Ann Sothern
Acting • Born 1909-01-22 – Died 2001-03-15
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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, MGM cast her as Maisie Ravier, a brash yet lovable Brooklyn showgirl. The character, based on the Maisie short stories by Nell Martin, proved to be popular and spawned a successful film series (Congo Maisie, Gold Rush Maisie, Up Goes Maisie, etc.) and a network radio series (The Adventures of Maisie). In 1953, Sothern moved into television as the star of her own sitcom Private Secretary. The series aired for five seasons on CBS and earned Sothern three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. In 1958, she starred in another sitcom for CBS, The Ann Sothern Show, which aired for three seasons. From 1965 to 1966, Sothern provided the voice of Gladys Crabtree, the title character in the sitcom My Mother the Car. She continued her career throughout the late 1960s with stage and film appearances and guest-starring roles on television. Due to health issues, she worked sporadically during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987, Sothern appeared in her final film The Whales of August, starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish. Sothern earned her first and only Academy Award 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 called Sothern "the best comedian in the business, bar none."
Filmography
112 credits
The Blue Gardenia
Movie • 1953
Crystal Carpenter
Shadow on the Wall
Movie • 1950
Dell Faring
Brother Orchid
Movie • 1940
Florence 'Flo' Addams
The Manitou
Movie • 1978
Mrs. Karmann
Lady in a Cage
Movie • 1964
Sade
The Best Man
Movie • 1964
Sue Ellen Gamadge
Thousands Cheer
Movie • 1943
Ann Sothern
Lady Be Good
Movie • 1941
Dixie Donegan Crane
A Letter to Three Wives
Movie • 1949
Rita Phipps
The Killing Kind
Movie • 1974
Thelma Lambert
The Whales of August
Movie • 1987
Tisha Doughty
Maisie
Movie • 1939
Maisie Ravier / Mary Anastasia O'Connor
Congo Maisie
Movie • 1940
Maisie Ravier
Grand Exit
Movie • 1935
Adrienne Martin / Adeline Maxwell
Cry 'Havoc'
Movie • 1943
Pat
Swing Shift Maisie
Movie • 1943
Maisie Ravier
Sylvia
Movie • 1965
Mrs. Argona / Grace Argona
Maisie Gets Her Man
Movie • 1942
Maisie Ravier
Crazy Mama
Movie • 1975
Sheba
Panama Hattie
Movie • 1942
Hattie Maloney
Fol-de-Rol
Movie • 1972
Queen Gertrude
Maisie Was a Lady
Movie • 1941
Maisie Ravier
Gold Rush Maisie
Movie • 1940
Maisie Ravier
Ringside Maisie
Movie • 1941
Maisie Ravier
The March of Time
Movie • 1930
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Nancy Goes to Rio
Movie • 1950
Frances Elliott
Danger – Love at Work
Movie • 1937
Antoinette "Toni" Pemberton
April Showers
Movie • 1948
June Tyme
Dulcy
Movie • 1940
Dulcy Ward
Super-Sleuth
Movie • 1937
Mary Strand
Fast and Furious
Movie • 1939
Garda Sloane
The Girl Friend
Movie • 1935
Linda Henry
You May Be Next!
Movie • 1936
Fay Stevens
Trade Winds
Movie • 1938
Jean Livingstone
My American Wife
Movie • 1936
Mary Cantillon
Folies Bergère de Paris
Movie • 1935
Mimi
She's Got Everything
Movie • 1937
Carol Rogers
Hotel for Women
Movie • 1939
Ellen Connelly
Undercover Maisie
Movie • 1947
Maisie Ravier
Up Goes Maisie
Movie • 1946
Maisie Ravier
Maisie Goes to Reno
Movie • 1944
Maisie Ravier
You, John Jones!
Movie • 1943
Mary Jones
Congratulations, It's a Boy!
Movie • 1971
Ethel Gaines
Smartest Girl in Town
Movie • 1936
Frances Cooke
The Little Dragons
Movie • 1980
Angel
The Weekend Nun
Movie • 1972
Mother Bonaventure
There Goes the Groom
Movie • 1937
Bettina Louise "Betty" Russell
Let's Fall in Love
Movie • 1933
Jean
Chubasco
Movie • 1968
Angela
Song of the West
Movie • 1930
Bit Part
The Hell Cat
Movie • 1934
Geraldine Sloane
Blind Date
Movie • 1934
Kitty Taylor
There Goes My Girl
Movie • 1937
Connie Taylor
Walking on Air
Movie • 1936
Kit Bennett
Kid Millions
Movie • 1934
Joan Larrabee
Three Hearts for Julia
Movie • 1943
Julia Seabrook
Words and Music
Movie • 1948
Joyce Harmon
Good News
Movie • 1930
Student
Hooray for Love
Movie • 1935
Patricia Thatcher
Dangerous Number
Movie • 1937
Eleanor
The Judge Steps Out
Movie • 1947
Peggy
Eight Bells
Movie • 1935
Marge Walker
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
Movie • 1933
Singer
A Letter to Three Wives
Movie • 1985
Ma Finney
Whoopee!
Movie • 1930
Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Movie • 1939
Ethel Turp
The Outsider
Movie • 1967
Mrs. Kozzek
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Movie • 1940
Self
The Show of Shows
Movie • 1929
Performer in 'Meet My Sister' & 'Bicycle Built for Two' Numbers (as Harriet Lake)
That's Entertainment! III
Movie • 1994
(archive footage)
Don't Gamble with Love
Movie • 1936
Ann Edwards
Madam Satan
Movie • 1930
Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)
Broadway Nights
Movie • 1927
Showgirl (uncredited)
Melody in Spring
Movie • 1934
Jane Blodgett
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Movie • 1940
Self
Lady in the Dark
Movie • 1954
Liza
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
Twenty Years After
Movie • 1944
(archive footage)
The Party's Over
Movie • 1934
Ruth Walker
Fifty Roads to Town
Movie • 1937
Millicent Kendall
A Death of Innocence
Movie • 1971
Annie La Cossit
Hell-Ship Morgan
Movie • 1936
Mary Taylor
The Great Man's Whiskers
Movie • 1972
Aunt Margaret Bancroft
The Greatest Mother of 'em All
Movie • 1969
Dolly Murdock
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Movie • 1937
Herself
Golden Needles
Movie • 1974
Finzie
Family Affair
TV • 1966
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
TV • 1966
Aunt Magda
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
TV • 1957
Susie MacNamara
The Lucy Show
TV • 1962
Rosie Harrigan
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
Alias Smith and Jones
TV • 1971
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
TV • 1958
My Mother the Car
TV • 1965
Gladys Crabtree
The Chicago Teddy Bears
TV • 1971
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Liz Quiz
Private Secretary
TV • 1953
Susie McNamara
The Ann Sothern Show
TV • 1958
Katy O'Connor
Medical Story
TV • 1975
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self - Guest
The Legend of Jesse James
TV • 1965
Widow Fay
Flying High
TV • 1978
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
TV • 1959
Martha
Letter to Loretta
TV • 1953
Self - Guest Host
The Ford Television Theatre
TV • 1952
Christine Emerson
The Virginian
TV • 1962
Della Spencer
Captains and the Kings
TV • 1976
Mrs. Finch
Love, American Style
TV • 1969
Mrs. Devlin
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self
The Match Game
TV • 1962
Herself
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV • 1962
Helen Cox
MGM Parade
TV • 1955