ZASU PITTS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

ZaSu Pitts was born on January 3rd, 1894 in Parson, Kansas with the birth name Eliza Susan Pitts to parents, Rulandus and Nellie Pitts.  She was the third of four children born into her family who began their lives in Kansas but soon relocated to Santa Cruz California when she was nine years old. Pitts attended Santa Cruz High School and became interested in acting when she joined the drama department.
 
In 1915, she had her stage debut and continued to act in amateur productions until two years later, Frances Marion who was a screen writer discovered her and helped her find film work.  She started out in a small role with Paramount Pictures in the film, "Uneasy Money" (1917) and followed with a number of small roles.
 
In 1919, she got cast in her first feature film, "Better Times" which progressed to roles in such film as, "Heart of Twenty" (1920), "Patsy" (1921), "Bright Eyes" (1922) and "A Daughter of Luxury" (1922).  In 1924, Pitts got to work on a film that would be known today as one of the greatest tragedy roles she would ever play in, "Greed".  This film was originally four hours long, but was cut to two hours and therefore, initially failed at the box office.  However, it has grown in popularity since then and was a great chance for Pitts to show what type of versatile actress she was capable of being.
 
Her success and popularity continued on the late 20's and early 30's with roles on such films as, "Sins of the Fathers" (1928), "The Wedding March" (1928), "War Nurse" (1930), "The Dummy" (1929), "Finn and Hattie" (1931), "The Guardsman" (1931), "Sing and Like It" (1934) and "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935).   

Alongside an already highly successful film career, she also worked on radio, Broadway and vaudeville.  Her Broadway debut was in, "Ramshackle Inn" (1944).  As she progressed into the 1950's, Pitts also decided to try working as a television actress.  Her best series role was on, "The Gale Storm Show" which is also know as "Oh, Susanna" (1950). Another highly acclaimed tv show she appeared in was "Private Secretary" (1957).
 
In the late 1950's, way before her time to end her career, she was diagnosed with cancer, however she did not let that stop her from doing what she loved most.  As ill as she was she continued to work up until the very end.  Zasu Pitts passed away at the age of sixty nine in Hollywood, California after succumbing to the cancer on June 7th, 1963.     

Zasu Pitts married twice throughout her lifetime, first to Tom Gallery in 1920 through 1933 and had one child together.  Her second marriage was to John E. Woodall from October 8th, 1933 through her passing.
 
She is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.  She was honored by being pictures on one of ten 29 cent Us commemorative postage stamps in 1994 and a street in Las Vegas is named after her.   

