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Cordially Yours, Ann Sothern

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Ann Sothern had one of the longest careers of any actress in the American film industry, starting in bit roles in 1929, she wound up making her final film 58 years later and winning an Academy Award nomination for it (THE WHALES OF AUGUST, 1987). If top superstardom alluded her, she was nevertheless a popular star with moviegoers of the late 1930's and 1940's and in the 1950's enjoyed her greatest success on television where she ranked with her longtime friend Lucille Ball and Eve Arden as one of the three biggest sitcom queens of the era. While best known as a comedienne, Ann was a capable dramatic actress and a very accomplished singer in movie musicals. Back in 1990, film historian Margie Schultz wrote the first book on Sothern, an academic title mainly meant for research libraries and now comes the first biography of the actress written by her longtime friend, film historian and frequent contributor to CLASSIC IMAGES magazine, Colin Briggs.

This is a excellent career study of the versatile star along with many personal glimpses into the star's life. Major movie buffs will enjoy the "how I, a fan, became friends with my favorite movie star" thread that runs through the book as Colin tells of how, amazingly, he developed a pen friendship with Sothern as a teenager in the early 1950's one that flourished until he was able to finally come to the states from Australia to meet Ann for the first of many visits a good twenty years later. His excitement at meeting and knowing Ann is infectious and will no doubt cause many a buff to wistfully imagine a similiar friendship with their own favorite from the golden era. The book includes a detailed filmography and thoroughly covers all aspects of Ann's life and career and while not overly intrusive in personal matters, does go into Ann's marriages with actors Roger Pryor and Robert Sterling and her ill-fated romance with the much younger Richard Egan. Ann herself occasionally provides some major scoops, revealing she dated Ronald Reagan after his divorce from Jane Wyman and her suspicions that Nancy has kept any Sothern invites to Hollywood functions honoring Reagan at bay. Ann also reveals how she broke up Grace Kelly's affair with Ray Milland (Mrs. Milland was Ann's best friend) and her side of the Bette Davis - Lillian Gish battles on the final film for all three actresses. There are also poignant episodes, notably a 1970's accident at a Jacksonville, Florida dinner theater. Ann recounts the lawsuit and trial to Colin and in a bit of unintended humor proves even during this trying period she could be every inch the movie queen, "We had a 5-day jury trial - 6 people - and would you believe that 5 of them had never heard of me. That gives you a rough idea about Jacksonville!"

This book jammed pack with photographs of Ann thoroughout her life, almost one per page in this 315 page book with excellent reproduction. Lots of gorgeous publicity stills of Ann through the years, movie scenes, personal candids including many with her family and Colin himself with Ann. This is in fact the most attractive volume I've seen yet published by the new show business nostalgia publishing house, BearManor Media, with a fine book and cover design with excellent size print type.

Ann Sothern long wanted Colin Briggs to do a book on her, obviously trusting him to compassionately and favorably account the stories of her life and career. It was a trust well deserved by this lovely, surprisingly moving book, which has unseen poignancy of it's own as the CLASSIC IMAGES website currently informs us that Mr. Briggs passed away the very month the book was published (December 2006). Fortunately, he did get to see his work in published form and it is also fortunate for Ann Sothern fans and future movie historians that he was able to share his remarkable views of this talented lady for posterity.

Ann Sothern was asked years ago if she had a preference regarding a biographer. She immediately responded with the name of Colin Briggs. This is precisely what came to pass to the benefit of all concerned, and notably film fans.

The blonde actress met Briggs years ago and they had a professional relationship as well as an enduring friendship. They sang together and Sothern was impressed enough to tell Briggs, who resided in Brisbane, Australia, that if he ever decided to reside in the United States that she would like to help him with his singing career.

Briggs, whose encyclopedic knowledge of cinema resulted in him frequently appearing on Australian television to entertain audiences with his broad command of the industry, was an accomplished singer as well as actor and both appeared in and directed many stage vehicles in Australia.

