Ann Sothern (January 22, 1909 - March 15, 2001)

Ann Sothern is the perfect example of Hollywood royalty. The dainty actress made her first film appearance in Broadway Nights in 1927. 71 more films would follow into the late 1980's. One of her more notable films was The Blue Gardenia in 1953 with Anne Baxter and George Reeves. On television she appeared on "The Jack Benny Program", "The Perry Como Show", "The Steve Allen Show", "Person to Person", "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse", "Password", "The Andy Williams Show", "I've Got a Secret", "What's My Line?", "Letter to Loretta", "The DuPont Show with June Allyson", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", "Family Affair", "Love, American Style" and "The Virginian." In 1953, she began playing Susan "Susie" Camille MacNamara on the sitcom "Private Secretary." The show ran until 1957 and produced 104 episodes. The following year she began playing Katy O'Connor on "The Ann Sothern Show" which ran until 1961 and produced 92 episodes. As Susie MacNamara she became the first single "career girl" on American television. The argument can be made that she was the precursor to Mary Tyler Moore's Mary Richards character. She was a good friend of Lucille Ball and they worked together often. In 1957 she brought her Susie MacNamara character to an episode of "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show." Then in 1959 Lucille Ball brought her Lucy Ricardo character to an episode of "The Ann Sothern Show." So the legendary Lucy McGillicuddy Ricardo knew both Susie MacNamara and Katy O'Connor. In 1965 Sothern appeared in seven episodes of "The Lucy Show" as Rosie Harrigan, the broke and widowed Countess Framboise who was an old friend of Lucy Carmichael. Sothern had a chance to romp around with Lucille Ball in their trademark "drunk" bit many times and she also joined the "Lucy" family when she appeared with not only Lucille on stage but also co-stars Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon. I personally think she would have been a great partner for Lucille Ball following the departure of Vivian Vance in 1965. Unfortunately things didn't work out and that did not happen which was a blessing in disguise because then we would have never gotten Mary Jane Croft. During the 1965-1966 television season she provided the voice of Gladys Crabtree on the sitcom "My Mother the Car" starring Jerry Van Dyke. The show was a disaster and has been voted by many to be the worst sitcom in television history. In 1987, she appeared in her 72nd and final motion picture The Whales of August which also featured Lillian Gish, Vincent Price and Bette Davis. The film proved to be her final acting role and she retired shortly after. True leading ladies like Ann Sothern don't exist anymore and they never will again. That is why I say she was Hollywood royalty.