It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World1963
As Gertie - Switchboard Operator
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Zasu Pitts
Born
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).
Filmography (195)
Greed1924
As Trina
TMDb 7.3 / 10
The Thrill of It All1963
As Olivia
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Life with Father1947
As Cousin Cora Cartwright
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Francis1950
As Valerie Humpert
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Westward Passage1932
As Mrs. Truesdale
TMDb 6.3 / 10
It All Came True1940
As Miss Flint
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Dames1934
As Matilda Hemingway
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Denver and Rio Grande1952
As Jane Dwyer
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Love Birds1934
As Araminta Tootle
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Passion Flower1930
As Mrs. Harney
TMDb 5.4 / 10
The Bad Sister1931
As Minnie
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Big Parade of Comedy1964
As Mirabelle in 'The Gay Bride' (archive footage)
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Broken Lullaby1932
As Anna, Holderlin's Maid
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Shopworn1932
As Aunt Dot
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm1917
As Undetermined Role (uncredited)
TMDb 5.8 / 10
This Could Be the Night1957
As Mrs. Shea
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Hello, Sister!1933
As Millie
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Naughty but Nice1939
As Aunt Penelope Hardwick
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Professional Sweetheart1933
As Elmerada
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Make Me a Star1932
As Mrs. Scudder
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Francis Joins the WACS1954
As Valerie Humpert
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Blondie of the Follies1932
As Gertie
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Eternally Yours1939
As Mrs. Bingham
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Buck Privates1928
As Hulda
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Wife Savers1928
As Germaine
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Back Street1932
As Mrs. Dole
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Mr. Skitch1933
As Maddie Skitch
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Disneyland '591959
As Self
TMDb 7.3 / 10
The Gay Bride1934
As Mirabelle
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Ruggles of Red Gap1935
As Mrs. Judson
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Souls for Sale1923
As Self - Celebrity Actress in Commissary
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Let's Face It1943
As Cornelia Pigeon
TMDb 5.4 / 10
A Woman of Experience1931
As Katie
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch1934
As Miss Hazy
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Mannequin1926
As Annie Pogani
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Once in a Lifetime1932
As Miss Leyton
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Hot Tip1935
As Belle McGill
TMDb 7.0 / 10
They Just Had to Get Married1933
As Molly Hull
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Roar of the Dragon1932
As Gabby Woman
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Sing Me a Love Song1936
As Gwen Logan
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Is My Face Red?1932
As Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
TMDb 5.0 / 10
So's Your Aunt Emma!1942
As Aunt Emma Bates
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Sins of the Fathers1928
As Mother Spengler
TMDb 8.0 / 10
13 Hours by Air1936
As Miss Harkins
TMDb 5.2 / 10
The Wedding March1928
As Cecelia Schweisser
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Private Scandal1934
As Miss Coates
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men1933
As Sybby 'Sib'
TMDb 7.8 / 10
Mad Holiday1936
As Mrs. Fay Kinney
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby1941
As Emily Pepper
TMDb 4.6 / 10
Is Matrimony a Failure?1922
As Mrs. Wilbur
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Love, Honor and Oh, Baby!1933
As Connie Clark
TMDb 8.0 / 10
No, No, Nanette1940
As Pauline Hastings
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Three on a Honeymoon1934
As Alice Mudge
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Hollywood1923
As Zasu Pitts
TMDb 9.0 / 10
The Perfect Marriage1947
As Rosa
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Sin Takes a Holiday1930
As Annie
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Old Shoes
Old Shoes1925
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Casey at the Bat1927
