Ann Sothern

 ( 1909 Births ) 

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).

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 Academy Awards 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."Karol (2006), p. 28

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Early life 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.

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.

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Career

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Early years 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.

On Broadway in 1931, she had leading roles in America's Sweetheart and Everybody's Welcome.

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Film and radio 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. 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; 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". 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. When Sothern rejected the revised script MGM decided to cast Lucille Ball (Sothern's best friend in real life). 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.

While the film received mediocre to poor reviews, it was a smash box office hit with audiences.

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.

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Television By the early 1950s, Sothern was appearing only in supporting roles, in such films as the film noir crime drama The Blue Gardenia (1953). In need of money due to her mounting medical bills she turned to television. In 1953, she was cast as the lead in the series Private Secretary. Sothern portrayed Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara, a secretary working for New York City talent agent Peter Sands (Don Porter). The series aired on CBS on alternate weeks with The Jack Benny Program. Private Secretary was a hit with audiences, routinely placing in the top 10, and Sothern was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role on the series three times. In 1957, Private Secretary was renewed for a fifth season, but Sothern left the series after she had what she later described as a "violent fight" with producer Jack Chertok over profits from the series. Sothern owned 42% of the show and later sued Chertok for $93,000 in back profits from the series.

She returned to television the following year in The Ann Sothern Show. Sothern starred as Kathleen "Katy" O'Connor, the assistant manager at the fictitious Bartley House Hotel. The series originally co-starred Ernest Truex as Katy's timid boss Jason Macauley, who was routinely outshone by Katy, and bullied by his domineering wife Flora (Reta Shaw). Ratings for the series were weak, and after 23 episodes the show was retooled. Sothern's co-star from Private Secretary, Don Porter, signed on as Katy's boss James Devery. The addition of Porter added romantic tension to the series and helped to improve ratings. In 1959, the series won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. During the series' second season, Jesse White, who also starred in Private Secretary, joined the cast. Ratings for the series remained solid until CBS moved The Ann Sothern Show to Thursdays for its third season. Scheduled opposite the ABC series The Untouchables, ratings dropped substantially and The Ann Sothern Show was canceled in 1961.

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Later years

After The Ann Sothern Show ended, she returned to films in the political drama The Best Man (1964), opposite Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her work in the film. That same year, she portrayed a prostitute in the psychological thriller Lady in a Cage, starring Olivia de Havilland. In 1965, she had a recurring role on her friend Lucille Ball's The Lucy Show as the "Countess Framboise" (née Rosie Harrigan). After Ball's long-time co-star Vivian Vance announced plans to leave the show, the press speculated that Sothern would be Vance's replacement. Sothern denied the rumors and, ultimately, the series continued without Vance or Sothern.

In 1965, Sothern co-starred in the TV comedy series My Mother the Car, opposite Jerry Van Dyke. Van Dyke played a struggling lawyer and family man who discovers a dilapidated, vintage 1928 automobile in a used-car lot. The antique auto speaks to him — in Ann Sothern's voice. It seems the car is the reincarnation of Van Dyke's mother. Van Dyke restores the car to its original condition and takes it home, where it bemuses his family and becomes the envy of a zealous collector. Sothern was never seen in the series; only her voice was heard, reacting tartly to zany happenings around her.

She continued the rest of the 1960s working in guest roles in television and the occasional film role. In an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode, entitled "Water's Edge", Sothern turned in a most impressive performance. In 1972, Sothern appeared in the Sid and Marty Krofft television special Fol-de-Rol. The next year, she played the domineering mother of a homicidal son in psychological horror film The Killing Kind. In 1974, she traveled to Hong Kong to shoot the martial arts film Golden Needles. She played the role of Fenzie, a mahjong parlor owner. Sothern's next role was in the 1975 action comedy film Crazy Mama starring Cloris Leachman. For the rest of the decade, health problems forced her to cut back on her career. She worked sporadically in television and in stage productions, including a small role in the horror film The Manitou with Tony Curtis (1978).

