Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 [some sources indicate 1909] – October 8, 1985) was an American film and television actress, singer and dancer.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0365382
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3523796
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Filmography (Movies)
The Gift of Love
Character:Dora - Sam's Wife (uncredited)
Release Date:11/02/1958
Spoilers of the Forest
Character:Nancy the Maid
Release Date:04/04/1957
Back from Eternity
Character:Mamie (uncredited)
Release Date:07/09/1956
The French Line
Character:Clare (uncredited)
Release Date:08/02/1954
Small Town Girl
Character:Backstage Maid
Release Date:10/04/1953
Angel Face
Character:Nurse Theresa (uncredited)
Release Date:02/01/1953
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
Character:Terese
Release Date:17/01/1951
Grounds for Marriage
Character:Stella, Ina's Maid
Release Date:12/01/1951
The Company She Keeps
Character:Lilly Johnson (uncredited)
Release Date:06/01/1951
And Baby Makes Three
Character:Maid
Release Date:02/12/1949
Tension
Character:Woman in Drugstore (uncredited)
Release Date:25/11/1949
The File on Thelma Jordon
Character:Esther
Release Date:04/11/1949
Neptune's Daughter
Character:Matilda the Maid (uncredited)
Release Date:10/06/1949
Alias Nick Beal
Character:Opal
Release Date:04/03/1949
The Velvet Touch
Character:Nancy
Release Date:13/07/1948
The Big Clock
Character:Daisy (uncredited)
Release Date:18/03/1948
The Lady from Shanghai
Character:Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Release Date:24/12/1947
Out of the Past
Character:Eunice Leonard (uncredited)
Release Date:25/11/1947
The Trespasser
Character:Julia, the maid
Release Date:03/07/1947
Miracle on 34th Street
Character:Cleo (uncredited)
Release Date:04/06/1947
Smooth as Silk
Character:Louise (Maid)
Release Date:01/02/1946
Swingtime Jamboree
Character:Herself
Release Date:01/01/1946
Strange Illusion
Character:Maid
Release Date:31/03/1945
I Walked with a Zombie
Character:Alma
Release Date:21/04/1943
Cat People
Character:Minnie (uncredited)
Release Date:05/12/1942
The Outskirts of Town
Character:Wife
Release Date:19/10/1942
Tough as They Come
Character:Bessie Mae
Release Date:05/06/1942
Sing Your Worries Away
Character:Hat Check Girl
Release Date:06/03/1942
Our Wife
Character:Hattie
Release Date:20/08/1941
Blossoms in the Dust
Character:Cleo
Release Date:15/08/1941
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Character:Mother Listening to Hurdy-gurdy (uncredited)
Release Date:07/08/1941
The Flame of New Orleans
Character:Clémentine
Release Date:07/07/1941
Love Thy Neighbor
Character:Josephine
Release Date:27/12/1940
Santa Fe Trail
Character:Maid (uncredited)
Release Date:20/12/1940
Buck Benny Rides Again
Character:Josephine
Release Date:31/05/1940
City of Chance
Character:Beulah - Powder Room Attendant
Release Date:13/01/1940
One Hour To Live
Character:High Yaller girl
Release Date:10/11/1939
The Women
Character:Olive (uncredited)
Release Date:01/09/1939
Tell No Tales
Character:Ruby
Release Date:12/06/1939
The Toy Wife
Character:'Pick'
Release Date:10/06/1938
Jezebel
Character:Zette
Release Date:26/03/1938
Big Town Girl
Character:Maid
Release Date:03/12/1937
Bargain with Bullets
Character:Grace Foster
Release Date:17/09/1937
The Lady Escapes
Character:Maid (uncredited)
Release Date:22/07/1937
Charlie Chan at the Olympics
Character:Athlete
Release Date:21/05/1937
The Green Pastures
Character:Angel (uncredited)
Release Date:01/08/1936
Go Into Your Dance
Character:Dressing Room Maid
Release Date:20/04/1935
Go Into Your Dance
Character:Luana's Maid
Release Date:20/04/1935
Desirable
Character:Ladies Room Maid at Party
Release Date:08/09/1934
Black Moon
Character:Sacrificed Girl (uncredited)
Release Date:15/06/1934
Finishing School
Character:Evelyn (uncredited)
Release Date:04/05/1934
Success at Any Price
Character:Marie
Release Date:16/03/1934
The Worst Woman in Paris?
Character:Lily - the Maid
Release Date:03/12/1933
Blood Money
Character:Jessica (uncredited)
Release Date:17/11/1933
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
Character:Joan's Maid
Release Date:02/11/1933
Penthouse
Character:Lili (uncredited)
Release Date:08/09/1933
Mary Stevens, M.D.
Character:Andrews' Maid Alice (uncredited)
Release Date:22/07/1933
Baby Face
Character:Chico
Release Date:13/07/1933
Hold Your Man
Character:Lily Mae Crippen (uncredited)
Release Date:30/06/1933
Private Detective 62
Character:Janet's Maid (Uncredited)
Release Date:10/06/1933
Professional Sweetheart
Character:Vera (uncredited)
Release Date:09/06/1933
Gold Diggers of 1933
Character:Woman in "Pettin' in the Park" Number (uncredited)
Release Date:27/05/1933
Grand Slam
Character:Ladies' Room Attendant (uncredited)
Release Date:22/02/1933
The Half-Naked Truth
Character:Emily (uncredited)
Release Date:16/12/1932
The Sport Parade
Character:Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)
Release Date:11/11/1932
Night After Night
Character:Ladies' Room Attendant (uncredited)
Release Date:29/10/1932
Faithless
Character:Amanda
Release Date:15/10/1932
Free Wheeling
Character:Maid (uncredited)
Release Date:30/09/1932
Horse Feathers
Character:Laura (uncredited)
Release Date:19/08/1932
Week Ends Only
Character:Chloe (uncredited)
Release Date:19/06/1932
Merrily We Go to Hell
Character:Powder Room Attendant (uncredited)
Release Date:10/06/1932
Union Depot
Character:Black Woman (uncredited)
Release Date:14/01/1932
Arrowsmith
Character:Native Mother (uncredited)
Release Date:07/12/1931
The Road to Reno
Character:Maid at Dude Ranch
Release Date:25/09/1931
Morocco
Character:Camp Follower (uncredited)
Release Date:14/11/1930
Thunderbolt
Character:Singer
Release Date:20/06/1929
Television Appearances
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