When we planned our first film tribute to the wonderful Ann Sothern back in 2000, long before her death on March 15th, 2001 at the age of 92, she was delighted about our aim. "I've had many lovely tributes, but I've never had one as extensive as the one you have in mind," she told me on the phone from her home in Ketchum, Idaho. But she also asked a favor: "Make sure you tell 'em how hard we worked," she said. "We made it look easy ­ that was our job ­ but it was no picnic. The hours were long, we worked six day weeks much of the time and enjoyed some wonderful friendships, but it was work. But honey, that's why they were paying us." With Sothern, they always got their money's worth, too. She was a first-rate and classy lady who, year in and year out, made ordinary movies look superb and made good movies look superior.

During her 58 years in films (1929-87), she enlivened many a film but only once received an Oscar® nomination, that in 1987, for what turned out to be her last film, Mike Kaplan's The Whales of August with Bette Davis and Lillian Gish. Most of the time the beguiling Ann didn't get within a mile of a golden statuette, not because of her talent ­ which was immense ­ but because of her opportunities and also fate.

She was, for instance, supposed to star in MGM's big budget musical DuBarry Was a Lady, but had to bow out when she became pregnant with her daughter Tisha. She was to have starred with Robert Taylor in a big-budget MGM romance called Tropical Hurricane, but it was postponed because of World War II location restrictions; the same happened to a project planned for her and Clark Gable (and what a spunky team they would have made!). It was illness, which forced her to relinquish the costar spot with Cary Grant in the 1952 comedy Monkey Business. But perhaps the biggest missed-opportunity of all occurred in 1963 when Simone Signoret suddenly pulled out of her costarring role in Zorba the Greek with Anthony Quinn after which a call went to Ann's agents asking if she could immediately come and take over. No, was the reply, not until she had a chance to read the script and approve the clothes. So Zorba forged ahead with Lila Kedrova in the role instead, later bringing Kedrova an Academy Award®. Sometime after, Quinn ran into Sothern at a party and told her how much he wished she'd taken the chance and joined him in Zorba. Sothern was astounded. "It's the first I've heard of the offer," she told him. "I would have jumped at doing it!" It was, she later said, "The heartbreak of my career."

Luckily for her, she understood show business, its foibles and it's hazards, and she loved being a part of it, even with its zigzags, disappointments and hard work. Luckily for us, we have a wide assortment of Sothern films to keep us entertained, several of which you can see on Thursday, August 24th including a thriller (Shadow on the Wall, 1950) in which Ann plays, surprise! a villain. If you're not already Sothern-oriented, make sure you join us for our Sothern exposure during TCM's Summer Under the Stars. I guarantee you'll be a devoted fan from then on. Once seen, she's impossible to resist. That was Ann Sothern in person as well.

by Robert Osborne