Sothern returned to television in 1985 in the role of "Ma Finney" in an adaptation of one of her old films, A Letter to Three Wives. Sothern's final film was The Whales of August in 1987. Her role as the neighbor of elderly sisters, played by Lillian Gish and Bette Davis, earned her the only Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination of her career. After filming, Sothern retired from acting and moved to Ketchum, Idaho, where she spent her remaining years.

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Other ventures

Over the course of her career, Sothern also managed several businesses and production companies. In the 1950s, she opened the Ann Sothern Sewing Center in Sun Valley, Idaho, which sold fabric, patterns, and sewing machines. She also owned a cattle ranch in Idaho named the A Bar S Cattle Company. Sothern owned Vincent Productions, Inc. (named for Sothern's patron saint Vincent de Paul) which produced her first series Private Secretary, and Anso Productions which produced The Ann Sothern Show.

In addition to acting, Sothern pursued a musical career. During her hiatus from Private Secretary in 1954, she starred in her own nightclub act featured in clubs in Reno, Las Vegas, and Chicago. In the late 1950s, she formed the A Bar S Music Company and released Sothern Exposure, her first album in 1958.

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Personal life

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Marriages and child

Sothern married actor and band leader Roger Pryor in September 1936. They separated in September 1941 and Sothern filed for divorce in April 1942, charging Pryor with mental cruelty. Their divorce became final in May 1943. Less than a week after her divorce from Pryor she married actor Robert Sterling. The couple had one daughter, Tisha Sterling, before divorcing in March 1949.

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Health problems

Shortly after filming A Letter to Three Wives Sothern contracted infectious hepatitis after getting an impure serum shot while she was in England for a stage performance. She was confined to her bed where she continued to work on the Maisie radio program while she recuperated. Sothern later said that her illness had restored her faith. With the help of friend Richard Egan she converted to Roman Catholicism in 1952.

In 1974 Sothern was injured while appearing in a Jacksonville, Florida, stock production of Everybody Loves Opal when a prop tree fell on her back. The accident left her with a fractured lumbar vertebra and damaged nerves in her legs. Her injuries required hospitalizations where she was put in traction. She was also required to wear back braces. Due to her forced inactivity Sothern gained a considerable amount of weight. In addition to her physical pain Sothern also developed depression. Sothern credited her "optimistic belief" and Roman Catholic faith for getting her through. For the remainder of her life Sothern experienced numbness in her feet and required a cane to walk.

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Death

On March 15, 2001, Sothern died from heart failure at her home in Ketchum at the age of 92. She was buried in Ketchum Cemetery.

Scott Wilson (2016). 9781476625997, McFarland. . ISBN 9781476625997

Sothern has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for motion pictures, found at 1612 Vine Street; and television, at 1634 Vine Street.