As Camille
TMDb 8.0 / 10
She Gets Her Man1935
As Esmeralda
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Madison Square Garden1932
As Florrie
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Sing and Like It1934
As Annie Snodgrass
TMDb 5.0 / 10
The Plot Thickens1936
As Hildegarde Withers
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Breakfast in Hollywood1946
As Elvira Spriggens
TMDb 6.0 / 10
The Devil's Holiday1930
As Ethel
TMDb 6.3 / 10
A Little Princess1917
As Becky
TMDb 5.2 / 10
And She Learned About Dames1934
As Herself
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Meanest Gal in Town1934
As Tillie Prescott
TMDb 7.3 / 10
The Goldfish1924
As Amelia Pugsley
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Patsy
Patsy1921
As Patsy
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Poor Men's Wives1923
As Apple Annie
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Nurse Edith Cavell1939
As Mme. Moulin
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Out All Night1933
As Bonny
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Twin Beds1929
As Tillie
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Lottery Bride1930
As Hilda
TMDb 5.3 / 10
The Guardsman1931
As Liesl
TMDb 5.2 / 10
The Trial of Vivienne Ware1932
As Gladys Fairweather
TMDb 9.0 / 10
'49 – '171917
As Party Guest (uncredited)
TMDb 5.8 / 10
The Girl Who Came Back1923
As Anastasia Muldoon
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Oh, Yeah!1929
As The Elk
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Mary of the Movies1923
As Zasu Pitts (uncredited)
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Mexican Spitfire at Sea1942
As Miss Pepper
TMDb 4.7 / 10
The Big Gamble1931
As Nora Dugan
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Strictly Unreliable1932
As Pitts
TMDb 6.0 / 10
The Squall1929
As Lena
TMDb 4.0 / 10
1925 Studio Tour1925
As Self
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Monte Carlo1930
As Bertha
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Her Private Life1929
As Timmins
TMDb 3.0 / 10
The Unexpected Father1932
As Polly Perkins
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Affair of Susan1935
As Susan Todd
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Catch-As Catch-Can1931
As ZaSu
TMDb 3.3 / 10
What Happened to Jones?1926
As Hilda (as Zazu Pitts)
TMDb 6.6 / 10
The Bashful Bachelor1942
As Geraldine
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Secrets of the Night1924
As Celia Stebbins
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Tea- With a Kick!1923
As 'Brainy' Jones
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Youth to Youth1922
As Emily
TMDb 7.0 / 10
No, No, Nanette1930
As Pauline Hastings
TMDb 6.3 / 10
War Nurse1930
As Cushie
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Finn and Hattie1931
As Mrs. Hattie Haddock
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Her First Mate1933
As Mary Horner
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Crooked Circle1932
As Nora Rafferty
TMDb 5.2 / 10
River's End1930
As Louise
TMDb 6.4 / 10
She Whoops To Conquer1933
As Beula
Little Accident1930
As Monica
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Two Alone1934
As Esthey Roberts
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Three Wise Fools1923
As Mickey
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Locked Door1929
As Telephone Girl
TMDb 6.1 / 10
A Woman's Faith
A Woman's Faith1925
As Blanche Odile
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Risky Business1926
As Agnes Wheaton
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Pajama Party1931
As Zasu
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Let's Do Things1931
As Zasu Pitts
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Asleep in the Feet1933
As Zasu
TMDb 4.8 / 10
Beyond Victory1931
As Fritzi Mobley
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Broadway Limited1941
As Myra Pottle
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Strangers of the Evening1932
As Sybil Smith
TMDb 5.1 / 10
A Society Sensation1918
As Mary
TMDb 5.8 / 10
How Could You, Jean?1918
As Oscar's Sweetheart
Weekend for Three1941
As Anna, Craig's Maid
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Forty Naughty Girls1937
As Hildegarde Withers
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Honeymoon1929
As Caecilia
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Miss Polly1941
As Pandora Polly
TMDb 4.9 / 10
Lazybones1925
As Ruth Fanning
TMDb 6.8 / 10
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent1925
As Judy
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Teenage Millionaire1961
As Aunt Theodora
TMDb 5.7 / 10
A Lady's Name1918
As Emily
Steady Company1932
As Dot
