Zasu Pitts

Personal Info

Birthday

January 2, 1894

Day of Death

1963-06-07

(69 years old)

Place of Birth

Parsons, Kansas, USA

Also Known As

Zazu Pitts

Eliza Susan Pitts

ZaSu Pitts

Za Su Pitts

Zasu Pitts

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.

Known For

Perry Mason

The Philco Television Playhouse

Burke's Law

Screen Director's Playhouse

Hollywood

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

The Devil's Holiday

General Electric Theater

Filmography

1964
The Big Parade of Comedy
as Mirabelle in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
1963
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Gertie - Switchboard Operator
The Thrill of It All
as Olivia
1961
Teenage Millionaire
as Aunt Theodora
1959
Disneyland '59
as Self
1957
This Could Be the Night
as Mrs. Shea
1955
The Silent Partner
as Selma
1954
Francis Joins the WACS
as Valerie Humpert
1952
Denver and Rio Grande
as Jane Dwyer
1950
Francis
as Valerie Humpert
1947
Life with Father
as Cousin Cora Cartwright
The Perfect Marriage
as Rosa
1946
Breakfast in Hollywood
as Elvira Spriggens
Dear Miss Gloria
as Guest star
1943
Let's Face It
as Cornelia Pigeon
1942
Tish
as Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)
So's Your Aunt Emma!
as Aunt Emma Bates
The Bashful Bachelor
as Geraldine
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
as Miss Pepper
1941
Weekend for Three
as Anna, Craig's Maid
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
as Emily Pepper
Miss Polly
as Pandora Polly
Uncle Joe
as Julia Jordan
Niagara Falls
as Emmy Sawyer
Broadway Limited
as Myra Pottle
1940
No, No, Nanette
as Pauline Hastings
It All Came True
as Miss Flint
1939
Eternally Yours
as Cary Bingham
Nurse Edith Cavell
as Mme. Moulin
Mickey the Kid
as Lilly Handy
Naughty But Nice
as Aunt Penelope Hardwick
The Lady's from Kentucky
as Dulcey Lee
1937
52nd Street
as Letitia Rondell
Forty Naughty Girls
as Hildegarde Withers
Wanted!
as Winnie Oatfield
1936
Sing Me a Love Song
as Gwen Logan
The Plot Thickens
as Hildegarde Withers
Mad Holiday
as Mrs. Fay Kinney
13 Hours by Air
as Miss Harkins
1935
The Affair of Susan
as Susan Todd
Hot Tip
as Belle McGill
She Gets Her Man
as Esmeralda
Going Highbrow
as Cora Upshaw
Spring Tonic
as Maggie Conklin
Ruggles of Red Gap
as Mrs. Judson
1934
The Gay Bride
as Mirabelle
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Miss Hazy
Dames
as Matilda Hemingway
Their Big Moment
as Tillie Whim
Private Scandal
as Miss Coates
Love Birds
as Araminta Tootle
Sing and Like It
as Annie Snodgrass
And She Learned About Dames
as Herself
Three on a Honeymoon
as Alice Mudge
Two Alone
as Esthey Roberts
The Meanest Gal in Town
as Tillie Prescott
1933
Mr. Skitch
as Maddie Skitch
Meet the Baron
as Zasu
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
as Sybby 'Sib'
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
as Connie Clark
Her First Mate
as Mary Horner
Professional Sweetheart
as Elmerada
One Track Minds
as Zasu Pitts
Hello, Sister!
as Millie
Out All Night
as Bonny
The Bargain of the Century
as Zasu
The Vanishing Frontier
as Aunt Sylvia
Maids a la Mode
as Miss Pitts
Asleep in the Feet
as Zasu
They Just Had to Get Married
as Molly Hull
She Whoops To Conquer
as Beula
1932
Sneak Easily
as Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
Madison Square Garden
as Florrie
The Soilers
as Zasu
Once in a Lifetime
as Miss Leyton
