For the Defense (1922)
A Daughter of Luxury (1922)
Patsy (1921)
Heart of Twenty (1920)
Seeing It Through (1920)
The Other Half (1919)
Better Times (1919)
A Lady's Name (1918)
The Talk of the Town (1918)
A Society Sensation (1918)
How Could You, Jean? (1918)
A Modern Musketeer (1917)
A Little Princess (1917)
'49–'17 (1917)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Birthday1894-01-02
Deathday1963-06-07 (69 years old)
Birth PlaceParsons, United States of America
RelationshipsTom Gallery (1920-01-01 - 1933-01-01)
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsZazu Pitts, Eliza Susan Pitts, ZaSu Pitts, Za Su Pitts
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame
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