Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern | |
---|---|
Born | Harriette Arlene Lake January 22, 1909 |
Died | March 15, 2001 Ketchum, Idaho, U.S. | (aged 92)
Resting place | Ketchum Cemetery |
Other names | Harriet Byron Harriet Lake |
Education | MacPhail School |
Alma mater | University of Washington |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1927–1987 |
Political party | Republican[1] |
Spouses | |
Children | Tisha Sterling |
Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s in bit parts in films. In 1930, she made her Broadway stage debut and soon worked her way up to starring roles. In 1939,
In 1953, Sothern moved into television as the star of her own
In 1987, Sothern appeared in her final film, The Whales of August, starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish. Sothern earned her only Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in the film. After filming concluded, she retired to Ketchum, Idaho, where she spent her remaining years before her death from heart failure in March 2001. Lucille Ball, alongside whom she appeared on Ball's program The Lucy Show on multiple occasions, called Sothern "the best comedienne in the business, bar none."[2]
Early life
Sothern was born in Valley City, North Dakota, the oldest of three daughters born to Walter J. Lake and Annette Yde. She had two younger sisters, Marion and Bonnie. Her maternal grandfather was Danish violinist Hans Nielsen.
Her mother was a concert singer, while Sothern's father worked in importing and exporting. Harriette and her sisters were raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her parents separated when she was four years old (they would later divorce in 1927). At the age of five, she began taking piano lessons. She later studied at McPhail School of Music, where her mother taught piano. She began accompanying her mother on her concert tours when her school schedule permitted.
By age 11, she had become an accomplished pianist and was singing solos in her church choir. At age 14, she began voice lessons and continued to study piano and music composition. As a teen at Minneapolis Central High School, she appeared in numerous stage productions and directed several shows.
During her high school years, she entered the annual state-sponsored contests for student musical composers and won three years in a row. In 1926, she graduated from high school.[3]
Her mother moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a vocal coach for Warner Bros. studios. Sothern moved with her father to Seattle, where she attended the University of Washington, dropping out after one year.[4][5]
Career
Early years
While visiting her mother in California, she won a role in the Warner Bros. revue
On Broadway in 1931, she had leading roles in America's Sweetheart and Everybody's Welcome.
Film and radio
In 1934, she signed a contract with
After signing with MGM, Sothern was cast as brassy Brooklyn burlesque dancer Mary Anastasia O'Connor, known professionally as Maisie Ravier, in Maisie (1939). MGM originally acquired the Maisie property for Jean Harlow, but Harlow died in June 1937, before a final script was completed. (The Harlow inspiration remained, as the second Maisie feature, Congo Maisie, was based on MGM's Red Dust. Sothern approximated the Jean Harlow role opposite John Carroll in the Clark Gable role.)