Filmography

1963 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
1963 Burke's Law 
1963 The Thrill of It All
1962 Perry Mason 
1961 Teenage Millionaire 
1961 Guestward Ho!
1960 The Jim Backus Show
1960 The Dennis O'Keefe Show
1956-1960 The Gale Storm Show
1957 This Could Be the Night 
1957 Private Secretary 
1956 The Red Skelton Hour
1956 The 20th Century-Fox Hour
1955 Screen Directors Playhouse
1954 The Best of Broadway 
1954 Kraft Theatre
1954 Francis Joins the WACS 
1954 G.E. True Theater
1952 Denver and Rio Grande
1950 Francis
1949 The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
1948 The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre
1947 Life with Father 
1947 The Perfect Marriage 
1946 Breakfast in Hollywood 
1943 Let's Face It 
1942 Tish
1942 So's Your Aunt Emma! 
1942 The Bashful Bachelor 
1942 Mexican Spitfire at Sea 
1941 Mexican Spitfire's Baby  
1941 Miss Polly 
1941 Weekend for Three
1941 Niagara Falls 
1941 Broadway Limited 
1941 Uncle Joe 
1940 No, No, Nanette  
1940 It All Came True 
1939 Eternally Yours 
1939 Nurse Edith Cavell 
1939 Mickey the Kid 
1939 Naughty But Nice
1939 The Lady's from Kentucky 
1937 52nd Street 
1937 Forty Naughty Girls 
1937 Merry Comes to Town 
1937 Wanted! 
1936 Sing Me a Love Song 
1936 The Plot Thickens 
1936 Mad Holiday 
1936 Thirteen Hours by Air 
1935 The Affair of Susan 
1935 Hot Tip 
1935 She Gets Her Man
1935 Going Highbrow
1935 Spring Tonic
1935 Ruggles of Red Gap
1934 The Gay Bride 
1934 Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 
1934 Their Big Moment
1934 Dames
1934 Private Scandal
1934 Love Birds
1934 Sing and Like It
1934 Three on a Honeymoon 
1934 Two Alone 
1934 The Meanest Gal in Town 
1933 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 Out All Night 
1933 The Bargain of the Century 
1933 Maids a la Mode
1933 Asleep in the Feet 
1932 They Just Had to Get Married 
1932 Sneak Easily 
1932 Madison Sq. Garden 
1932 The Soilers
1932 Once in a Lifetime 
1932 The Crooked Circle
1932 Alum and Eve
1932 Blondie of the Follies
1932 Back Street
1932 Show Business
1932 The Vanishing Frontier
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 Seal Skins 
1932 Broken Lullaby 
1932 The Unexpected Father 
1931 On the Loose 
1931 The Secret Witness 
1931 War Mamas 
1931 The Guardsman
1931 Penrod and Sam 
1931 The Pajama Party 
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
1930 Free Love
1930 Passion Flower
1930 Sin Takes a Holiday
1930 River's End 
1930 The Lottery Bride
1930 War Nurse 
1930 Monte Carlo 
1930 The Squealer 
1930 Little Accident 
1930 The Devil's Holiday 
1930 All Quiet on the Western Front
1930 Honey 
1930 No, No, Nanette 
1929 This Thing Called Love 
1929 The Locked Door 
1929 Paris 
1929 Oh, Yeah! 
1929 Her Private Life 
1929 The Argyle Case
1929 Twin Beds
1929 The Squall 
1929 The Dummy 
1928 Sins of the Fathers
1928 The Wedding March
1928 Buck Privates 
1928 Wife Savers 
1928 13 Washington Square
1928 The Honeymoon 
1927 Casey at the Bat 
1926 Her Big Night 
1926 Risky Business 
1926 Sunny Side Up 
1926 Early to Wed 
1926 Monte Carlo 
1926 What Happened to Jones 
1926 Mannequin 
1925 The Great Love 
1925 Wages for Wives 
1925 Lazybones 
1925 Thunder Mountain 
1925 The Business of Love
1925 A Woman's Faith
1925 Pretty Ladies
1925 Old Shoes 
1925 The Re-Creation of Brian Kent 
1925 The Great Divide 
1924 Greed
1924 Secrets of the Night
1924 The Fast Set 
1924 Wine of Youth
1924 Legend of Hollywood 
1924 Changing Husbands 
1924 Triumph 
1924 The Goldfish 
1924 Daughters of Today 
1924 Sunlight of Paris 
1923 West of the Water Tower 
1923 Tea: With a Kick!
1923 Three Wise Fools 
1923 The Girl Who Came Back 
1923 Poor Men's Wives 
1922 A Daughter of Luxury 
1922 Youth to Youth 
1922 For the Defense 
1922 Is Matrimony a Failure? 
1921 Patsy 
1920 Heart of Twenty 
1920 Bright Skies 
1920 Seeing It Through 
1919 Poor Relations 
1919 The Other Half 
1919 Better Times 
1919 Men, Women, and Money
1919 As the Sun Went Down 
1918 A Lady's Name 
1918 The Greatest Thing in Life
1918 The Talk of the Town 
1918 A Society Sensation
1918 The Pie Eyed Piper
1918 How Could You, Jean? 
1918 Good Night, Paul
1918 Who's Your Wife? 
1917 A Modern Musketeer 
1917 The Little Princess 
1917 '49-'17 
1917 Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1917 Why They Left Home 
1917 Behind the Map 
1917 O-My the Tent Mover 
1917 The Battling Bellboy 
1917 Canning the Cannibal King 
1917 He Had 'em Buffaloed 
1917 His Fatal Beauty 
1917 A Desert Dilemma 
1917 Tillie of the Nine Lives 
1917 Uneasy Money