Ann Sothern: Hollywood’s Comedy and Musical Star – A Complete Biography
Discover the full biography of Ann Sothern, the iconic star of classic comedies and musicals who lit up Hollywood’s golden age with wit and charm.
Sothern was born Harriette Arlene Lake in Valley City, North Dakota on January 22, 1909. She was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she graduated from Central High School in 1927. At that time, she left home and began her film career as an extra at the age of 18. In 1929 and 1930, she appeared as a chorus girl in films such as The Show of Shows and also appeared occasionally in Broadway shows. She had a very good voice and so sometimes appeared singing. In 1934, she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and in 1936 with RKO Radio Pictures, until finally signing in 1939 with MGM, where she got her first successful film, Maisie, replacing the deceased Jean Harlow in the title role. Thus began a series of films with the character “Maisie”, and she even got a radio show due to the popularity of the films, presented from 1945 to 1947 called The Adventures of Maisie.
In 1949 she starred in the Oscar-winning film A Letter to Three Wives, which earned the actress good reviews, but not enough to boost her career again. During the 1950s she made a few films, but mainly participated in TV shows. From 1953 to 1957 she starred in the TV series Private Secretary and from 1958 to 1961 she hosted the program The Ann Sothern Show, which earned her an Emmy Award.
From 1965 to the mid-1980s, Ann appeared sporadically on TV shows. Her last appearance was in the film The Whales of August in 1987, as the neighbor of the sisters played by Lillian Gish and Bette Davis. This role earned her her only Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but she lost to Olympia Dukakis. Ann was married twice, to Robert Sterling and Roger Pryor, and divorced both. Her daughter, Tisha Sterling, was born from her second marriage. In 1987, she gave up her acting career and moved to Ketchum, Idaho, where she lived until her death in 2001, at the age of 92, from heart failure.
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