| Full Name | Ann Sothern |
| Net Worth | $300,000 |
| Date Of Birth | January 22, 1909 |
| Died | March 15, 2001, Ketchum, Idaho, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Valley City, North Dakota, USA |
| Height | 1.56 m |
| Occupation | Actress, Singer |
| Profession | Actor, Businessperson, Singer-songwriter |
| Work Position | Ann Sothern 1988 Interview |
| Education | University of Washington |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Robert Sterling, Roger Pryor |
| Children | Tisha Sterling |
| Parents | Annette Yde-Lake, Walter J. Lake |
| Siblings | Bonnie Lake, Marion Lake |
| Nicknames | Ann Sothern, Sothern, Ann |
| Known For | Private Secretary (1953), The Ann Sothern Show (1958), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Whales of August (1987) |
| IMDB | http://imdb.com/name/nm0815433 |
| Awards | Golden Globe Award for Television Achievement |
| Nominations | Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress Starring In A Regul... |
| Movies | A Letter to Three Wives, Maisie, The Whales of August, Lady Be Good, Panama Hattie, Gold Rush Maisie, Cry "Havoc", The Blue Gardenia, Maisie Was a Lady, Kid Millions, Nancy Goes to Rio, Brother Orchid, Undercover Maisie, Words and Music, Congo Maisie, Swing Shift Maisie, Ringside Maisie, Lady in a C... |
| TV Shows | The Chicago Teddy Bears, My Mother the Car, The Ann Sothern Show, Private Secretary |
| Star Sign | Aquarius |
| # | Quote |
|---|
| 1 | [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. |
| 2 | I only like character parts. I never wanted to be a leading woman. |
| 3 | [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. |
| 4 | 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. |
| 5 | Listen, I never asked to be in show business. It was my mother's idea. |
| 6 | [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. |
| 7 | 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. |
| 8 | 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. |
| 9 | Good night . . . and stay happy. |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Ann Sothern has the distinction of co-starring (with Franchot Tone) in the first American film to play in newly-liberated Copenhagen (May, 1945), following Denmark's five-year German occupation in World War II; the film is 1939's "Fast and furious". |
| 2 | Became a grandmother for the 1st time at age 57 when her daughter Tisha Sterling gave birth to a daughter, Heidi K. Baum, on March 3, 1966. |
| 3 | Gave birth to her only child at age 35, a daughter Patricia Ann Sterling, aka Tisha Sterling, on December 10, 1944. Child's father was her 2nd husband, Robert Sterling. |
| 4 | Although she was announced for Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), the part was eventually played by Lucille Ball. |
| 5 | She sang on tour with husband Roger Pryor's band. They divorced in 1942. |
| 6 | In the TV remake of A Letter to Three Wives (1949) (A Letter to Three Wives (1985)) she played the role played by Connie Gilchrist in the original. |
| 7 | She replaced Jean Harlow in Maisie (1939) after the actress' unexpected death. |
| 8 | She wanted to play the prostitute in Lost Horizon (1937) but the part went to Isabel Jewell. |
| 9 | Sang the Oscar-winning song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in Lady Be Good (1941). |
| 10 | She was a lifelong conservative Republican who was a strong supporter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush. She was also an outspoken anti-Communist who supported the HUAC hearings of the 1940s and 1950s, and attended several Republican National Conventions. |
| 11 | 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. |
| 12 | After appearing in Fox's Hotel for Women (1939), she turned down the studio's offer of a long-term contract in favor of signing one with rival MGM. Fox reportedly then cut down Sothern's role in order to favor newcomer Linda Darnell. |
| 13 | Replaced Kim Stanley at the last minute in A Death of Innocence (1971), featuring her daughter Tisha Sterling, when Stanley was unable to perform. |