After years of struggling and appearing in supporting parts Sothern found major success with Maisie. The film was profitable for MGM, as were the string of Maisie comedy sequels that followed (box office proceeds from Maisie pictures financed MGM's more costly dramas). From 1939 to 1947, she appeared in 10 Maisie films. A review of
In 1943, she appeared in a seventh Maisie film
Television
By the early 1950s, Sothern was appearing only in supporting roles, in such films as crime drama
She returned to television the following year in The Ann Sothern Show. Sothern starred as Kathleen "Katy" O'Connor, the assistant manager at the fictitious Bartley House Hotel. The series originally co-starred Ernest Truex as Katy's timid boss Jason Macauley, who was routinely outshone by Katy, and bullied by his domineering wife Flora (Reta Shaw).[17] Ratings for the series were weak, and after 23 episodes the show was retooled. Sothern's co-star from Private Secretary, Don Porter, signed on as Katy's boss James Devery. The addition of Porter added romantic tension to the series and helped to improve ratings.[18] In 1959, the series won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. During the series' second season, Jesse White, who also starred in Private Secretary, joined the cast. Ratings for the series remained solid until CBS moved The Ann Sothern Show to Thursdays for its third season. Scheduled opposite the ABC series The Untouchables, ratings dropped substantially and The Ann Sothern Show was canceled in 1961.[19]
Later years
After The Ann Sothern Show ended, she returned to films in the political drama The Best Man (1964), opposite Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her work in the film. That same year, she portrayed a prostitute in the psychological thriller Lady in a Cage, starring Olivia de Havilland. In 1965, she had a recurring role on her friend Lucille Ball's The Lucy Show as the "Countess Framboise" (née Rosie Harrigan). After Ball's long-time co-star Vivian Vance announced plans to leave the show, the press speculated that Sothern would be Vance's replacement. Sothern denied the rumors and, ultimately, the series continued without Vance or Sothern.[20]
In 1965, Sothern co-starred in the TV comedy series My Mother the Car, opposite Jerry Van Dyke. Van Dyke played a struggling lawyer and family man who discovers a dilapidated, vintage 1928 automobile in a used-car lot. The antique auto speaks to him — in Ann Sothern's voice. It seems the car is the reincarnation of Van Dyke's mother. Van Dyke restores the car to its original condition and takes it home, where it bemuses his family and becomes the envy of a zealous collector. Sothern was never seen in the series; only her voice was heard, reacting tartly to zany happenings around her.
She continued the rest of the 1960s working in guest roles in television and the occasional film role. In an
Sothern returned to television in 1985 in the role of "Ma Finney" in an adaptation of one of her old films, A Letter to Three Wives. Sothern's final film was The Whales of August in 1987. Her role as the neighbor of elderly sisters, played by Lillian Gish and Bette Davis, earned her the only Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination of her career.[23] After filming, Sothern retired from acting and moved to Ketchum, Idaho, where she spent her remaining years.
Other ventures
Over the course of her career, Sothern also managed several businesses and production companies. In the 1950s, she opened the Ann Sothern Sewing Center in Sun Valley, Idaho, which sold fabric, patterns, and sewing machines. She also owned a cattle ranch in Idaho named the A Bar S Cattle Company. Sothern owned Vincent Productions, Inc. (named for Sothern's patron saint Vincent de Paul) which produced her first series Private Secretary, and Anso Productions which produced The Ann Sothern Show.[15][24]
In addition to acting, Sothern pursued a musical career. During her hiatus from Private Secretary in 1954, she starred in her own nightclub act featured in clubs in
Personal life
Marriages and child
Sothern married actor and band leader Roger Pryor in September 1936.[26] They separated in September 1941 and Sothern filed for divorce in April 1942, charging Pryor with mental cruelty.[27] Their divorce became final in May 1943. Less than a week after her divorce from Pryor she married actor Robert Sterling.[28] The couple had one daughter, Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling, before divorcing in March 1949.[29]