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Their Big Moment1934
As Tillie Whim
TMDb 4.7 / 10
The Lady's from Kentucky1939
As Dulcey Lee
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Penrod and Sam1931
As Mrs. Bassett
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Honey1930
As Mayme
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Sneak Easily1932
As Miss Zasu Pitts - Woman of the Jury
TMDb 8.0 / 10
A Modern Musketeer1917
As A Kansas Belle (uncredited)
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Seed1931
As Jennie
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Free Love1930
As Ada, the Maid
TMDb 7.5 / 10
The Bargain of the Century1933
As Zasu
TMDb 4.2 / 10
War Mamas1931
As Zasu
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Mickey the Kid1939
As Lilly Handy
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Pretty Ladies1925
As Maggie Keenan
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Meet the Baron1933
As Zasu
TMDb 5.3 / 10
The Soilers1932
As Zasu
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Tish1942
As Aggie Pilkington (as ZaSu Pitts)
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Fast Set1924
As Mona
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Talk of the Town1918
TMDb 1.0 / 10
The Other Half1919
As Jennie Jones, The Jazz Kid
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Dear Miss Gloria1946
As Guest star
The Secret Witness1931
As Bella
TMDb 4.3 / 10
Men, Women, and Money1919
As Katie Jones
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Show Business1932
As Zasu
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Why They Left Home
Why They Left Home1917
As Mary Mandrake
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Niagara Falls1941
As Emmy Sawyer
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Maids a la Mode1933
As Miss Pitts
TMDb 3.7 / 10
Going Highbrow1935
As Cora Upshaw
TMDb 6.5 / 10
52nd Street1937
As Letitia Rondell
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Wages for Wives1925
As Luella Logan
TMDb 7.0 / 10
One Track Minds1933
As Zasu Pitts
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Sunny Side Up1926
As Evelyn
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Thunder Mountain1925
As Mandy Coulter
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Old Bull1932
As Zasu
TMDb 6.0 / 10
West of the Water Tower1924
As Dessie Arnhalt
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Changing Husbands1924
As Delia
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Better Times1919
As Nancy Scroggs
Monte Carlo1926
As Hope Durant
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Alum and Eve1932
As Zasu
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Spring Tonic1935
As Maggie Conklin
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Early to Wed1926
As Mrs. Dugan
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Dummy1929
As Rose Gleason
TMDb 8.0 / 10
On the Loose1931
As Zasu
TMDb 6.9 / 10
13 Washington Square1928
As The Maid
TMDb 5.8 / 10
As the Sun Went Down1919
As Sal Sue
Destry Rides Again1932
As Temperance Worker
TMDb 5.7 / 10
This Thing Called Love1929
As Clara Bertrand
TMDb 9.0 / 10
The Squealer1930
As Bella
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Tillie of the Nine Lives1917
The Great Divide1925
As Polly Jordan
TMDb 9.0 / 10
The Vanishing Frontier1933
As Aunt Sylvia
TMDb 8.0 / 10
For the Defense1922
As Jennie Dunn
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Daughters of Today1924
As Lorena
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Sealskins1932
As Zasu Pitts
TMDb 6.7 / 10
A Daughter of Luxury
A Daughter of Luxury1922
As Mary Cosgrove
Their Mad Moment1931
As Miss Dibbs
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Wanted!1937
As Winnie Oatfield
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Uncle Joe1941
As Julia Jordan
TMDb 7.0 / 10
His Fatal Beauty
His Fatal Beauty1917
As Perscilla
Mother's Helper1933
Her Big Night1926
As Gladys Smith
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Red Noses1932
As Miss Pitts
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Lum and Abner1949
Seeing It Through
Seeing It Through1920
As Betty Lawrence
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Argyle Case1929
As Mrs. Wyatt
TMDb 10.0 / 10
A Desert Dilemma
A Desert Dilemma1917
Uneasy Money
Uneasy Money1917
As Suza - the Editor's Assistant
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Heart of Twenty
Heart of Twenty1920
As Katie Abbott
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Paris1929
As Harriet
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Poor Relations1919
As Daisy Perkins
TMDb 8.0 / 10
The Great Love1926
As Nancy
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Filmography and biography: TMDb