First a silent-screen heroine, then a daft-headed character actress in US films from the 20s through the 50s.
Named "ZaSu" because her mother's two sisters, Eliza and Susan, both wanted her named after them. Her mother didn't want to disappoint either of them, so she formed the name from the last two letters of Eliza and the first two letters of Susan. Director Alfred E. Green once said her face "has been on more cutting-room floors than any other actress". She was a famous scene-stealer who often overshadowed the star. Her scenes were usually cut to keep peace on the set. Her marriage to John Woodall was not revealed to the public until 12 February 1934 when they went on their honeymoon. The favorite actress of Erich von Stroheim, who called her "the greatest tragedienne of the screen." When the "Thimble Theatre" comic strip became the "Popeye" animated cartoon series, the producers used ZaSu's hand-wringing and nervous speech pattern to characterize the on-screen persona of "Olive Oyl." Legally separated from first husband Tom Gallery on 24 November 1926, she didn't file for divorce from him until 14 January 1932. The final decree came 10 weeks later. Pitts was originally cast to play Lew Ayres' mother in All Quiet on the Western Front. However, preview audiences laughed when they saw her, and her scenes were reshot by actress Beryl Mercer. Her trademark gesture was seen in all of her fingers aflutter at once. Her best friend during the Twenties was ill-fated actress Barbara La Marr; the two worked in three films together during 1923. Pitts and her husband Tom Gallery adopted La Marr's son Marvin when she died in 1926. The little boy was renamed Don Gallery. Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the 'Grotto' section, Lot 195, Grave 1. Pictured on one of ten 29¢ US commemorative postage stamps celebrating stars of the silent screen, issued 27 April 1994. Designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, this set of stamps also honored Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Charles Chaplin, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Harold Lloyd, Theda Bara, Buster Keaton, and the Keystone Kops. Her first name is pronounced "Zay-soo"