Health problems
Shortly after filming A Letter to Three Wives Sothern contracted infectious
In 1974 Sothern was injured while appearing in a Jacksonville, Florida, stock production of Everybody Loves Opal when a prop tree fell on her back. The accident left her with a fractured lumbar vertebra and damaged nerves in her legs.[31][32] Her injuries required hospitalizations where she was put in traction. She was also required to wear back braces. Due to her forced inactivity Sothern gained a considerable amount of weight. In addition to her physical pain Sothern also developed depression. Sothern credited her "optimistic belief" and Roman Catholic faith for getting her through.[22][31] For the remainder of her life Sothern experienced numbness in her feet and required a cane to walk.[31]
Death
On March 15, 2001, Sothern died from heart failure at her home in Ketchum at the age of 92.[32] She was buried in Ketchum Cemetery.[33]
Sothern has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for motion pictures, found at 1612 Vine Street; and television, at 1634 Vine Street.[34]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1927 | Broadway Nights | Fan dancer | Uncredited |
1929 | The Show of Shows | Performer ("Meet My Sister" & "Daisy Bell") | Credited as Harriet Byron |
1930 | The March of Time | Chorus Girl | Uncredited |
1930 | Song of the West | Bit part | Credited as Harriet Lake |
1930 | Good News | Student | Uncredited |
1930 | Doughboys
|
Chorine | Uncredited |
1930 | Whoopee! | Goldwyn Girl | Uncredited |
1933 | Footlight Parade | Chorus Girl | Uncredited |
1933 | Broadway Through a Keyhole | Chorine | Uncredited |
1933 | Let's Fall in Love | Jean Kendall | |
1934 | Melody in Spring | Jane Blodgett | |
1934 | The Hell Cat | Geraldine Sloane | |
1934 | Blind Date | Kitty Taylor | |
1934 | The Party's Over | Lucky Dubarry | |
1934 | Kid Millions | Joan Larrabee | |
1935 | Folies Bergère de Paris
|
Mimi | |
1935 | Eight Bells | Marge Walker | |
1935 | Hooray for Love
|
Patricia "Pat" Thatcher | |
1935 | The Girl Friend | Linda Henry | |
1935 | Grand Exit | Adrienne Martin / Adeline Maxwell | |
1936 | You May Be Next | Fay Stevens | |
1936 | Hell-Ship Morgan | Mary Taylor | |
1936 | Don't Gamble with Love | Ann Edwards | |
1936 | My American Wife | Mary Cantillon | |
1936 | Walking on Air | Kit Bennett | |
1936 | Smartest Girl in Town | Frances "Cookie" Cooke | |
1937 | Dangerous Number | Eleanor | |
1937 | There Goes My Girl | Reporter Connie Taylor | |
1937 | Fifty Roads to Town | Millicent Kendall | |
1937 | Super-Sleuth | Mary Strand | |
1937 | Danger – Love at Work | Toni Pemberton | |
1937 | There Goes the Groom | Betty Russell | |
1937 | She's Got Everything
|
Carol Rogers | |
1938 | Trade Winds
|
Jean Livingstone | |
1939 | Maisie | Maisie Ravier / Mary Anastasia O'Connor | |
1939 | Hotel for Women | Eileen Connelly | |
1939 | Fast and Furious | Garda Sloane | |
1939 | Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President | Ethel Turp | |
1940 | Congo Maisie | Maisie Ravier | |
1940 | Brother Orchid | Florence Addams | |
1940 | Gold Rush Maisie | Maisie Ravier | |
1940 | Dulcy | Dulcy Ward | |
1941 | Maisie Was a Lady | Maisie Ravier | |
1941 | Ringside Maisie | Maisie Ravier | |
1941 | Lady Be Good | Dixie Donegan Crane | |
1942 | Maisie Gets Her Man | Maisie Ravier | |
1942 | Panama Hattie | Hattie Maloney | |
1943 | You, John Jones! | Mary Jones | Short |
1943 | Three Hearts for Julia | Julia Seabrook | |
1943 | Swing Shift Maisie | Maisie Ravier | |
1943 | Cry "Havoc" | Pat | |
1944 | Maisie Goes to Reno | Maisie Ravier | |
1946 | Up Goes Maisie | Maisie Ravier | |
1947 | Undercover Maisie | Maisie Ravier | |
1948 | April Showers | June Tyme | |
1948 | Words and Music | Joyce Harmon | |
1948 | The Judge Steps Out | Peggy | |
1949 | A Letter to Three Wives | Rita Phipps | |
1950 | Nancy Goes to Rio | Frances Elliott | |
1950 | Shadow on the Wall | Dell Faring | |
1953 | The Blue Gardenia | Crystal Carpenter | |
1964 | The Best Man | Sue Ellen Gamadge | |
1964 | Lady in a Cage | Sade | |
1965 | Sylvia | Mrs. Argona / Grace Argona | |
1968 | Chubasco | Angela | |
1969 | The Greatest Mother of Them All | Dolly Murdock | |
1973 | The Killing Kind | Thelma Lambert | |
1974 | Golden Needles | Fenzie | Alternative title: The Chase for the Golden Needles |