Ann Sothern was a performer of exceptional versatility as well as beauty and Briggs is to be commended for sharing his vast knowledge of her long and accomplished career with the rest of us.

Marsha Hunt was on target in stating that Sothern had one of the most beautiful faces of any actress to grace the screen. Her blonde hair and flawless creamy complexion were capped off by a face of cameo elegance, the perfection of which was enhanced by cinematic photography.

Perhaps the standout scene of Sothern's career, which combined her singing and acting talents, as well as accenting her natural beauty, came in "Lady be Good" when she sang "The Last Time I Saw Paris" with Champs Elysees superimposed in the background.

Comedy came naturally to Ann Sothern, but whereas so many blonde performers were depicted for zaniness, she came across as a wise Eve Arden type without the acid commentary. Sothern's image was that of a crafty woman who knew the score. She established that image early on in the highly successful "Maisie" series, in which her character took charge and saved the day.

How shrewd Ann Sothern was in films directed by two of the all-time cinema greats. In 1949 audiences were impressed by her performance in Joseph Mankiewicz's "A Letter to Three Wives" in which she played Kirk Douglas's wife. Her native intelligence was needed to prevent a disaster when her highly unsophisticated bosses, a materialistic couple concerned about selling products, visit her suburban Connecticut home for dinner.

The situation calls for great tact for another reason as well. As a successful radio soap opera writer Sothern earns much more money than her schoolteacher husband, whose erudition and education prompt him to view the outsiders with great scorn. Ann Sothern acts with finesse, avoiding the disaster of a blowup and loss of a job that pays a large income.

Sothern's pragmatic intelligence was also on display in Fritz Lang's 1953 film noir gem "The Blue Gardenia," when she serves as first sergeant at the apartment she shares with younger fellow telephone operators Anne Baxter and Jeff Donnell. She offers experienced advice when Baxter needs it at a time when she is accused of killing wolfish artist Raymond Burr.

Then there was the Ann Sothern who triumphed in the peak early years of television with her comedy smash hit "Private Secretary" which latter was called "The Ann Sothern Show." It was a good period for her professionally as she also sang in nightclubs, including stints in Las Vegas.

Sothern longtime friend Colin Briggs does an excellent job of providing an intimate glimpse into the life of a remarkable performer.

Ann Sothern was one of the stars of the Golden Era of Hollywood. Colin Briggs knew her well as a fan and friend. His book leaves nothing to be desired. There are numerous photographs and a complete filmography with interesting comments about many of Sothern's films. Her stage and televison, and radio work is covered in the excellent text.There are two pictures of Ann Sothern in a production of Mame. This will give any prospective fan and reader an idea of the rare material contained in this wonderful book. Ann Sothern would be so pleased to read this account of her life and career and so will any purchaser of this great biography.

I enjoyed this book on a lovely women and an underated actress. I remember watching her as a child, playing in a series on TV as a secretary to Don Porter and loved seeing what she would wear each week. I am familiar with Colin Briggs through Classic Images and found it enjoyable that he actually had a relationship with her. By all means, she should have a street named for her in Sun Valley Idaho where she lived for many years. Whenever I visited Sun Valley before her death, I always hoped to see her and actually did one evening in a large restaurant with her family around her.

Although I enjoyed reading about the talented Ms. Sothern (there isn't much out there) I was overall disappointed in the book. The book was only a high level account of her life and career and did not go into background details or analysis that would appear to be brewing right under the printed matter. I was suprised to see that Ms. Sothern was involved in the production of her television shows. It would prove interesting to hear about her "behind the scenes" decisions, relationships and leadership to understand her business abilities. Also - based on several Lucille Ball bios I have read - there appeared to be a complex relationship between the women -- no insights were provided (also it was innaccurate to say the she guest starred on the Lucy show at the time Vivian Vance returned - when just the opposite was occuring).

BearManor Media presents "CORDIALLY YOURS, ANN SOTHERN" (Paperback), by Colin Briggs (Author). The author brings to light the life and times of my "Private Secretary" (1953) and "The Ann Sothern Show" (1958). The early years of television and an actress from the "Golden Age of Hollywood" - Ann Sothern.

