person

Theresa Harris

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Female

Birthday

1906-12-31

Place of Birth

Houston, Texas, USA

Theresa Harris

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.

Also Known For

poster

70

Jezebel

Mar 26, 1938

poster

73

Miracle on 34th Street

Jun 04, 1947

poster

68

I Walked with a Zombie

Apr 21, 1943

poster

73

Baby Face

Jul 13, 1933

poster

66

The File on Thelma Jordon

Nov 04, 1949

poster

61

The Velvet Touch

Jul 13, 1948

poster

63

The Flame of New Orleans

Jul 07, 1941

poster

58

Neptune's Daughter

Jun 10, 1949

poster

50

The Trespasser

Jul 03, 1947

poster

NA

Bargain with Bullets

Sep 17, 1937

poster

65

Blossoms in the Dust

Aug 15, 1941

poster

57

Our Wife

Aug 20, 1941

poster

NA

Buck Benny Rides Again

May 31, 1940

poster

62

Night After Night

Oct 29, 1932

poster

49

Smooth as Silk

Feb 01, 1946

poster

64

Arrowsmith

Dec 07, 1931

poster

49

And Baby Makes Three

Dec 02, 1949

poster

65

Love Thy Neighbor

Dec 27, 1940

poster

63

Mary Stevens, M.D.

Jul 22, 1933

poster

39

Success at Any Price

Mar 16, 1934

poster

48

The Toy Wife

Jun 10, 1938

poster

50

Al Jennings of Oklahoma

Jan 17, 1951

poster

70

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Aug 07, 1941

poster

70

Blood Money

Nov 17, 1933

poster

67

Charlie Chan at the Olympics

May 21, 1937

poster

43

Grounds for Marriage

Jan 12, 1951

poster

53

Tell No Tales

Jun 12, 1939

poster

73

Desirable

Sep 08, 1934

poster

68

Tension

Nov 25, 1949

poster

71

The Women

Sep 01, 1939

poster

NA

The Lady Escapes

Jul 22, 1937

poster

57

Broadway Thru a Keyhole

Nov 02, 1933

poster

72

The Gift of Love

Feb 11, 1958

poster

66

Back from Eternity

Sep 07, 1956

poster

NA

Spoilers of the Forest

Apr 04, 1957

poster

54

Strange Illusion

Mar 31, 1945

poster

58

Thunderbolt

Jun 20, 1929

poster

63

Morocco

Nov 14, 1930

poster

68

Horse Feathers

Aug 19, 1932

poster

63

The Green Pastures

Aug 01, 1936

poster

52

The Half-Naked Truth

Dec 16, 1932

poster

76

Out of the Past

Nov 25, 1947

poster

73

The Lady from Shanghai

Dec 24, 1947

poster

57

Santa Fe Trail

Dec 20, 1940

poster

70

Angel Face

Jan 02, 1953

poster

NA

Swingtime Jamboree

Jan 01, 1946

poster

52

City of Chance

Jan 13, 1940

poster

52

Black Moon

Jun 15, 1934

poster

NA

The Outskirts of Town

Oct 19, 1942

poster

NA

Tough as They Come

Jun 05, 1942

poster

40

The Road to Reno

Sep 25, 1931

poster

37

Grand Slam

Feb 22, 1933

poster

72

Gold Diggers of 1933

May 27, 1933

poster

69

Cat People

Dec 05, 1942

poster

50

Professional Sweetheart

Jun 09, 1933

poster

55

Sing Your Worries Away

Mar 06, 1942

poster

60

Big Town Girl

Dec 03, 1937

poster

61

Hold Your Man

Jun 30, 1933

poster

72

The Big Clock

Mar 18, 1948

poster

69

Alias Nick Beal

Mar 04, 1949

poster

62

Finishing School

May 04, 1934

poster

65

Faithless

Oct 15, 1932

poster

NA

The Worst Woman in Paris?

Dec 03, 1933

poster

67

Go Into Your Dance

Apr 20, 1935

poster

NA

One Hour To Live

Nov 10, 1939

poster

57

Small Town Girl

Apr 10, 1953

poster

67

Go Into Your Dance

Apr 20, 1935

poster

42

The French Line

Feb 08, 1954

poster

67

Penthouse

Sep 08, 1933

poster

61

Union Depot

Jan 14, 1932

poster

64

Merrily We Go to Hell

Jun 10, 1932

poster

59

The Company She Keeps

Jan 27, 1951

poster

60

Private Detective 62

Jun 10, 1933

poster

77

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Oct 02, 1955

poster

65

Letter to Loretta

Sep 20, 1953

poster

60

How to Marry a Millionaire

Oct 07, 1957

poster

63

Lux Video Theatre

Oct 02, 1950