1975 | Crazy Mama | Sheba Stokes | |
1978 | The Manitou | Mrs. Karmann | |
1979 | The Little Dragons | Angel | |
1987 | The Whales of August | Tisha Doughty | Nominated Academy Award for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Final Film Role |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1952 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Episode: "Lady with a Will" | |
1952 | All Star Revue
|
Guest Comedic Actress | Episode #2.24 |
1953 | The Red Skelton Hour | Daisy June | Segment: "Flugelmeyer's Secret Formula" |
1953–1957 | Private Secretary | Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara | 104 episodes |
1954 | Lady in the Dark | Liza Elliot | Television special |
1955 | The Buick-Berle Show | Flora Sibley | Episode: "State of Confusion" |
1955 | The Loretta Young Show | Guest Hostess | Episode: "Man in the Ring" |
1957 | The Ford Television Theatre | Christine Emerson | Episode: "With No Regrets" |
1957 | The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour | Susie MacNamara | Episode: "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana" |
1958 | The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | Comedian-Mr & Mrs IQ | Episode: "From Hollywood: The Photoplay Movie Awards" |
1958–1961 | The Ann Sothern Show | Katy O'Connor | 93 episodes |
1959 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Martha | Episode: "Night Out" |
1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Helen Cox | Episode: "Water's Edge" |
1964–1969 | Insight | Fran Henderson/The Actress | Episodes: "Boss Toad" and "Is The 11:59 Late This Year?" |
1965 | The Lucy Show | Rosie Harrigan, the Countess Framboise | 7 episodes |
1965 | The Legend of Jesse James | Widow Fay | Episode: "The Widow Fay" |
1965–1966 | My Mother the Car | Gladys Crabtree | Voice, 30 episodes |
1967 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Aunt Magda | Episode: "The Carpathian Killer Affair" |
1967 | The Outsider | Mrs. Kozzek | Television film |
1968 | Family Affair | Florence Cahill | Episode: "A Man's Place" |
1969 | Love, American Style | Mrs. Devlin | Segment: "Love and the Bachelor" |
1971 | The Virginian | Della Spencer | Episode: "The Legacy of Spencer Flats" |
1971 | The Chicago Teddy Bears | Episode: "The Rivalry" | |
1971 | Alias Smith and Jones | Blackjack Jenny | Episode: "Everything Else You Can Steal" |
1972 | Fol-de-Rol | Queen Gertrude | Television special |
1975 | Medical Story | Mrs. Metulski | Episode: "The Moonlight Heater" |
1976 | Captains and the Kings | Mrs. Finch | Miniseries |
1985 | A Letter to Three Wives | Ma Finney | Television film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1945 | Old Gold Comedy Theatre | Episode: "Boy Meets Girl"[35] | |
1952 | The Screen Guild Theater | Episode: "Bachelor Mother"[36] |
Stage work
- Smiles (1930)
- America's Sweetheart (1931)
- Everybody's Welcome (1931)
- Of Thee I Sing (1932–1933)
- Faithfully Yours (1951)
- God Bless Our Bank (1963)
- The Solid Gold Cadillac (1965; 1974)
- The Glass Menagerie (1966)
- Gypsy(1967)
- Glad Tidings (1967–1968)
- Mame (1968)
- My Daughter, Your Son (1970)
- Barefoot in the Park (1970)
- Butterflies Are Free (1970–1971; 1972)
- Personal Appearance (1971)
- Everybody Loves Opal (1974)
- The Duchess of Pasadena (1978)
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Title of work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Academy Award
|
Best Supporting Actress | The Whales of August | Nominated |
1959 | Golden Globe Award
|
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | The Ann Sothern Show | Won |
1964 | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | The Best Man | Nominated | |
1988 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Female | The Whales of August | Nominated |
1955 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series | Private Secretary | Nominated |
1956 | Best Comedienne | Nominated | ||
1956 | Best Actress – Continuing Performance | Private Secretary | Nominated | |
1957 | Best Continuing Performance by a Comedienne in a Series | Nominated | ||
1959 | Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Comedy Series | The Ann Sothern Show | Nominated | |
2005 | TV Land Awards
|
Favorite Heard But Not Seen Character | My Mother the Car | Nominated |
Further reading
- Briggs, Colin. Cordially Yours, Ann Sothern. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2006.
