Zasu Pitts

Named "Zasu" because her mothers two sisters, Eliza and Susan, both wanted her named after them. Her mother did not want to disappoint either of them, so she formed the name from the last two letters of Eliza and the first two letters of Susan.

Director Alfred E. Green once said her face "has been on more cutting-room floors than any other actress". She was a famous scene-stealer who often overshadowed the star. Her scenes were usually cut to keep peace on the set.

Her marriage to John Woodall was not revealed to the public until February 12, 1934 when they went on their honeymoon.

The favorite actress of Erich von Stroheim , who called her "the greatest tragedienne of the screen".

When the comic strip "Thimble Theatre" became the animated series "Popeye", the producers used Zasus hand-wringing and nervous speech pattern to characterize the on-screen persona of Olive Oyl.

Legally separated from first husband Tom Gallery on November 24, 1926, she did not file for divorce from him until January 14, 1932. The final decree came 10 weeks later.

Pitts was originally cast to play Lew Ayres mother in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) . However, preview audiences laughed when they saw her, and her scenes were reshot by actress Beryl Mercer.

Her trademark gesture was seen in all of her fingers aflutter at once.

Her best friend during the 1920s was ill-fated actress Barbara La Marr ; the two worked in three films together during 1923. Pitts and her husband Tom Gallery adopted La Marrs son Marvin when she died in 1926. The little boy was renamed Don Gallery.

Following her death, she was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

Pictured on one of ten 29 US commemorative postage stamps celebrating stars of the silent screen, issued 27 April 1994. Designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld , this set of stamps also honored Rudolph Valentino , Clara Bow , Charles Chaplin , Lon Chaney , John Gilbert , Harold Lloyd , Theda Bara , Buster Keaton , and the Keystone Kops.

Her first name is pronounced "Zay-soo"

Was an excellent cook and a collector of candy recipes, which culminated into a cook book entitled "Candy Hits by ZaSu Pitts", which was published posthumously in 1963.

According to "Classic Images" biographer Charles Stumpf, she claimed that Rudolph Valentino taught her to dance while appearing together in the film A Society Sensation (1918) .

A close friend from her high school days was actress Lois Nelson (aka Lois Nelson). They shared a Hollywood apartment while both were fledgling actors.

Charles Chaplin took an interest in her around 1917 or 1918 during her first brush with popularity. He actually signed her to a six-month contract but never used her.

The 1930 Census shows her still living with husband, though reportedly legally separated. It also shows them as the adoptive parents of a boy named Don Mike, who is listed as "child actor".

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6654 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

Under contract to Hal Roach Studios she made a series of 16 comedy shorts with Thelma Todd in the early 1930s. Unhappy with her contract, like other Roach actors, and with a breakdown in renewal negotiations she was replaced with Patsy Kelly.

In 1958, William Howe and Casey Adams (Max Showalter) wrote "My Square Laddie", a version of "My Fair Lady" with a gender reversed. Miss Pitts, in addition to Reginald Gardner and Nancy Walker, are heard on the musical LP, and could possibly be the only LP album made by the actress.

After initially being rejected by the Sennett, Chaplin and Christie studios, the determined Pitts was finally was given a successful screen test and work as a stock player at Universal by the LaSalle and Joker unit.

When she met D.W. Griffith , the director rejected her because he said she looked too much like Lillian Gish. Instead of being hurt, Pitts said it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.

Zasus career really began when she found her way onto the set of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and was noticed by star Mary Pickford , who put her into the picture as well as her next, The Little Princess and in husband Douglas Fairbanks A Modern Musketeer .

Was known for giving speeches as a very conservative Republican and reportedly when Nancy Davis took Ronald Reagan to a speech by Pitts, he switched his allegiance from Democrat Helen Gahagan Douglas to Richard Nixon during the 1950 Senatorial race in California.

Worked in radio with Lum and Abner.

Pitts inadvertently began her career as a comedienne when she was selected by her high school graduation class to recite "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" as a joke. Her attempts to give it a melodramatic reading were met with laughter from students and staff, who thought she was genuinely funny. Although initially embarrassed, she was coaxed to finish it and found that making others laugh was the key to social acceptance for her. The young girl who was previously made fun of by her peers, found acceptance in making them laugh.

Profiled in the book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen M. Silverman .

Upon the death of MGM beauty Barbara LaMarr Zasu adopted her orphaned son Don Mike.

I was what they called a feature player, never a star. They say I was in,500 films, everything but the newsreels. .