Ann Sothern
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Ann Sothern (January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American film actress.
Born Harriette Arlene Lake in Valley City, North Dakota, Sothern began her film career as an extra in silent films in 1927. During 1929 and 1930, she appeared as a chorus girl in such films as The Show of Shows and Whoopee! (as one of the "Goldwyn Girls"). In 1934 she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures but after two years the studio released her from this contract, and she was signed by RKO Pictures in 1936. After a string of films that failed to attract an audience, Sothern left RKO and was signed to MGM, making her first film for them in 1939.
In a role originally intended for Jean Harlow, Sothern was cast as "Maisie", a bold, brassy but somewhat scatter-brained showgirl who was also an amateur detective. After years of trying, Sothern had her first real success, and a string of "Maisie" film sequels and radio plays took her through to the late forties. She appeared in A Letter to Three Wives in (1949) and the film earned her excellent reviews, but did not stimulate her career.
By the fifties she was rarely seen in films and was appearing regularly in television. She was the lead in the series Private Secretary from 1953 until 1957, and The Ann Sothern Show from 1958 until 1959. Both programs were very successful and earned Sothern four Emmy Award nominations, but a bout of hepatitis had left her with a bloated and overweight appearance, and she preferred not to be seen. In 1965 she was heard as the voice of the car in the campy series My Mother The Car.
She resumed working sporadically on television until the mid 1980s, including a television remake of her earlier success A Letter To Three Wives. Her final film role was in The Whales of August in 1987. Her role as the neighbour of elderly sisters, played by Lillian Gish and Bette Davis, with romantic interest provided by Vincent Price, brought Sothern an Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination.
She retired from acting, and died at her home in Ketchum, Idaho from heart failure.
She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - for Motion Pictures, at 1612 Vine St, and for Television, at 1634 Vine St.
Filmography
- Broadway Nights (1927)
- Hearts in Exile (1929)
- The Show of Shows (1929)
- Song of the West (1930)
- Hold Everything (1930)
- Doughboys (1930)
- Whoopee! (1930)
- Footlight Parade (1933)
- Broadway Through a Keyhole (1933)
- Let's Fall in Love (1933)
- Melody in Spring (1934)
- The Hell Cat (1934)
- The Party's Over (1934)
- Blind Date (1934)
- Kid Millions (1934)
- Folies-Bergere de Paris (1935)
- Eight Bells (1935)
- Hooray for Love (1935)
- The Girl Friend (1935)
- Grand Exit (1935)
- You May Be Next (1936)
- Hell-Ship Morgan (1936)
- Don't Gamble with Love (1936)
- My American Wife (1936)
- Walking on Air (1936)
- Smartest Girl in Town (1936)
- Dangerous Number (1937)
- There Goes My Girl (1937)
- Fifty Races to Town (1937)
- Super-Sleuth (1937)
- Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) (Cameo)
- There Goes the Groom (1937)
- She's Got Everything (1937)
- Trade Winds (1938)
- Maisie (1939)
- Hotel for Women (1939)
- Fast and Furious (1939)
- Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939)
- Congo Maisie (1940)
- Brother Orchid (1940)
- Gold Rush Maisie (1940)
- Dulcy (1940)
- Maisie Was a Lady (1941)
- Ringside Maisie (1941)
- Lady Be Good (1941)
- Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)
- Panama Hattie (1942)
- You, John Jones (1943) (short subject)
- Three Hearts for Julia (1943)
- Thousands Cheer (1943)
- Swing Shift Maisie (1943)
- Cry 'Havoc' (1943)
- Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)
- Up Goes Maisie (1946)
- Undercover Maisie (1947)
- April Showers (1948)
- Words and Music (1948)
- A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
- The Judge Steps Out (1949)
- Tension (1950) (appears on magazine cover)
- Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
- Shadow on the Wall (1950)
- The Blue Gardenia (1953)
- The Best Man (1964)
- Lady in a Cage (1964)
- Sylvia (1965)
- Chubasco (1968)
- The Killing Kind (1973)
- Golden Needles (1974)
- Crazy Mama (1975)
- The Manitou (1978)
- The Little Dragons (1980)
- The Whales of August (1987)