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Filmography

+ Film
1927	Broadway Nights	Fan dancer	Uncredited
1929	The Show of Shows	Performer ("Meet My Sister" & "Daisy Bell")	Credited as Harriet Byron
1930	The March of Time	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
1930	Song of the West	Bit part	Credited as Harriet Lake
1930	Good News	Student	Uncredited
1930	Doughboys	Chorine	Uncredited
1930	Whoopee!	Goldwyn Girl	Uncredited
1933	Footlight Parade	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
1933	Broadway Through a Keyhole	Chorine	Uncredited
1933	Let's Fall in Love	Jean Kendall
1934	Melody in Spring	Jane Blodgett
1934	The Hell Cat	Geraldine Sloane
1934	Blind Date	Kitty Taylor
1934	The Party's Over	Lucky Dubarry
1934	Kid Millions	Joan Larrabee
1935	Folies Bergère de Paris	Mimi
1935	Eight Bells	Marge Walker
1935	Hooray for Love	Patricia "Pat" Thatcher
1935	The Girl Friend	Linda Henry
1935	Grand Exit	Adrienne Martin / Adeline Maxwell
1936	You May Be Next	Fay Stevens
1936	Hell-Ship Morgan	Mary Taylor
1936	Don't Gamble with Love	Ann Edwards
1936	My American Wife	Mary Cantillon
1936	Walking on Air	Kit Bennett
1936	Smartest Girl in Town	Frances "Cookie" Cooke
1937	Dangerous Number	Eleanor
1937	There Goes My Girl	Reporter Connie Taylor
1937	Fifty Roads to Town	Millicent Kendall
1937	Super-Sleuth	Mary Strand
1937	Danger – Love at Work	Toni Pemberton
1937	There Goes the Groom	Betty Russell
1937	She's Got Everything	Carol Rogers
1938	Trade Winds	Jean Livingstone
1939	Maisie	Maisie Ravier / Mary Anastasia O'Connor
1939	Hotel for Women	Eileen Connelly
1939	Fast and Furious	Garda Sloane
1939	Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President	Ethel Turp
1940	Congo Maisie	Maisie Ravier
1940	Brother Orchid	Florence Addams
1940	Gold Rush Maisie	Maisie Ravier
1940	Dulcy	Dulcy Ward
1941	Maisie Was a Lady	Maisie Ravier
1941	Ringside Maisie	Maisie Ravier
1941	Lady Be Good	Dixie Donegan Crane
1942	Maisie Gets Her Man	Maisie Ravier
1942	Panama Hattie	Hattie Maloney
1943	You, John Jones!	Mary Jones	Short
1943	Three Hearts for Julia	Julia Seabrook
1943	Swing Shift Maisie	Maisie Ravier
1943	Cry "Havoc"	Pat
1944	Maisie Goes to Reno	Maisie Ravier
1946	Up Goes Maisie	Maisie Ravier
1947	Undercover Maisie	Maisie Ravier
1948	April Showers	June Tyme
1948	Words and Music	Joyce Harmon
1948	The Judge Steps Out	Peggy
1949	A Letter to Three Wives	Rita Phipps
1950	Nancy Goes to Rio	Frances Elliott
1950	Shadow on the Wall	Dell Faring
1953	The Blue Gardenia	Crystal Carpenter
1964	The Best Man	Sue Ellen Gamadge
1964	Lady in a Cage	Sade
1965	Sylvia	Mrs. Argona / Grace Argona
1968	Chubasco	Angela
1969	The Greatest Mother of Them All	Dolly Murdock
1973	The Killing Kind	Thelma Lambert
1974	Golden Needles	Fenzie	Alternative title: The Chase for the Golden Needles
1975	Crazy Mama	Sheba Stokes
1978	The Manitou	Mrs. Karmann
1979	The Little Dragons	Angel
1987	The Whales of August	Tisha Doughty	Nominated Academy Award for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Final Film Role

+ Television
1952	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars		Episode: "Lady with a Will"
1952	All Star Revue	Guest Comedic Actress	Episode #2.24
1953	The Red Skelton Hour	Daisy June	Segment: "Flugelmeyer's Secret Formula"
1953–1957	Private Secretary	Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara	104 episodes
1954	Lady in the Dark	Liza Elliot	Television special
1955	The Buick-Berle Show	Flora Sibley	Episode: "State of Confusion"
1955	The Loretta Young Show	Guest Hostess	Episode: "Man in the Ring"
1957	The Ford Television Theatre	Christine Emerson	Episode: "With No Regrets"
1957	The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour	Susie MacNamara	Episode: "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana"
1958	The Steve Allen Plymouth Show	Comedian-Mr & Mrs IQ	Episode: "From Hollywood: The Photoplay Movie Awards"
1958–1961	The Ann Sothern Show	Katy O'Connor	93 episodes
1959	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Martha	Episode: "Night Out"
1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Helen Cox	Episode: "Water's Edge"
1964–1969	Insight	Fran Henderson/The Actress	Episodes: "Boss Toad" and "Is The 11:59 Late This Year?"
1965	The Lucy Show	Rosie Harrigan, the Countess Framboise	7 episodes
1965	The Legend of Jesse James	Widow Fay	Episode: "The Widow Fay"
1965–1966	My Mother the Car	Gladys Crabtree	Voice, 30 episodes
1967	The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.	Aunt Magda	Episode: "The Carpathian Killer Affair"
1967	The Outsider	Mrs. Kozzek	Television film
1968	Family Affair	Florence Cahill	Episode: "A Man's Place"
1969	Love, American Style	Mrs. Devlin	Segment: "Love and the Bachelor"
1971	The Virginian	Della Spencer	Episode: "The Legacy of Spencer Flats"
1971	The Chicago Teddy Bears		Episode: "The Rivalry"
1971	Alias Smith and Jones	Blackjack Jenny	Episode: "Everything Else You Can Steal"
1972	Fol-de-Rol	Queen Gertrude	Television special
1975	Medical Story	Mrs. Metulski	Episode: "The Moonlight Heater"
1976	Captains and the Kings	Mrs. Finch	Miniseries
1985	A Letter to Three Wives	Ma Finney	Television film

