Zasu Pitts profile
Actor profile

Zasu Pitts

2nd January 1894 Parsons, Kansas, USA Acting

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).

195 Movies 11 TV Shows 206 Credits
Filmography

Movies & TV Shows

Francis poster
Francis 8th February 1950 as Valerie Humpert
Tish poster
Tish 17th September 1942 as Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)
Wanted! poster
Wanted! 23rd August 1937 as Winnie Oatfield
Hot Tip poster
Hot Tip 20th August 1935 as Belle McGill
Dames poster
Dames 1st September 1934 as Matilda Hemingway
Sneak Easily poster
Sneak Easily 10th December 1932 as Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
Seed poster
Seed 14th May 1931 as Jennie
Honey poster
Honey 29th March 1930 as Mayme
Paris poster
Paris 7th November 1929 as Harriet
Greed poster
Greed 4th December 1924 as Trina
Patsy poster
Patsy 1st February 1921 as Patsy
'49–'17 poster
'49–'17 15th October 1917 as Party Guest (uncredited)