| 14 | Profiled in book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen Silverman. [1999] |
| 15 | 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 MGM). |
| 16 | A good friend of Zachary Scott's former wife, Elaine Anderson, stage manager for many Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Broadway productions, Ann introduced Elaine to novelist John Steinbeck, who eventually married her. Upon his death Elaine became the administrator of the writer's estate. |
| 17 | Ex-daughter-in-law of Arthur Pryor. |
| 18 | Her younger sister was the prolific singer/songwriter Bonnie Lake who wrote several popular standards such as "Sandman", "I've Got Your Number" and "Gracias" - songs later recorded by such big band stars as Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. In the 1940s, Bonnie founded the Bonnie Lake Music Publishing Company. |
| 19 | Her mother 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. |
| 20 | In 1953, her film career waned and she decided to give TV a try. When a TV series based on her popular "Maisie" film character failed to materialize, she made her series debut with Suzie McNamara on Private Secretary (1953). |
| 21 | 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. |
| 22 | Her paternal grandfather, Simon Lake, was the inventor of the modern submarine. |
| 23 | Her sister Marion was once a secretary to columnist Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby"). |
| 24 | Portrayed Maisie Ravier on Mutual Radio's "The Adventures of Maisie" (1949- 1951). |
| 25 | Had been so busy in the entertainment industry for so many years, once quipped that she had done everything in the business except rodeo. |
| 26 | In her role as Susie McNamara on Private Secretary (1953) (which ran 1953-1958), Sothern played the first working woman on an American TV sitcom. |
| 27 | Left visibly overweight by a bout of hepatitis, she only wore black outfits in her 1950s sitcoms Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). |
| 28 | Mother of look-alike, sound-alike actress Tisha Sterling. The two appeared in The Whales of August (1987), with Tisha, in the prelude scene, portraying a younger-day Ann. |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Walking on Air | 1936 | | Kit Bennett |
| My American Wife | 1936 | | Mary Cantillon |
| Don't Gamble with Love | 1936 | | Ann Edwards |
| Hell-Ship Morgan | 1936 | | Mary Taylor |
| You May Be Next | 1936 | | Fay Stevens |
| Grand Exit | 1935 | | Adrienne Martin / Adeline Maxwell |
| The Girl Friend | 1935 | | Linda Henry |
| Hooray for Love | 1935 | | Patricia Thatcher |
| Eight Bells | 1935 | | Marge Walker |
| Folies Bergère de Paris | 1935 | | Mimi |
| Kid Millions | 1934 | | Joan Larrabee |
| The Party's Over | 1934 | | Ruth Walker |
| Blind Date | 1934 | | Kitty |
| The Hell Cat | 1934 | | Geraldine Sloane |
| Melody in Spring | 1934 | | Jane Blodgett |
| Let's Fall in Love | 1933 | | Jean |
| Broadway Thru a Keyhole | 1933 | | Singer (uncredited) |
| Footlight Parade | 1933 | | Lady at Bar in 'Shanghai Lil' (uncredited) |
| The March of Time | 1930 | | Chorus Girl (uncredited) |
| Whoopee! | 1930 | | Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) |
| Doughboys | 1930 | | Chorine (uncredited) |
| Good News | 1930 | | Student (uncredited) |
| Song of the West | 1930 | | Bit Part (uncredited) |
| The Show of Shows | 1929 | | Performer in 'Meet My Sister' & 'Bicycle Built for Two' Numbers (as Harriet Lake) |
| Broadway Nights | 1927 | | Fan Dancer (uncredited) |
| The Whales of August | 1987 | | Tisha Doughty |
| A Letter to Three Wives | 1985 | TV Movie | Ma Finney |
| The Little Dragons | 1979 | | Angel |
| Flying High | 1978 | TV Series | |
| The Manitou | 1978 | | Mrs. Karmann |
| Captains and the Kings | 1976 | TV Mini-Series | Mrs. Finch |
| Medical Story | 1975 | TV Series | Mrs. Metulski |
| Crazy Mama | 1975 | | Sheba |
| Golden Needles | 1974 | | Fenzie |
| The Killing Kind | 1973 | | Thelma Lambert |
| The Weekend Nun | 1972 | TV Movie | Mother Bonaventure |
