Ann Sothern
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 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).
Ann Sothern
March 15, 2001 (aged 92)
Ketchum Cemetery
Harriet Byron
Harriet Lake
Actress
1927–1987
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 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[edit]
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[edit]
Early years[edit]
While visiting her mother in California, she won a role in the Warner Bros. revue The Show of Shows. She did a screen test for MGM and signed a six-month contract. She appeared in bit parts and walk-on roles, but soon grew frustrated with only appearing in small roles. She then met Florenz Ziegfeld at a party. Ziegfeld offered her a role in one of his productions. When MGM decided not to pick up her option, she moved to New York City to take Ziegfeld up on his offer.[6]
On Broadway in 1931, she had leading roles in America's Sweetheart and Everybody's Welcome.
Film and radio[edit]
In 1934, she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures. Harry Cohn changed her name to Ann Sothern. "Ann" was chosen in honor of her mother and "Sothern" was chosen for Shakespearean actor E. H. Sothern.[7] While at Columbia she mainly appeared in B-movie roles. After two years, the studio released her from her contract. In 1936, she was signed by RKO Radio Pictures and, after a string of films that failed to attract a large enough audience, she left RKO. She signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shortly after leaving RKO.
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 Swing Shift Maisie (1943) by Time magazine praised Sothern and described her as "one of the smartest comediennes in the business".[8] The popularity of the film series led to her own radio program, The Adventures of Maisie, broadcast on CBS from 1945 to 1947, on Mutual Broadcasting System in 1952, and in syndication from 1949 to 1953. Due to her popularity from the Maisie films MGM head Louis B. Mayer paid $80,000 to purchase film rights to the Broadway production of DuBarry Was a Lady especially for Sothern.[9] When Sothern rejected the revised script MGM decided to cast Lucille Ball (Sothern's best friend in real life).[10] Shortly after completing filming of Maisie Gets Her Man in 1942 Sothern was cast in title role in the film version of Panama Hattie (1942), opposite Red Skelton. Panama Hattie had been a hit on Broadway with Ethel Merman in the title role, but was plagued with production problems after MGM attempted to shoot the film version. After a disastrous preview in November 1941, MGM decided to delay release to retool the production. The film's original director was replaced, the script was rewritten, and several scenes were reshot.[11] While the film received mediocre to poor reviews, it was a smash box office hit with audiences.[12]
In 1943, she appeared in a seventh Maisie film Swing Shift Maisie followed by a role in the war drama Cry 'Havoc'. The following year Sothern starred in the eighth Maisie film, Maisie Goes to Reno, before taking time off to have her first child. She returned to the screen in 1946 in Up Goes Maisie, followed by the final Maisie film Undercover Maisie. Sothern appeared in two musical films in 1948, April Showers opposite Jack Carson and Words and Music starring an all-star cast of MGM actors, singers and dancers. In 1949, she appeared in the Academy Award-winning film A Letter to Three Wives for 20th Century Fox. Sothern received excellent reviews for her performance but the acclaim failed to stimulate her career, which had begun to wane in the late 1940s. In 1949, Sothern contracted hepatitis, which she would battle for the next three years. After Sothern became ill, MGM canceled her contract.[13]
Death[edit]
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]