Cast & creator
Ann Sothern
Best known for The Merv Griffin Show, What's My Line?, Love, American Style
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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, based on the Maisie short stories by Nell Martin, 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 first and only Academy Award 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 called Sothern "the best comedian in the business, bar none."
Also known as: Harriet Byron, Harriette Lake, Joan Larrabee, Foxy McNamara, Ann Southern
86
film credits
26
television credits
112
1927–1994 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (112)
Showing 112 of 112 credits
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Love, American Style
Mrs. Devlin
1969
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Helen Cox
1962
The Virginian
Della Spencer
1962
The Lucy Show
Rosie Harrigan
1962
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest
1956
The Ford Television Theatre
Christine Emerson
1952
Family Affair
1966
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Martha
1959
MGM Parade
1955
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
Aunt Magda
1966
The Match Game
Herself
1962
The Legend of Jesse James
Widow Fay
1965
Flying High
Miss Kirkeby
1978
Letter to Loretta
Self - Guest Host
1953
My Mother the Car
Gladys Crabtree
1965
Medical Story
Mrs. Metulski
1975
Captains and the Kings
Mrs. Finch
1976
Private Secretary
Susie McNamara
1953
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Susie MacNamara
1957
The Ann Sothern Show
Katy O'Connor
1958The Chicago Teddy Bears
1971
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Liz Quiz
1951
A Letter to Three Wives
Rita Phipps
1949
The Manitou
Mrs. Karmann
1978
The Blue Gardenia
Crystal Carpenter
1953
The Best Man
Sue Ellen Gamadge
1964
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1976
Lady in a Cage
Sade
1964
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1994
The Whales of August
Tisha Doughty
1987
Undercover Maisie
Maisie Ravier
1947
Crazy Mama
Sheba
1975
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
1940
Folies Bergère de Paris
Mimi
1935
The Judge Steps Out
Peggy
1947
Words and Music
Joyce Harmon
1948
Ringside Maisie
Maisie Ravier
1941
Super-Sleuth
Mary Strand
1937
Shadow on the Wall
Dell Faring
1950
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Herself
1937
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
1944
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Ethel Turp
1939
The Show of Shows
Performer in 'Meet My Sister' & 'Bicycle Built for Two' Numbers (as Harriet Lake)
1929
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
1940
Thousands Cheer
Ann Sothern
1943
Fast and Furious
Garda Sloane
1939
Danger – Love at Work
Antoinette "Toni" Pemberton
1937
A Death of Innocence
Annie La Cossit
1971
She's Got Everything
Carol Rogers
1937
Three Hearts for Julia
Julia Seabrook
1943
Maisie Goes to Reno
Maisie Ravier
1944
Golden Needles
Finzie
1974
Madam Satan
Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)
1930
Congratulations, It's a Boy!
Ethel Gaines
1971
Nancy Goes to Rio
Frances Elliott
1950
Maisie Was a Lady
Maisie Ravier
1941
The Great Man's Whiskers
Aunt Margaret Bancroft
1972
A Letter to Three Wives
Ma Finney
1985
There Goes My Girl
Connie Taylor
1937
The Party's Over
Ruth Walker
1934
Smartest Girl in Town
Frances Cooke
1936
Maisie Gets Her Man
Maisie Ravier
1942
The Weekend Nun
Mother Bonaventure
1972
Sylvia
Mrs. Argona / Grace Argona
1965
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
Singer
1933
You May Be Next!
Fay Stevens
1936
Lady Be Good
Dixie Donegan Crane
1941
Brother Orchid
Florence 'Flo' Addams
1940
Fol-de-Rol
Queen Gertrude
1972
Dangerous Number
Eleanor
1937
Cry 'Havoc'
Pat
1943
Let's Fall in Love
Jean
1933
Panama Hattie
Hattie Maloney
1942
Don't Gamble with Love
Ann Edwards
1936
Lady in the Dark
Liza
1954
Fifty Roads to Town
Millicent Kendall
1937
There Goes the Groom
Bettina Louise "Betty" Russell
1937
Song of the West
Bit Part
1930
You, John Jones!
Mary Jones
1943
Grand Exit
Adrienne Martin / Adeline Maxwell
1935
The Outsider
Mrs. Kozzek
1967
Trade Winds
Jean Livingstone
1938
Walking on Air
Kit Bennett
1936
Eight Bells
Marge Walker
1935
Kid Millions
Joan Larrabee
1934
The Killing Kind
Thelma Lambert
1974
Blind Date
Kitty Taylor
1934
The March of Time
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930
My American Wife
Mary Cantillon
1936
The Greatest Mother of 'em All
Dolly Murdock
1969
The Little Dragons
Angel
1980
April Showers
June Tyme
1948
Chubasco
Angela
1968
The Hell Cat
Geraldine Sloane
1934
Hooray for Love
Patricia Thatcher
1935
Whoopee!
Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
1930
Gold Rush Maisie
Maisie Ravier
1940
Hotel for Women
Ellen Connelly
1939
The Girl Friend
Linda Henry
1935
Good News
Student
1930
Dulcy
Dulcy Ward
1940
Swing Shift Maisie
Maisie Ravier
1943
Hell-Ship Morgan
Mary Taylor
1936
Melody in Spring
Jane Blodgett
1934
Up Goes Maisie
Maisie Ravier
1946
Maisie
Maisie Ravier / Mary Anastasia O'Connor
1939
Congo Maisie
Maisie Ravier
1940
Broadway Nights
Showgirl (uncredited)
1927