Thankful for TCM, The Late, Late Show of Old Movies and DVD's for some of Sothern's films, featured as Florence 'Flo' Addams in "Brother Orchid" (1940), as Pat in "Cry 'Havoc'" (1943) and as Rita Phipps in "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949) - of course I'm old enough to have seen them in a neighborhood theater.

One of her closest friends and co-stars Marsha Hunt: -- "We did four films together and she was thoroughly professional, knew all her lines and marks. I thought of her as having one of the most beautiful faces in Hollywood, and also being gifted with a very lovely singing voices."

Another film comes to mind, "Whistling in Brooklyn" with Red Skelton,the third in a popular series of "Whistling" films. In this one she was not only beautiful, but very intrepid, engaging in a hearty physical battle with the villains at the film's conclusion. Ann was a real trooper, always ready when the direction would yell "action".

Briggs' writing flows and is easy pleasurable read. Ann seemed to open up to his meetings with her and friends also gave behind the scenes stories that gave you the feeling you had met or knew her.

Must mention the many excellent photographs, stills and personal, and a complete filmography with comments about many of Sothern's films.

Very reasonable and a good value for the price --- For product description and editorial review check this out on the Amazon site above my review.

BIOS:
Ann Sothern [aka: Harriette Arlene Lake]
Date of Birth: 22 January 1909 - Valley City, North Dakota
Date of Death: 15 March 2001 - Ketchum, Idaho

BearManor Media, a small press that publishes BIG books. They pride themselves on publishing quality entertainment biographies, so they often put out the first book on unique subjects -- plus specializing in books with nostalgic themes and keeping classic Hollywood alive not only thru his publishing house, but thru his own books. Big thank you to Ben Ohmart and his staff.

Highly recommend - a good read! Perfect coffee-table book.

Total Page: 315 Pages ~ BearManor Media #ISBN-13: 978-1593930608 ~ (May 20, 2007)

Here is another fan gushing biography (much like Vera Ellen's) where the author is more interested in preserving the image than getting to the meat of the person.

Ann Sothern was a delightful and talented lady who was able to perform well in radio, television, movies, stage. She was extremely enjoyable to watch and to listen to as well. She had many years of trying to prove herself in her early movies. Then when she made it big at MGM she wasn't given enough high quality parts to prove her worth. Cry Havoc was a fine role for her and she was able to keep up with Margaret Sullivan and Joan Blondell. A Letter to Three Wives was her very best performance on film and the best role probably in her career.

The author goes into great detail on all of her insignificant film roles of the thirties and into the forties. But very little is mentioned about Cry Havoc and almost nothing is mentioned about Letter To Three Wives. She was part of a heady cast that included Linda Darnell, Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Paul Douglas, Thelma Ritter and others and she did a brillant job.

The book contains some very good photos of Miss Sothern, but there are far too many of the author with his subject. And there are far too many -and then I wrote her and then she wrote me - moments that really don't say much about her life, but rather about a moment he had with her. He tends to get too personal with things like talking about Eleanor Powell, by calling her Ellie.

Instead of getting to know more about Ann Sothern and her life I was left with lots of questions about her--for instance, she had two marriages that both ended in divorce. There is nothing to indicate why they ended badly. There is a reference to the fact that Robert Sterling's eyes wandered. There is no fleshing out of how she managed the big moments and the disappointments. There is very little about her daughter. There is an interesting declaration--she did not attend her only child's wedding. Robert Sterling was in attendance. The author doesn't delve into situations like this one. So much is left unsaid about her life. Either the author didn't know that much about his subject or he didn't bother to research things.

Here was a lady whose career lasted generations, a lady who seemed comfortable before the movie cameras, the television cameras, the footlights. I got no feel for how she felt about any of it.

The author talked with Marsha Hunt and Virginia O'Brien who both stated that although they worked with her on several occasions that they really didn't know her. This doesn't make any difference to anything. Jane Powell who played her daughter in a film has very little to say about her.

