Theresa Harris, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Theresa Harris
Acting

Theresa Harris
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1906-12-31,Houston, Texas, USA
Gender
Female
Biography
Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 [some sources indicate 1909] – October 8, 1985) was an American film and television actress, singer and dancer. In 1929 Harris traveled to Hollywood, where she embarked on an acting career. She made her film debut in Thunderbolt, singing the song "Daddy Won't You Please Come Home". As she entered the 1930s she found herself playing maids to fictitious Southern belles, socialites and female molls. These parts were sometimes uncredited. She also floated around studios doing bit parts, usually at Warner Bros. or MGM. Aside from maids, she specialized in playing blues singers, waitresses, tribal women, prostitutes, and hatcheck girls. Harris had a featured role as a friend of Jean Harlow in MGM's Hold Your Man (1932). In 1933 she appeared as Chico in the Warner Bros. pre-Code production of Baby Face, starring Barbara Stanwyck. That same year Harris starred in a substantial role opposite Ginger Rogers in Professional Sweetheart. As Rogers' character's maid, Harris' character subs for Rogers' character as a singer on the radio. Despite the fact that Harris' character was a major point for the story's plot development, she was uncredited for the role. Throughout the 1930s, Harris played many uncredited parts in films such as Horse Feathers (1932), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933) and Morning Glory (1933). She also played Bette Davis's maid Zette in the film Jezebel (1938). In 1937 she appeared in the race film Bargain With Bullets opposite Ralph Cooper for Million Dollar Productions. While doing promotion for the film, Harris spoke about her frustration over the difficulty African American actors faced in the film industry, stating, "I never had the chance to rise about the role of maid in Hollywood movies. My color was against me anyway you looked at it. The fact that I was not "hot" stamped me either as uppity or relegated me to the eternal role of stooge or servant....My ambition is to be an actress. Hollywood had no parts for me." Harris continued to lobby for better parts but found few opportunities within Hollywood. In the 1939 movie Tell No Tales she was credited for her part as Ruby, the wife of a murdered man. Harris played an emotional scene with Melvin Douglas at the funeral. She appears in a small but vivid role as Kathie Moffat's ex-maid Eunice Leonard in Jacques Tourneur 1947 Out of the Past. In addition to films, Harris performed in many radio programs. She was often paired with Eddie Rochester Anderson, who portrayed her on-screen boyfriend. She also appeared in several prominent roles for RKO Pictures as she was a favorite of RKO producer Val Lewton who routinely cast African American actors in non-stereotypical roles. In 1942 Lewton cast Harris as a sarcastic waitress in Cat People, followed by roles in I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Phantom Lady (1944), and Strange Illusion (1945). During the 1950s Harris appeared several times on television shows. She made her last film appearance in an uncredited role in The Gift of Love in 1958. Harris later married a doctor and retired from acting, living comfortably after having carefully invested the money she made during her career in the movies. On October 8, 1985, Harris (then known as Theresa Robinson) died in Inglewood, California. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Filmography

7

Jezebel
1938-03-26

Miracle on 34th Street

7.4

Miracle on 34th Street
1947-06-04

I Walked with a Zombie

6.744

I Walked with a Zombie
1943-04-21

7.286

Baby Face
1933-07-13

The File on Thelma Jordon

6.5

The File on Thelma Jordon
1949-11-04

The Velvet Touch

6.1

The Velvet Touch
1948-07-13

The Flame of New Orleans

6

The Flame of New Orleans
1941-07-07

Neptune's Daughter

5.8

Neptune's Daughter
1949-06-10

5

The Trespasser
1947-07-03

Bargain with Bullets

0

Bargain with Bullets
1937-09-17

Blossoms in the Dust

6.5

Blossoms in the Dust
1941-08-15

5.7

Our Wife
1941-08-20

Buck Benny Rides Again

0

Buck Benny Rides Again
1940-05-31

Night After Night

6.2

Night After Night
1932-10-29

4.8

Smooth as Silk
1946-02-01

6.5

Arrowsmith
1931-12-07

And Baby Makes Three

4.875

And Baby Makes Three
1949-12-02

Love Thy Neighbor

6.5

Love Thy Neighbor
1940-12-27

Mary Stevens, M.D.