| The Great Man's Whiskers | 1972 | TV Movie | Aunt Margaret Bancroft |
| Fol-de-Rol | 1972 | TV Movie | Queen Gertrude |
| Alias Smith and Jones | 1971 | TV Series | Blackjack Jenny |
| The Chicago Teddy Bears | 1971 | TV Series | |
| A Death of Innocence | 1971 | TV Movie | Annie La Cossit |
| Congratulations, It's a Boy! | 1971 | TV Movie | Ethel Gaines |
| The Virginian | 1971 | TV Series | Della Spencer |
| The Greatest Mother of Them All | 1969 | Short | Dolly Murdock |
| Love, American Style | 1969 | TV Series | Mrs. Devlin (segment "Love and the Bachelor") |
| Insight | 1964-1969 | TV Series | the Fading Actress / Fran Henderson |
| Family Affair | 1968 | TV Series | Florence Cahill |
| The Outsider | 1967 | TV Movie | Mrs. Kozzek |
| Chubasco | 1967 | | Angela |
| The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | 1967 | TV Series | Aunt Magda |
| My Mother the Car | 1965-1966 | TV Series | Gladys Crabtree |
| The Legend of Jesse James | 1965 | TV Series | Widow Fay |
| The Lucy Show | 1965 | TV Series | Rosie Harrigan, the Countess Framboise |
| Sylvia | 1965 | | Mrs. Argona / Grace Argona |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | 1964 | TV Series | Helen Cox |
| Lady in a Cage | 1964 | | Sade |
| The Best Man | 1964 | | Sue Ellen Gamadge |
| The Ann Sothern Show | 1958-1961 | TV Series | Katy O'Connor |
| The DuPont Show with June Allyson | 1959 | TV Series | Martha |
| The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour | 1957 | TV Series | Susie MacNamara |
| Private Secretary | 1953-1957 | TV Series | Susie McNamara |
| The Ford Television Theatre | 1957 | TV Series | Christine Emerson |
| The Loretta Young Show | 1955 | TV Series | Guest Hostess |
| Texaco Star Theatre | 1955 | TV Series | Flora Sibley |
| Lady in the Dark | 1954 | TV Movie | Liza Elliot |
| The Red Skelton Hour | 1953 | TV Series | Fraulein Helga-Flugelmeyer Skit |
| The Blue Gardenia | 1953 | | Crystal Carpenter |
| Hollywood Opening Night | 1952 | TV Series | |
| Schlitz Playhouse | 1952 | TV Series | |
| Shadow on the Wall | 1950 | | Dell Faring |
| Nancy Goes to Rio | 1950 | | Frances Elliott |
| A Letter to Three Wives | 1949 | | Rita Phipps |
| Words and Music | 1948 | | Joyce Harmon |
| April Showers | 1948 | | June Tyme |
| The Judge Steps Out | 1947 | | Peggy |
| Undercover Maisie | 1947 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Up Goes Maisie | 1946 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Maisie Goes to Reno | 1944 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Cry 'Havoc' | 1943 | | Pat |
| Thousands Cheer | 1943 | | Ann Sothern |
| Swing Shift Maisie | 1943 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Three Hearts for Julia | 1943 | | Julia Seabrook |
| You, John Jones! | 1943 | Short | Mary Jones |
| Panama Hattie | 1942 | | Hattie Maloney |
| Maisie Gets Her Man | 1942 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Lady Be Good | 1941 | | Dixie Donegan |
| Ringside Maisie | 1941 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Maisie Was a Lady | 1941 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Dulcy | 1940 | | Dulcy Ward |
| Gold Rush Maisie | 1940 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Brother Orchid | 1940 | | Flo Addams |
| Congo Maisie | 1940 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President | 1939 | | Ethel Turp |
| Fast and Furious | 1939 | | Garda Sloane |
| Hotel for Women | 1939 | | Eileen Connelly |
| Maisie | 1939 | | Maisie Ravier |
| Trade Winds | 1938 | | Jean Livingstone |
| She's Got Everything | 1937 | | Carol Rogers |
| There Goes the Groom | 1937 | | Betty Russell |
| Ali Baba Goes to Town | 1937 | | Ann Sothern - at Fictional Premiere (uncredited) |
| Danger - Love at Work | 1937 | | Toni Pemberton |
| Super-Sleuth | 1937 | | Mary Strand |
| Fifty Roads to Town | 1937 | | Millicent Kendall |
| There Goes My Girl | 1937 | | Reporter Connie Taylor |
| Dangerous Number | 1937 | | Eleanor |