I would hope that a really insightful portrait of Ann Sothern's life would be forthcoming. This one is very lacking in many areas. There is a listing of all of her films at the end of the book. It gives some reviews and some notes on some films, but again says next to nothing about her really important film work.

The lady was an important part of the golden age of movies. The book is just a so-so portrait of that lady.

The author died before the book got published. But thankfully he had completed the manuscript before his untimely passing and this book leaves a legacy not just for the actress but for the actor as well. Lots of photographs and certainly family photos which is a plus.

A true biography (or autobiography since she participated), this book covers her relationship, personal life and screen career evenly and lovingly. A great read, even if you are a casual Ann Southern fan. I find books like these make me realize how something I would not have thought twice about is more interesting as I read up on it. Now to watch Ann Southern in a little B-grade movie this evening!

Ann Sothern, Ann Sothern, time has swallowed you up like a monument built on sand, and yet, as Colin Briggs' affectionate book suggests, you were meant for long-term love. Only a few of your films are available today, and in some of them you really aren't very good, but you've got something that makes your fans sit through even your worst vehicles.

Sothern, born Harriette Lake, came to the movies when the sound era had them on a one way ticket from Broadway by the carload. Her energetic dancing style and her remarkable voice (voices, really, for she managed to alternate between a lovely contralto and a pure soprano when she needed to) were just the ticket in dozens and dozens of B-movies, with an occasional "A" film that popped up just when she needed a bigger paycheck. Briggs, an Australian fan, has her every career move at his fingertips, but though he tries, he cannot make many of her films sound interesting, and though we always root for her continued success, he does not make us care for her the way that Matthew Kennedy made us care about Joan Blondell--to name a star of comparable wattage--in his recent biography A LIFE BETWEEN TAKES.

Briggs' sheer enthusiasm sees him through a lot of difficulties. Sothern was always nice to him (except for one occasion where his detailed knowledge of her wardrobe nearly upset her suit against a Florida playhouse), and she had friends galore, but it's hard to see what sort fo person she actually was, besides being Ann Sothern. He explains her withdrawal from films in the 1970s and 1980s in part because she refused to take parts that were beneath her, or crude or violent (she had a dramatic conversion to Catholicism in the 1950s, "Romanizing" her name to "Anna Maria"), but as he shows, she didn't mind taking loud, boisterous, vulgar parts as a fat mama type, in THE KILLING KIND, LADY IN A CAGE, and other exploitation films made more interesting by her presence in them.

I know one lady who has watched all the Maisie movies and can tell you every detail of every one, the way that Generation Xers can give chapter and verse on the Star Wars saga. And I like Ann Sothern's acting in two 50s "A" films, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES and THE BLUE GARDENIA. On TV she maintained her popularity through the 50s on two longrunning sitcoms, in which she was first Susie, then Katy (or was it the other way around)? I wonder if, like Blondell, her star traces are still strong enough for her to return to the general consciousness. It has happened to less talented actors and troupers, so here's luck, Ann Sothern.

Ann Sothern had a very very long career in just about every facet of entertainment imaginable and she conquered them all - films, stage, radio and TV. This was a multi talented performer - a charming singer, a bright and saucy comedienne, a competent dramatic actress and a looker too, with a pretty heart shaped face.

This biography has been lovingly written by a devoted fan but it is disappointing. The story is superficial. To sustain such a long career, Sothern had drive and ambition but there are really only hints of who that woman was. The author, clearly devoted to his subject, tries to offer a balanced view by highlighting that not all Sothern's co-workers loved her but it is all fairly shallow and the text is dreary, filling in the gaps between the chronology of her films, TV shows and stage appearances. Sothern's marriages are documented but it is not really clear why they failed beyond the fact that her second husband had a wandering eye. She also converted to Catholicism but once again there is no real insight into why. The book ends suddenly too with nothing about her final years.

There are many excellent photos included, personal, or otherwise but this might be better borrowed from the local library because it is not a book you would return to to discover hidden depths.