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person_profile-Theresa Harris

Theresa Harris Died at age: 78

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Theresa Harris

Date of Birth:

Dec 31, 1906

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Oct 08, 1985

Biography of

Theresa Harris

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    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.

Photos of

Theresa Harris

Photos ( 1 Photos

Filmography of

Theresa Harris

Found 72 Movies in total

The Gift of Love

Dora - Sam's Wife (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1958

Spoilers of the Forest

Nancy the Maid ( Actor )

... 1957

Back from Eternity

Mamie (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1956

The French Line

Clare (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1954

Small Town Girl

Backstage Maid ( Actor )

... 1953

Angel Face

Nurse Theresa ( Actor )

... 1953

Al Jennings of Oklahoma

Terese ( Actor )

... 1951

Grounds for Marriage

Stella, Ina's Maid ( Actor )

... 1951

... 1951

And Baby Makes Three

Maid ( Actor )

... 1949

Tension

Woman in Drugstore (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1949

... 1949

Neptune's Daughter

Matilda the Maid (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1949

Alias Nick Beal

Opal ( Actor )

... 1949

The Velvet Touch

Nancy ( Actor )

... 1948

The Big Clock

Daisy (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1948

The Lady from Shanghai

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1947

Out of the Past

Eunice Leonard (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1947

The Trespasser

Julia, the maid ( Actor )

... 1947

Miracle on 34th Street

Cleo (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1947

Smooth as Silk

Louise ( Actor )

... 1946

Strange Illusion

Maid ( Actor )

... 1945

... 1943

Cat People

Minnie (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1942

Tough as They Come

Bessie Mae ( Actor )

... 1942

Our Wife

Hattie ( Actor )

... 1941

Blossoms in the Dust

Cleo ( Actor )

... 1941

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Mother Listening to Hurdy-gurdy (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1941

The Flame of New Orleans

Clementine ( Actor )

... 1941

Love Thy Neighbor

Josephine ( Actor )

... 1940

Santa Fe Trail

Maid (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1940

Buck Benny Rides Again

Josephine ( Actor )

... 1940

City of Chance

Beulah - Powder Room Attendant ( Actor )

... 1940

One Hour To Live

High Yaller girl ( Actor )

... 1939

The Women

Olive (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1939

Tell No Tales

Ruby ( Actor )

... 1939

The Toy Wife

'Pick' ( Actor )

... 1938

Jezebel

Zette ( Actor )

... 1938

Big Town Girl

Maid ( Actor )

... 1937

Bargain with Bullets

Grace Foster ( Actor )

... 1937

The Lady Escapes

Maid (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1937

... 1937

The Green Pastures

Angel (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1936

Go Into Your Dance

Dressing Room Maid ( Actor )

... 1935

Desirable

Ladies Room Maid at Party ( Actor )

... 1934

Black Moon

Sacrificed Girl (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1934

Finishing School

Evelyn (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1934

Success at Any Price

Marie ( Actor )

... 1934

The Worst Woman in Paris?

Lily - the Maid ( Actor )

... 1933

Blood Money

Jessica (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Broadway Thru a Keyhole

Joan's Maid ( Actor )

... 1933

Penthouse

Lili (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Morning Glory

(uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Mary Stevens, M.D.

Andrews' Maid Alice (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Baby Face

Chico ( Actor )

... 1933

Hold Your Man

Lily Mae ( Actor )

... 1933

Private Detective 62

Janet's Maid (Uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Professional Sweetheart

Vera (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Gold Diggers of 1933

Woman in "Pettin' in the Park" Number (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Grand Slam

Ladies' Room Attendant (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

The Half-Naked Truth

Emily (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Night After Night

Ladies' Room Attendant (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Faithless

Amanda ( Actor )

... 1932

Horse Feathers

Laura (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Merrily We Go to Hell

Powder Room Attendant (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Union Depot

Black Woman (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Arrowsmith

Native Mother (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1931

The Road to Reno

Maid at Dude Ranch ( Actor )

... 1931

Morocco

Camp Follower (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1930

Thunderbolt

Singer ( Actor )

... 1929