It took many years for the film to gain the following and reputation it retains to this day. He nodded knowingly as he declared, “Art must weep when ZaSu Pitts plays a comedy role.” When the realistic drama Greed was released in 1924, it was not appreciated or approved of by many (not helped by the studio-enforced cuts), and one critic went so far as to call it “an epic of the sewers.” It received limited screenings and was finally withdrawn from exhibition. He was convinced she would give him the performance he needed, and ZaSu did not disappoint him, receiving high acclaim. The great director had total faith in her talents, despite her multitude of previous comedy roles, and considered her one of the world’s foremost dramatic actresses of the silent screen. The very demanding role called for ZaSu to express every facet of her complex character using only her eyes and body language. To add to her treasure, she becomes a shrewish wife and begins to cheat her own husband by skimping on daily household expenses. Trina was a young, sweet-natured married woman who wins the lottery thereafter, her only passion is for the gold coins she has hoarded in a trunk. He retitled the film Greed and astonished everyone in Hollywood when he announced that he had cast none other than ZaSu Pitts, known for her comedy roles, in the leading role of Trina McTeague. In 1923, the eccentric, Austrian-born filmmaker Von Stroheim set to work on his epic adaptation of Frank Norris’s novel McTeague. But, of all her films, it is her work with director Erich von Stroheim which has put her in the history books. During her career ZaSu appeared in hundreds of films, in leads and in support, and some popular shorts with Thelma Todd. But it is unfair to judge the importance of Miss Pitts’ 50plus-year career by only this aspect of her work, no matter how popular the show was. ZaSu co-starred as Miss Elvira “Nugey” Nugent, the ship’s fluttery beautician.
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Today she is mainly remembered by Baby Boomers because of the Hal Roach–produced comedy Oh! Susanna!, a 1956–1960 TV series starring Gale Storm as the social director on a cruise ship, the S.S. ZaSu was a multitalented actress who could project every type of emotion with her large, expressive eyes, her extremely graceful hands, and her general body language. She was frequently cast as a befuddled, flustered, hand-wringing spinster, and became typecast in that category. She went on to become one of the finest character actresses in talking film. First and foremost, ZaSu Pitts established herself as one of the silent screen’s greatest tragediennes. INTRODUCTION Why a book about the life and career of ZaSu Pitts? Any film fan or historian will recognize the name and tell you that ZaSu Pitts was not just one, but two of Hollywood’s top personalities. Kizer Karl Malkames Cynthia Mathews Fred McFadden Andrew Rehak John Reynolds Ralf Reynolds Don Roegge Robert Rosterman Melodie Shorey Jon Guyot Smith Fredrick Tucker Raymond B. Hamann Luther Hathcock Lois Laurel Hawes House and Garden Magazine Jim King Bill R.
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 TABLEĪcknowledgments vi Introduction 1 Biography 3 Filmography ShortsĪCKNOWLEDGMENTS Bill Bell Mike Brotherton Ed Colbert Richard Edmunds Don Gallery Ross Gibson Eve Golden Susan B. On the cover: ZaSu Pitts publicity photo (courtesy of the author) Manufactured in the United States of America All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. ZaSu Pitts : the life and career / Charles Stumpf. Publisher’s note: Charles Stumpf died on August 28, 2009, after completing the manuscript for this book. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and Londonįrontispiece: A 1920s studio “glamour” shot of ZaSu Pitts. ZASU PITTS The Life and Career Charles Stumpf
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