Zasu Pitts

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

First, let me say with a name like that she already gets a gold star in my book. Zasu Pitts birth name was Eliza Susan Pitts, you can see where she came up with her stage name I am sure. If you don't see it yet, just wait for it and it will come to you. She goes all the way back to silent films and was one of the people to see the transition from silent to talkies. It seems as though she made it through the switch as well with a film career before and after films started to speak. She found work in vaudeville as well as lending her talents to radio. Working along side the likes of Bing Crosby , Al Jolson and Rudy Vallee as well as many others.
Zasu also acted on Broadway and starred in "Ramshackle Inn" in 1944 which was especially written for her by George Batson. There are many quotes about her but my favorite one is by the Director Alfred E. Green who said her face "has been on more cutting-room floors than any other actress". Turns out she was a famous scene-stealer who had a habit of overshadowing the star. Leading to her scenes being cut to keep peace on the set. She became ill late in life but she continued to work. I wonder when reading biographies of older film stars if they worked on because they wanted to or because they had to, now a days people just assume movie stars have money no matter what. Of course we also assume that anyone who has any kind of part in a movie is a star. That is just not true, but that is another story.
Zasu was married twice with one child who was her best friend's son. Zasu and her husband Tom Gallery adopted the boy when his mother, Barbara La Marr died. She was quoted as saying "I was what they called a feature player, never a star. They say I was in 500 films, everything but the newsreels." She passed away on 7 June 1963in Hollywood, California and although I find it strange that things like this are available on the Internet she was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the 'Grotto' section, Lot 195, Grave 1 in case you are looking for her.