Ann Sothern
Birthday:
22 January 1909, Valley City, North Dakota, USA
Birth Name:
Harriette Arlene Lake
Height:
156 cm
Ann Sothern's film career started as an extra in 1927. Originally a redhead, for the comedy roles she began to get she bleached her hair blond. After working at MGM and on Broadway, Ann was signed by Columbia Pictures for Let's Fall in Love (1933). The next year she would work with Eddie Cantor in his hit Kid Millions (1934). For the next...
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Ann Sothern's film career started as an extra in 1927. Originally a redhead, for the comedy roles she began to get she bleached her hair blond. After working at MGM and on Broadway, Ann was signed by Columbia Pictures for Let's Fall in Love (1933). The next year she would work with Eddie Cantor in his hit Kid Millions (1934). For the next two years, Ann would appear in a number of "B" pictures until she was dropped by Columbia in 1936. She then went to RKO, where the quality of her films did not improve. She appeared in a series of "B' pictures movies with Gene Raymond, but her career was going nowhere. In 1938 she left RKO and played the tart in Trade Winds (1938), which got her a contract at MGM. She was given the lead in a "B" comedy about a brassy, energetic showgirl not salesgirl--originally intended for Jean Harlow--that wound up becoming a huge hit and spawned a series of sequels that ran until 1947: Maisie (1939). Ann also appeared in such well received features as Brother Orchid (1940), Cry 'Havoc' (1943) and A Letter to Three Wives (1949). After 1950 the roles dried up and Ann turned to television and another hit series, playing the meddlesome Susie in the 1953 series Private Secretary (1953). The series was canceled in 1957 and Ann came back in The Ann Sothern Show (1958), which ran from 1958 to 1961. In 1965, she would be the voice of the 1928 Porter in the camp classic My Mother the Car (1965). While the 1970s and 1980s were relatively quiet for Ann, she would be nominated for an Academy Award for her role as the neighbor of Lillian Gish and Bette Davis in The Whales of August (1987). Show less «
Good night . . . and stay happy.
Good night . . . and stay happy.
Hollywood sold its stars on good looks and personality build-ups. We weren't really actresses in the true sense. We were just big names--the...Show more »
Hollywood sold its stars on good looks and personality build-ups. We weren't really actresses in the true sense. We were just big names--the products of a good publicity department. Today's crop of actresses and actors have real talent. Good looks are no longer an essential part of the business. Show less «
Sometimes I'll watch an old movie on television and, once in a while, one of mine -- such as April Showers (1948) -- will come on and I'll w...Show more »
Sometimes I'll watch an old movie on television and, once in a while, one of mine -- such as April Showers (1948) -- will come on and I'll watch it. And you know something? I'm always amazed at what a lousy actress I was. I guess in the old days we just got by on glamour. Show less «
[about her long-time friend Lucille Ball and her second series, The Ann Sothern Show (1958)] Lucy used to complain that she got all the part...Show more »
[about her long-time friend Lucille Ball and her second series, The Ann Sothern Show (1958)] Lucy used to complain that she got all the parts I turned down. Now I produce the show, and she owns the studio. I guess that settles that. Show less «
Listen, I never asked to be in show business. It was my mother's idea.
Listen, I never asked to be in show business. It was my mother's idea.
People never think of me as a singer. But singers aren't always good actresses, and, thank goodness, they think of me as an actress.
People never think of me as a singer. But singers aren't always good actresses, and, thank goodness, they think of me as an actress.
[on her co-stars in The Whales of August (1987)] Lillian [Lillian Gish] is a person first and then a movie star. Bette [Bette Davis] is a mo...Show more »
[on her co-stars in The Whales of August (1987)] Lillian [Lillian Gish] is a person first and then a movie star. Bette [Bette Davis] is a movie star. Show less «
I only like character parts. I never wanted to be a leading woman.
I only like character parts. I never wanted to be a leading woman.
[on her MGM contract years] You didn't have to walk to the set. There was always a limousine. I never thought you stopped making money and g...Show more »
[on her MGM contract years] You didn't have to walk to the set. There was always a limousine. I never thought you stopped making money and grew old. Show less «
Ann Sothern's Photos
Joyce Harmon
