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 shows
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964·7.2
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963·7.0
The Thrill of It All
1963·7.1
Teenage Millionaire
1961·5.7
Disneyland '59
1959·7.3
This Could Be the Night
1957·6.1
Francis Joins the WACS
1954·6.1
Denver and Rio Grande
1952·5.6
Francis
1950·5.8
Lum and Abner
1949·0.0
Life with Father
1947·6.7
The Perfect Marriage
1947·5.5
Breakfast in Hollywood
1946·6.0
Dear Miss Gloria
1946·0.0
Let's Face It
1943·5.4
Tish
1942·6.5
So's Your Aunt Emma!
1942·6.7
The Bashful Bachelor
1942·6.3
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
1942·4.4
Weekend for Three
1941·6.8
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
1941·4.6
Miss Polly
1941·4.9
Uncle Joe
1941·7.0
Niagara Falls
1941·6.7
Broadway Limited
1941·5.0
No, No, Nanette
1940·6.2
It All Came True
1940·5.8
Eternally Yours
1939·5.9
Nurse Edith Cavell
1939·6.6
Mickey the Kid
1939·9.0
Naughty but Nice
1939·6.8
The Lady's from Kentucky
1939·8.0
52nd Street
1937·7.0
Forty Naughty Girls
1937·5.6
Wanted!
1937·9.0
Sing Me a Love Song
1936·9.0
The Plot Thickens
1936·6.3
Mad Holiday
1936·6.4
13 Hours by Air
1936·5.2
The Affair of Susan
1935·10.0
Hot Tip
1935·7.0
She Gets Her Man
1935·8.0
Going Highbrow
1935·6.5
Spring Tonic
1935·6.5
Ruggles of Red Gap
1935·7.1
The Gay Bride
1934·6.0
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1934·6.0
Dames
1934·6.5
Their Big Moment
1934·4.7
Private Scandal
1934·7.0
Love Birds
1934·6.5
Sing and Like It
1934·5.0
And She Learned About Dames
1934·7.0
Three on a Honeymoon
1934·7.0
Two Alone
1934·7.3
The Meanest Gal in Town
1934·7.3
Mr. Skitch
1933·7.3
Meet the Baron
1933·5.3
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men
1933·7.8
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!
1933·8.0
Her First Mate
1933·10.0
Professional Sweetheart
1933·6.0
One Track Minds
1933·7.0
Hello, Sister!
1933·6.0
The Bargain of the Century
1933·4.2
Out All Night
1933·7.5
The Vanishing Frontier
1933·8.0
Maids a la Mode
1933·3.7
Asleep in the Feet
1933·4.8
They Just Had to Get Married
1933·7.0
She Whoops To Conquer
1933·0.0
Mother's Helper
1933·0.0
Sneak Easily
1932·8.0
Madison Square Garden
1932·6.8
The Soilers
1932·6.8
Once in a Lifetime
1932·7.3
The Crooked Circle
1932·5.2
Alum and Eve
1932·6.8
Blondie of the Follies
1932·6.3
Show Business
1932·6.5
Back Street
1932·6.4
Roar of the Dragon
1932·6.5
Make Me a Star
1932·6.4
Is My Face Red?
1932·5.0
The Old Bull
1932·6.0
Westward Passage
1932·6.3
Strangers of the Evening
1932·5.1
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
1932·9.0
Strictly Unreliable
1932·6.0
Destry Rides Again
1932·5.7
Shopworn
1932·6.8
Red Noses
1932·7.5
Steady Company
1932·10.0
Sealskins
1932·6.7
Broken Lullaby
1932·7.5
The Unexpected Father
1932·7.0
On the Loose
1931·6.8
The Secret Witness
1931·4.3
War Mamas
1931·8.0
The Guardsman
1931·5.2
The Pajama Party
1931·7.0
Penrod and Sam
1931·7.0
The Big Gamble
1931·6.1
Catch-As Catch-Can
1931·3.3
Their Mad Moment
1931·7.5
A Woman of Experience
1931·6.2
Let's Do Things
1931·8.0
Seed
1931·6.5
Beyond Victory
1931·9.0
The Bad Sister
1931·5.6
Finn and Hattie
1931·6.3
Passion Flower
1930·5.4
Free Love
1930·7.5
War Nurse
1930·5.2
Sin Takes a Holiday
1930·5.6
River's End
1930·6.4
The Lottery Bride
1930·5.3
Monte Carlo
1930·6.5
The Squealer
1930·8.0
Little Accident
1930·9.0
The Devil's Holiday
1930·6.3
Honey
1930·5.7
No, No, Nanette
1930·6.3
The Honeymoon
1929·7.0
This Thing Called Love
1929·9.0
The Locked Door
1929·6.1
Paris
1929·7.0
Oh, Yeah!
1929·5.0
Her Private Life
1929·3.0
The Argyle Case
1929·10.0
Twin Beds
1929·10.0
The Squall
1929·4.0
The Dummy
1929·8.0
Sins of the Fathers
1928·8.0
The Wedding March
1928·7.1
Buck Privates
1928·10.0
13 Washington Square
1928·5.8
Wife Savers
1928·7.0
Casey at the Bat
1927·8.0
Her Big Night
1926·8.0
Risky Business
1926·7.0
Sunny Side Up
1926·10.0
The Great Love
1926·8.0
Early to Wed
1926·10.0
Monte Carlo
1926·7.0
What Happened to Jones?
1926·6.6
Mannequin
1926·10.0
Wages for Wives
1925·7.0
Lazybones
1925·6.8
Thunder Mountain
1925·7.0
Pretty Ladies
1925·5.8
A Woman's Faith
1925·8.0
1925 Studio Tour
1925·6.3
Old Shoes
1925·9.0
The Great Divide
1925·9.0
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
1925·7.0
Greed
1924·7.3
Secrets of the Night
1924·6.7
The Fast Set
1924·10.0
Changing Husbands
1924·7.0
The Goldfish
1924·9.0
Daughters of Today
1924·7.0
West of the Water Tower
1924·10.0
Tea- With a Kick!
1923·10.0
Hollywood
1923·9.0
Three Wise Fools
1923·10.0
Mary of the Movies
1923·8.0
Souls for Sale
1923·6.3
The Girl Who Came Back
1923·10.0
Poor Men's Wives
1923·10.0
Youth to Youth
1922·7.0
For the Defense
1922·10.0
Is Matrimony a Failure?
1922·10.0
A Daughter of Luxury
1922·0.0
Patsy
1921·10.0
Heart of Twenty
1920·10.0
Seeing It Through
1920·10.0
Poor Relations
1919·8.0
The Other Half
1919·5.8
Better Times
1919·0.0
Men, Women, and Money
1919·9.0
As the Sun Went Down
1919·0.0
A Lady's Name
1918·0.0
The Talk of the Town
1918·1.0
A Society Sensation
1918·5.8
How Could You, Jean?
1918·0.0
A Modern Musketeer
1917·5.5
A Little Princess
1917·5.2
'49–'17
1917·5.8
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1917·5.8
His Fatal Beauty
1917·0.0
A Desert Dilemma
1917·0.0
Tillie of the Nine Lives
1917·0.0
Uneasy Money
1917·9.0
Why They Left Home
1917·8.0