Ann Sothern was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s in bit parts in films. In 1930, she made her Broadway stage debut and soon worked her way up to starring roles. In 1939, MGM cast her as Maisie Ravier, a brash yet lovable Brooklyn showgirl. The character proved to be popular and spawned a successful film series and a network radio series.
The Whales of August is a 1987 American drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish as elderly sisters. Also in the cast were Ann Sothern as one of their friends, and Vincent Price as a peripheral member of the former Russian aristocracy. The story is based on the play of the same title by David Berry.
The Adventures of Maisie was a radio comedy series starring Ann Sothern as underemployed entertainer Maisie Ravier. It was a spin-off of Sothern's successful 1939–1947 Maisie movie series, based on a character created by Wilson Collison.
Nancy Goes to Rio is a 1950 American Technicolor musical-comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon, based on a story by Jane Hall, Frederick Kohner, and Ralph Block. The music was directed and supervised by George Stoll and includes compositions by George and Ira Gershwin, Giacomo Puccini, Jack Norworth, and Stoll.
Nell Columbia Boyer Martin (1890–1961), usually known as Nell Martin and also published under the name Columbia Boyer, was an American author from Illinois specializing in light-hearted mysteries and short stories.
Maisie Ravier is a fictional character, best known as the leading character of ten American films (1939–1947), the Maisie films, and the radio show The Adventures of Maisie. In these, she was played by actress Ann Sothern.
The Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who had previously starred in Private Secretary, which also aired on CBS from 1953 to 1957.
Maisie is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin based on the 1935 novel Dark Dame by Wilson Collison. The rights to the novel were originally purchased by MGM for a Jean Harlow film, but Harlow died in 1937 before a shooting script could be completed. The project was put on hold until 1939, when Ann Sothern was hired to star in the film with Robert Young as leading man.
Among Those Present is a 1921 American "three-reeler" silent comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and starring Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis and Mary Pickford.
Congo Maisie is a 1940 comedy-drama film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Ann Sothern for the second time in the ten film Maisie series as showgirl Maisie Ravier.
Wilson Collison was a writer and playwright.
Maisie Was a Lady is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres and Maureen O'Sullivan. Produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is the fourth in a series of ten films starring Sothern as good-hearted showgirl Maisie Ravier.
Ringside Maisie is a 1941 American sports comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Ann Sothern, Robert Sterling and George Murphy. It is the fifth of ten pictures in the Maisie series. This was Sothern and future husband Sterling's only film together.
Swing Shift Maisie is a 1943 romantic comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod. It is the seventh in a series of 10 films starring Ann Sothern as Maisie, preceded by Maisie Gets Her Man (1942) and followed by Maisie Goes to Reno (1944). Her co-stars are James Craig and Jean Rogers.
Up Goes Maisie is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is the ninth of 10 films starring Ann Sothern as ex-showgirl Maisie Ravier, characterized as "that double trouble doll with the sassy chassis." At nearly 40 years old, it was clear that both Sothern and the series was "winding down". In this series entry, Maisie, "the peppery lady with a golden heart" goes to work for an inventor and helicopter operator played by George Murphy.
Maisie Goes to Reno is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont. It is the eighth film starring Ann Sothern as Maisie Ravier, preceded by Swing Shift Maisie and followed by Up Goes Maisie. John Hodiak plays her love interest in this 1944 romantic comedy.
Undercover Maisie is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Ann Sothern, Barry Nelson, and Mark Daniels. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the final film of the ten film Maisie series starring Ann Sothern as ex-showgirl Maisie Ravier. In this series entry, Maisie Ravier decides to join the Los Angeles police force. The previous film was Up Goes Maisie.
Smartest Girl in Town is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley, written by Viola Brothers Shore, and starring Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes and Harry Jans. It was released on November 27, 1936, by RKO Pictures.
Walking on Air is a 1936 American comedy film starring Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern, with a supporting cast which includes Jessie Ralph and Henry Stephenson. It was directed by Joseph Santley using a screenplay by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Viola Brothers Shore, and Rian James, based on the short story, "Count Pete", written by Francis M. Cockrell. Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, they released the film on September 11, 1936.
My American Wife is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Harold Young and written by Elmer Davis, Edith Fitzgerald and Virginia Van Upp. The film stars Francis Lederer, Ann Sothern, Fred Stone, Billie Burke, Ernest Cossart and Grant Mitchell. The film was released on August 7, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.