6

Mary Stevens, M.D.
1933-07-22

Success at Any Price

3.9

Success at Any Price
1934-03-16

4.8

The Toy Wife
1938-06-10

Al Jennings of Oklahoma

5

Al Jennings of Oklahoma
1951-01-17

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

6.9

Here Comes Mr. Jordan
1941-08-07

7

Blood Money
1933-11-17

Charlie Chan at the Olympics

6.7

Charlie Chan at the Olympics
1937-05-21

Grounds for Marriage

4.3

Grounds for Marriage
1951-01-12

5.3

Tell No Tales
1939-06-12

7.3

Desirable
1934-09-08

6.8

Tension
1949-11-25

7

The Women
1939-09-01

The Lady Escapes

0

The Lady Escapes
1937-07-22

Broadway Thru a Keyhole

5.7

Broadway Thru a Keyhole
1933-11-02

The Gift of Love

7.2

The Gift of Love
1958-02-11

Back from Eternity

6.6

Back from Eternity
1956-09-07

Spoilers of the Forest

0

Spoilers of the Forest
1957-04-04

Strange Illusion

5.5

Strange Illusion
1945-03-31

5.625

Thunderbolt
1929-06-20

6.4

Morocco
1930-11-14

6.9

Horse Feathers
1932-08-19

The Green Pastures

6.3

The Green Pastures
1936-08-01

The Half-Naked Truth

5.1

The Half-Naked Truth
1932-12-16

Out of the Past

7.6

Out of the Past
1947-11-25

The Lady from Shanghai

7.4

The Lady from Shanghai
1947-12-24

5.6

Santa Fe Trail
1940-12-20

7.1

Angel Face
1953-01-02

Swingtime Jamboree

0

Swingtime Jamboree
1946-01-01

5.2

City of Chance
1940-01-13

5.1

Black Moon
1934-06-15

The Outskirts of Town

0

The Outskirts of Town
1942-10-19

Tough as They Come

0

Tough as They Come
1942-06-05

The Road to Reno

3

The Road to Reno
1931-09-25

3.7

Grand Slam
1933-02-22

Gold Diggers of 1933

7.2

Gold Diggers of 1933
1933-05-27

6

Morning Glory
1933-08-18

6.9

Cat People
1942-12-05

Professional Sweetheart

5

Professional Sweetheart
1933-06-09

Sing Your Worries Away

5.5

Sing Your Worries Away
1942-03-06

6

Big Town Girl
1937-12-03

6.1

Hold Your Man
1933-06-30

7.253

The Big Clock
1948-03-18

Alias Nick Beal

6.8

Alias Nick Beal
1949-03-04

Finishing School

5.9

Finishing School
1934-05-04

6.8

Faithless
1932-10-15

The Worst Woman in Paris?

0

The Worst Woman in Paris?
1933-12-03

Go Into Your Dance

7.5

Go Into Your Dance
1935-04-20

One Hour To Live

0

One Hour To Live
1939-11-10

Small Town Girl

5.7

Small Town Girl
1953-04-10

Go Into Your Dance

7.5

Go Into Your Dance
1935-04-20

The French Line

4.2

The French Line
1954-02-08

6.7

Penthouse
1933-09-08

6.1

Union Depot
1932-01-14

Merrily We Go to Hell

6.4

Merrily We Go to Hell
1932-06-10

The Company She Keeps

5.9

The Company She Keeps
1951-01-27

Private Detective 62

5.947

Private Detective 62
1933-06-10

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

7.7

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02

How to Marry a Millionaire

6

How to Marry a Millionaire
1957-10-07

Letter to Loretta

5.8

Letter to Loretta
1953-09-20

Lux Video Theatre

5.5

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02