
Zasu Pitts
Born January 3, 1894 · Parsons, Labette County, Kansas, USA
Zasu Pitts (January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) 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).
Notable Appearances
More Movies

Denver and Rio Grande

Westward Passage

Blondie of the Follies

Francis

Ruggles of Red Gap

Mr. Skitch

Professional Sweetheart

Shopworn

Make Me a Star

Dames

Let's Face It

It All Came True

Is My Face Red?

Naughty but Nice

So's Your Aunt Emma!

Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men

Sing Me a Love Song

Once in a Lifetime

The Bad Sister

Hello, Sister!

And She Learned About Dames

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Francis Joins the WACS

Mary of the Movies

The Trial of Vivienne Ware

Sin Takes a Holiday

Back Street

Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!

Sing and Like It

Let's Do Things

The Perfect Marriage

Love Birds

Wife Savers

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

This Thing Called Love

13 Hours by Air

Roar of the Dragon

Buck Privates

The Gay Bride

Niagara Falls

Nurse Edith Cavell

Disneyland '59

The Affair of Susan

The Guardsman

The Talk of the Town

Souls for Sale

The Devil's Holiday

Is Matrimony a Failure?

Tea- With a Kick!

They Just Had to Get Married

The Wedding March

What Happened to Jones?

Two Alone

The Mexican Spitfire's Baby

Maids a la Mode

Strangers of the Evening

Sins of the Fathers

Three on a Honeymoon

Meet the Baron

A Woman of Experience

Hollywood

Private Scandal

Oh, Yeah!

Eternally Yours

Hot Tip

Mannequin

No, No, Nanette

The Meanest Gal in Town

Breakfast in Hollywood

The Lady's from Kentucky

The Other Half

Men, Women, and Money

Mexican Spitfire at Sea

The Big Gamble

The Re-Creation of Brian Kent

Secrets of the Night

Mad Holiday

A Lady's Name

She Gets Her Man

The Secret Witness

Broken Lullaby

Twin Beds

Pretty Ladies

Casey at the Bat

The Unexpected Father

Monte Carlo

Catch-As Catch-Can

How Could You, Jean?

The Plot Thickens

Asleep in the Feet

Broadway Limited

She Whoops To Conquer

The Bargain of the Century

Weekend for Three

The Locked Door

Poor Men's Wives

The Girl Who Came Back

Spring Tonic

1925 Studio Tour

The Squall

Her First Mate

Teenage Millionaire

War Nurse

Madison Square Garden

As the Sun Went Down

Forty Naughty Girls

'49 – '17

Their Mad Moment

The Honeymoon

The Lottery Bride

Youth to Youth

Out All Night

Little Accident

Her Private Life

No, No, Nanette

The Bashful Bachelor

West of the Water Tower

On the Loose

Mickey the Kid

Three Wise Fools

Beyond Victory

Their Big Moment

Honey

Seed

Miss Polly

Free Love

Dear Miss Gloria

The Pajama Party

Going Highbrow

Tish

Penrod and Sam

Show Business

A Modern Musketeer

Changing Husbands

War Mamas

The Dummy

Early to Wed

Wages for Wives

River's End

The Soilers

One Track Minds

Lazybones

Destry Rides Again

Monte Carlo

Uncle Joe

For the Defense

The Vanishing Frontier

Mother's Helper

Sneak Easily

Strictly Unreliable

13 Washington Square

Finn and Hattie

Better Times

A Society Sensation

52nd Street

A Little Princess

The Crooked Circle

Risky Business

The Great Divide

The Squealer

Daughters of Today

Lum and Abner

Red Noses

Thunder Mountain

Alum and Eve

Sealskins

Steady Company

Wanted!

The Fast Set

Her Big Night

The Goldfish

Sunny Side Up

The Argyle Case

The Great Love

Tillie of the Nine Lives

The Old Bull

Poor Relations


















