Mitzi Green (born Elizabeth Keno; October 22, 1920 – May 24, 1969) was an American child actress for

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

and RKO, in the early "talkies" era. She then acted on Broadway and in other stage works, as well as in films and on television. Birthday-Ball-Group-1937

Early years

Mitzi Green was born in The Bronx on October 22, 1920. Starting at the age 3, she began appearing in her parents' vaudeville act under the name ''Little Mitzi''.

Career

Green was often featured in

's early talkies, as an outspoken and mischievous little girl alongside studio stars Clara Bow, Jack Oakie,

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

, and Edna May Oliver among others. Green was a gifted mimic and her celebrity imitations were often worked into the films. She was cast (against type) opposite Jackie Coogan in two

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

adaptations, '' Tom Sawyer'' (1930) and ''Huckleberry Finn'' (1931). Paramount released her in 1931, as she was rapidly outgrowing child roles. She moved to RKO for two pictures, both adaptations of works from other media. She played the title role in ''

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem " Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on ...

'' (1932), based on the popular comic strip, with Edgar Kennedy as Daddy Warbucks. She also appeared as the precocious kid sister in '' Girl Crazy'' (1932), the first movie version of the

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

stage musical. Green brightened the film with surprising impersonations of George Arliss and her former co-star Edna May Oliver. At the age of 14, she played a soubrette role in ''Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round'' (1934), produced independently by Edward Small for

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

release. It did not result in further film offers, and Green left Hollywood. She went on to Broadway, where she starred in the original production of Rodgers and Hart's '' Babes in Arms'' (1937). Two of Green's numbers in the musical were " My Funny Valentine," which would later become a jazz standard in many cover recordings and performances, and " The Lady is a Tramp". Green made one more film in 1940 ('' Santa Fe Trail'' with

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

), then went back to stage and nightclub work, including ''

Walk with Music Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

'' by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the firs ...

and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

, and the

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...

and

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...

musical '' Billion Dollar Baby''. Green married Broadway (and later movie and TV) director

Joseph Pevney Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director.

and retired to raise a family. At age 31 she returned briefly to the screen opposite

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People * Abbott (surname) * Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist *Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansa ...

in '' Lost in Alaska'' (1952) and in '' Bloodhounds of Broadway'' (1952), co-starring another Mitzi— Mitzi Gaynor. In 1955, she starred with Virginia Gibson and Gordon Jones in the short-lived NBC TV sitcom ''So This Is Hollywood'', in the role of Queenie Dugan, a high-spirited stuntwoman. After a brief stint on the

nightclub circuit A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

, Green retired again, although she did appear in

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...

and dinner theater around the Los Angeles area thereafter, and she appeared occasionally as a guest on talk shows.

Recognition

For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Green received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 6430 Hollywood Blvd.

Death

On May 24, 1969, Green died in Huntington Beach, California, at age 48, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

Partial filmography

Stage

* '' Babes in Arms'' (1937) * ''

'' (1940) * ''

Let Freedom Sing Let or LET may refer to: Sports * Let serve, when the served object in certain racket sports hits the net and lands in the correct service court, such as; ** Let (badminton) ** Let (pickleball) ** Let (tennis) * Ladies European Tour, the ladi ...

'' (1942) * '' Billion Dollar Baby'' (1945)

Bibliography

* Best, Marc. ''Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen'' (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 100–104.

References

External links

* *
Photographs of Mitzi Green and bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Mitzi 1920 births 1969 deaths American child actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses Actresses from New York City Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Deaths from cancer in California Paramount Pictures contract players 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers