Biography

Ann Sothern

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Overview

Born
January 22, 1909 · Valley City, North Dakota, USA
Died
March 15, 2001 · Ketchum, Idaho, USA (heart failure)
Birth name
Harriette Arlene Lake
Height
5′ 1½″ (1.56 m)

Biography

Ann Sothern's film career started as an extra in 1927. Originally a redhead, she began to bleach her hair blonde for comedy roles. 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).
- IMDb mini biography by: Tony Fontana < tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
Ann Sothern was born Harriette Arlene Lake on January 22,1909 in Valley City, North Dakota. Her film career started in 1927 as an extra-bit part in the film Broadway Nights (1927). She worked as an extra for the next six years. It barely paid the bills. A singer in her early career, she sang with Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, among others. She was also a published songwriter and recorded two albums. Finally, she got a break with Columbia Pictures when they signed her to a contract in 1934. Her first role for Columbia was in the film The Party's Over (1934). The work was getting better and a bit more lucrative as Sothern would be in 11 movies in 1934 and 1935.

She was dropped by Columbia in 1936 and she signed with RKO Pictures. With RKO, she played in a number of forgettable productions such as Dangerous Number (1937) and She's Got Everything (1937). Sothern left RKO two years later and played Jean Livingstone in Trade Winds (1938) which landed her a contract with MGM. In 1939, Sothern starred in Maisie (1939) which would turn into a series of ten films with the last being Undercover Maisie (1947) in 1947. In between, she starred in such movies as Dulcy (1940), Thousands Cheer (1943) and Three Hearts for Julia (1943).

During the 1950s, she played in only four films. By this time, however, Sothern had turned to the relatively new medium--television, where she would attract legions of new fans. In 1953, Ann played the role of Susie in Private Secretary (1953), which ran until 1957. The quality and comedy was quite good, but, unfortunately, it doesn't run anywhere in syndicated reruns. In 1958, she starred in The Ann Sothern Show (1958), as Katy O'Connor, which ran until 1961. In 1965, she would be the voice in My Mother the Car (1965). This was a story about a man (Jerry Van Dyke) who bought a 1928 Porter and, lo and behold, it was "Mom". Sothern was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Tisha Doughty in her last film, The Whales of August (1987) (1987). After, she lived in quiet retirement in Ketcham, Idaho near her daughter and granddaughter, until her death at 92.
- IMDb mini biography by: Denny Jackson

Family

Spouses
Children
Parents

Trivia

Her paternal grandfather, Simon Lake, was the inventor of the modern submarine. Her sister Marion was once a secretary to columnist Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby"). Her mother, Annette, was a concert singer who traveled; Ann followed suit studying singing and musical composition. In later years, her mother became a diction and vocal coach and taught microphone technique for talking pictures.
In her role as Susie McNamara on Private Secretary (1953) (which ran 1953-1958), Sothern played the first working woman on an American sitcom.
Good friends with Lucille Ball and Ann Dvorak, both of whom she met while working as a chorus girl (Ball at the Goldwyn Studios, Dvorak at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Among her numerous business interests were a dress shop and gift shop in Idaho, a ranch for breeding Black Angus beef, a music publishing company and a sewing-center shop.
She replaced Jean Harlow in Maisie (1939) after the actress' unexpected death.

Quotes

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 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.
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.
[on 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.
Listen, I never asked to be in show business. It was my mother's idea.