Working Woman

Happy birthday (in memoriam) to gorgeously talented Ann Sothern (1909-2001), one of the Women Who Made Television Funny commemorated in my first book. Was there much of anything she couldn't do? An actress equally at home in comedy or drama, as well as a fine singer, she had a long and varied career that encompassed film, radio, television, and the stage. Off-camera, she was an astute businesswoman who knew how to get things done, and was often the driving force behind her professional success.

By nature, she confessed in a late 1950s interview, she was "the laziest gal in town." But somehow work always called, and Ann Sothern always responded. Aren't we glad she did?