The Crooked Circle
as Nora Rafferty
Alum and Eve
as Zasu
Blondie of the Follies
as Gertie
Show Business
as Zasu
Back Street
as Mrs. Dole
Roar of the Dragon
as Gabby Woman
Make Me a Star
as Mrs. Scudder
Is My Face Red?
as Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
The Old Bull
as Zasu
Westward Passage
as Mrs. Truesdale
Strangers of the Evening
as Sybil Smith
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
as Gladys Fairweather
Strictly Unreliable
as Pitts
Destry Rides Again
as Temperance Worker
Shopworn
as Aunt Dot
Red Noses
as Miss Pitts
Steady Company
as Dot
Sealskins
as Zasu Pitts
Broken Lullaby
as Anna, Holderlin's Maid
The Unexpected Father
as Polly Perkins
1931
On the Loose
as Zasu
The Secret Witness
as Bella
War Mamas
as Zasu
The Guardsman
as Liesl
The Pajama Party
as Zasu
Penrod and Sam
as Mrs. Bassett
The Big Gamble
as Nora Dugan
Catch-As Catch-Can
as ZaSu
Their Mad Moment
as Miss Dibbs
A Woman of Experience
as Katie
Let's Do Things
as Zasu Pitts
Seed
as Jennie
Beyond Victory
as Fritzi Mobley
The Bad Sister
as Minnie
Finn and Hattie
as Mrs. Hattie Haddock
1930
Passion Flower
as Mrs. Harney
Free Love
as Ada, the Maid
War Nurse
as Cushie
Sin Takes a Holiday
as Annie
River's End
as Louise
The Lottery Bride
as Hilda
Monte Carlo
as Bertha
The Squealer
as Bella
Little Accident
as Monica
The Devil's Holiday
as Ethel
Honey
as Mayme
1929
The Honeymoon
as Caecilia
This Thing Called Love
as Clara Bertrand
The Locked Door
as Telephone Girl
Paris
as Harriet
Oh, Yeah!
as The Elk
Her Private Life
as Timmins
The Argyle Case
as Mrs. Wyatt
Twin Beds
as Tillie
The Squall
as Lena
The Dummy
as Rose Gleason
1928
Sins of the Fathers
as Mother Spengler
The Wedding March
as Cecelia Schweisser
Buck Privates
as Hulda
13 Washington Square
as The Maid
Wife Savers
as Germaine
1927
Casey at the Bat
as Camille
1926
Her Big Night
as Gladys Smith
Risky Business
as Agnes Wheaton
Sunny Side Up
as Evelyn
The Great Love
as Nancy
Early to Wed
as Mrs. Dugan
What Happened to Jones
as Hilda (as Zazu Pitts)
Mannequin
as Annie Pogani
1925
Wages for Wives
as Luella Logan
Lazybones
as Ruth Fanning
Thunder Mountain
as Mandy Coulter
Pretty Ladies
as Maggie Keenan
1925 Studio Tour
as Self
The Great Divide
as Polly Jordan
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
as Judy
1924
Greed
as Trina
Secrets of the Night
as Celia Stebbins
The Fast Set
as Mona
Changing Husbands
as Delia
The Goldfish
as Amelia Pugsley
West of the Water Tower
as Dessie Arnhalt
1923
Tea- With a Kick!
as 'Brainy' Jones
Hollywood
as Zasu Pitts
Three Wise Fools
as Mickey
Mary of the Movies
as Zasu Pitts (uncredited)
Souls for Sale
as Self - Celebrity Actress in Commissary
Poor Men's Wives
as Apple Annie
1922
For the Defense
as Jennie Dunn
A Daughter of Luxury
as Mary Cosgrove
1921
Patsy
as Patsy
1920
Heart of Twenty
as Katie Abbott
Seeing It Through
as Betty Lawrence
1919
Poor Relations
as Daisy Perkins
The Other Half
as Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid
Better Times
as Nancy Scroggs
Men, Women, and Money
as Katie Jones
As the Sun Went Down
as Sal Sue
1918
A Lady's Name
as Emily
A Society Sensation
as Mary
How Could You, Jean?
as Oscar's Sweetheart
1917
A Modern Musketeer
as A Kansas Belle (uncredited)
A Little Princess
as Becky
'49–'17
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
His Fatal Beauty
as Perscilla
Uneasy Money
as Suza - the Editor's Assistant