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Pitts was given her curious cognomen
because she was named for two aunts, Eliza
and Susan. Born in Cherryvale, Kansas,
Pitts moved with her family to California,
where at age 19 she began her film career.
Her first starring role was as an ugly
duckling who finds true love in 1919's Better
Times. Her calculated vagueness and fluttery
hand gestures earned Pitts comedy roles
from the outset, but director Erich von
Stroheim saw dramatic potential in the
young actress: He cast her as the grasping,
money-mad wife in his masterpiece Greed
(1924), and she rose to the occasion with a
searing performance.
Except for a couple of later collaborations
with Von Stroheim, Pitts returned to
predominately comic assignments after
Greed. One exception was her portrayal of
Lew Ayres' ailing mother in the
Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western
Front (1930), a brilliant piece of work that
unfortunately fell victim to the editors'
scissors when a preview audience,
conditioned to Ms. Pitts' comedy roles,
broke out in loud laughter when she came
onscreen (she was replaced by Beryl Mercer
in the domestic version of All Quiet, though
reportedly her scenes were retained for some
European versions).
Established as a top character comedienne
by the 1930s (her oft-imitated catchphrase
was "Oh, dear, oh my"), Pitts co-starred
with Thelma Todd in a series of Hal Roach
two-reelers, was top-billed in such feature
programmers as Out All Night (1933) and
The Plot Thickens (1935), and showed up in
select character roles in A-pictures. During
the 1940s and 1950s, she toured in
Ramshackle Inn, a play written especially for
her by George Batson. From 1956 through
1960, Pitts played Elvira "Nugey" Nugent on
the popular Gale Storm TV sitcom Oh,
Susanna.
ZaSu Pitts died in 1963, shortly after
completing her final film appearance in It's a
Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) and just
a few days after her last TV guest
assignment on Burke's Law.
Her room features a queen bed, Simmons
mattress, armoire, 27" TV, VCR and DVD
player, refrigerator, microwave, coffee,
green tea, hot chocolate, microwave
popcorn, bottled water, Andes chocolates,
private bathroom with shower, and all the
other standard features of our Suites.
This room rents for $59 per night with a
10% discount for AAA and AARP members.
If you stay for 6 nights, the 7th night is free.
Extended stays are welcome.