| Smartest Girl in Town | 1936 | | Frances Cooke |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| That's Entertainment, Part II | 1976 | Documentary performer: "Oh, Lady Be Good" 1924 - uncredited | |
| My Mother the Car | 1965 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
| MGM Parade | 1955 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
| Lady in the Dark | 1954 | TV Movie performer: "One Life to Live", "This is New", "The Saga of Jenny", "My Ship" | |
| Words and Music | 1948 | performer: "Where's That Rainbow?" | |
| Maisie Goes to Reno | 1944 | performer: "Panhandle Pete" 1944 | |
| Cry 'Havoc' | 1943 | "Blues in the Night" 1941, uncredited | |
| Panama Hattie | 1942 | performer: "I've Still Got My Health" 1940, "Let's Be Buddies" 1940 | |
| Maisie Gets Her Man | 1942 | performer: "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" uncredited, "Cookin' With Gas" 1941 | |
| Lady Be Good | 1941 | performer: "You'll Never Know" 1941 uncredited, "Your Words and My Music" 1941 uncredited, "Oh ! Lady Be Good" 1924 uncredited, "The Last Time I Saw Paris" 1940 | |
| She's Got Everything | 1937 | performer: "It's Sleepy Time in Hawaii" 1937 | |
| Danger - Love at Work | 1937 | performer: "Danger - Love at Work" - uncredited | |
| Walking on Air | 1936 | performer: "Let's Make a Wish | |
| Hooray for Love | 1935 | "You're an Angel" 1935, uncredited / performer: "I'm in Love All Over Again" 1935, "Palsy Walsy" 1935 - uncredited | |
| Folies Bergère de Paris | 1935 | performer: "Rhythm of the Rain" 1935, "Singing a Happy Song" 1935 | |
| Kid Millions | 1934 | performer: "Your Head on My Shoulder" 1934 uncredited, "Mandy" 1918 | |
| Let's Fall in Love | 1933 | performer: "Let's Fall in Love" 1933, "Love Is Love Anywhere" 1933 - uncredited | |
| The Show of Shows | 1929 | performer: "My Sister" 1929 - uncredited | |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| That's Entertainment!: The Masters Behind the Musicals | 2004 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| Biography | 1994 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| The 60th Annual Academy Awards | 1988 | TV Special | Herself |
| All-Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan | 1985 | TV Special | Herself |
| Over Easy | 1978 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Irv Kupcinet Show | 1971 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Movie Game | 1970 | TV Series | Herself |
| Everybody's Talking | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Merv Griffin Show | 1962-1965 | TV Series | Herself |
| What's My Line? | 1953-1965 | TV Series | Herself - Mystery Guest |
| That Regis Philbin Show | 1964 | TV Series | Herself / Herself - Co-host |
| The Celebrity Game | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Match Game | 1963-1964 | TV Series | Team Captain |
| Get the Message | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| I've Got a Secret | 1962-1963 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Andy Williams Show | 1963 | TV Series | Herself |
| Password All-Stars | 1963 | TV Series | Herself |
| Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | 1959 | TV Series | Herself |
| The 11th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | 1959 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter |
| Person to Person | 1958 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1957-1958 | TV Series | Herself |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1957 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Name's the Same | 1953 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Jack Benny Program | 1953 | TV Series | Herself |
| All Star Revue | 1952 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Fred Waring Show | 1951 | TV Series | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 5 | 1938 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 9 | 1937 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 3 | 1936 | Documentary short | Herself - Observer |
| Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 1 | 1936 | Documentary short | Herself |
$300,000