References
- ISBN 978-0-521-51969-4.
- ^ Karol (2006), p. 28
- ^ Curland, Richard (March 5, 2016). "HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Actor Eddie Albert's career included performance at Norwich Summer Theater". The Norwich Bulletin. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ "Maisie of the Movies Not the Real Ann Sothern". The Milwaukee Journal. May 4, 1945. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ (Schultz 1990, p. 2)
- ^ (Schultz 1990, pp. 2–3)
- ^ a b "Ann Sothern: TV's lovable comedienne". The Modesto Bee. January 18, 1959. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ "The New Pictures". Time. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008.
- ^ Parsons, Louella O. (March 11, 1941). "'Down to Earth Gal' Role Next for Barbara Stanwyck". The Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 14. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^ Films in Review. Vol. XXXIX. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. March 1988. p. 135.
- ISBN 978-0-306-80730-5.
- ^ (Fordin 1996, p. 55)
- ^ a b "Ann Sothern Has Had Four Careers". Calgary Herald. March 12, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ "Ann Sothern - Awards". IMDb.
- ^ a b Graham, Sheilah (May 11, 1958). "Ann Sothern Strikes It Rich". The Miami News. p. 18. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ Graham, Sheilah (February 5, 1957). "Ann Sothern Sues For TV Profits". TimesDaily. Florence, Alabama. p. 7. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^ (Schultz 1990, p. 165)
- ^ (Becker 2008, p. 165)
- ^ (Schultz 1990, p. 12)
- ^ Doan, Richard (January 25, 1965). "Ann Sothern To Join Lucy Ball?". The Toledo Blade. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ Kleiner, Dick (March 13, 1974). "Golden Era Star Ann Sothern Busy". Sarasota Journal. p. 8–C. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "Pert Ann Sothern returns to the stage". Boca Raton News. September 10, 1978. p. 8B. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ "Sothern exposure: Ann's up for Oscar". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. April 6, 1988. p. C2. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ "Hollywood Day by Day". Calgary Herald. March 4, 1955. p. 16. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ (Schultz 1990, pp. 10–11)
- The Vancouver Sun. September 28, 1936. p. 5. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ "Roger Pryor Is Sued for Divorce". St. Petersburg Times. April 15, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ "Ann Sothern Elopes To Marry Robert Stirling". Eugene Register-Guard. May 22, 1943. p. 2. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ "Ann Sothern Obtains Divorce Decree From Second Actor Husband". The Modesto Bee. March 8, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ (Schultz 1990, p. 9)
- ^ a b c Harmetz, Aljean (October 11, 1987). "Ann Sothern Dauntless". The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ a b Thomas, Bob (March 17, 2001). "TV's 'Private Secretary' Ann Sothern dies at 92". Times Daily. p. 3A. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7. Retrieved May 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
- ^ Woo, Elaine (March 17, 2001). "Hollywood Star Walk: Ann Sothern". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ "Those Were The Days". Nostalgia Digest. Vol. 40, no. 1. Winter 2014. pp. 32–39.
Sources
- Schultz, Margie (1990). Ann Sothern: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-26463-4.
- Karol, Michael (2006). Sitcom Queens: Divas of the Small Screen. ISBN 978-0-595-40251-9.
- Briggs, Colin (2006). Cordially Yours, Ann Sothern. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-060-8.
- Becker, Christine (2008). It's the Pictures That Got Small: Hollywood Film Stars on 1950s Television. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0-8195-6893-9.