+ Radio
Episode: "Boy Meets Girl"
1952	The Screen Guild Theater		Episode: "Bachelor Mother"

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Stage work

• Smiles (1930)
• America's Sweetheart (1931)
• Everybody's Welcome (1931)
• Of Thee I Sing (1932–1933)
• Faithfully Yours (1951)
• God Bless Our Bank (1963)
• The Solid Gold Cadillac (1965; 1974)
• The Glass Menagerie (1966)
• (1967)
• Glad Tidings (1967–1968)
• Mame (1968)
• My Daughter, Your Son (1970)
• Barefoot in the Park (1970)
• Butterflies Are Free (1970–1971; 1972)
• Personal Appearance (1971)
• Everybody Loves Opal (1974)
• The Duchess of Pasadena (1978)

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Awards and nominations

1987	Academy Award	Best Supporting Actress	The Whales of August
1959	Golden Globe Award	Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy	The Ann Sothern Show
1964		Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	The Best Man
1988	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female	The Whales of August
1955	Primetime Emmy Awards	Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series	Private Secretary
1956		Best Comedienne
1956		Best Actress – Continuing Performance	Private Secretary
1957		Best Continuing Performance by a Comedienne in a Series
1959		Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Comedy Series	The Ann Sothern Show
2005	TV Land Awards	Favorite Heard But Not Seen Character	My Mother the Car

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Further reading

• Briggs, Colin. Cordially Yours, Ann Sothern. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2006.

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Sources

• Margie Schultz (1990). 9780313264634, Greenwood Publishing Group. . ISBN 9780313264634
• Michael Karol (2025). 9780595402519, iUniverse. ISBN 9780595402519
• Colin Briggs (2025). 9781593930608, BearManor Media. . ISBN 9781593930608
• Christine Becker (2025). 9780819568939, Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 9780819568939

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External links

• Movie Magazine International: Ann Sothern
• Ann Sothern fan page
• Ann Sothern in Glad Tidings, 1968. Little Theatre on the Square, Sullivan, Illinois.

Categories: 1909 Births, 2001 Deaths, 20th-century American Actresses, 20th-century American Businesspeople, Actresses From Minnesota, Actresses From North Dakota, American Film Actresses, American Television Actresses, American Radio Actresses, American Silent Film Actresses, American Stage Actresses, American Women Comedians, Converts To Roman Catholicism, Metro-goldwyn-mayer Contract Players, Columbia Pictures Contract Players, People From Valley City, North Dakota, American People Of Danish Descent, Actresses From Minneapolis, Traditional Pop Music Singers, University Of Washington Alumni, 20th-century American Singers, California Republicans, Idaho Republicans, People From Ketchum, Idaho, 20th-century American Women Singers, Catholics From Idaho, Catholics From North Dakota, 20th-century American Businesswomen, Central High School Alumni, Comedians From North Dakota, Comedians From Minneapolis, Pseudonymous Actors, Pseudonymous Comedians

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