Theresa Harris
| Theresa Harris | |
|---|---|
Harris in I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
|
|
| Born |
December 31, 1906 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | October 8, 1985 (aged 78) Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery |
| Education | Jefferson High School |
| Alma mater | UCLA Conservatory of Music Zoellner's Conservatory of Music |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, dancer |
| Years active | 1929–1958 |
| Spouse(s) | George Robinson |
Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 – October 8, 1985) was an American television and film actress, singer and dancer.
Harris was born on New Year's Eve 1906 (some sources indicate 1909) in Houston, Texas to Isaiah (1879–1956) and Mable (1883–1964) Harris, both of whom were former sharecroppers from Louisiana.
Harris' family relocated to Southern California when she was 11 years old. After graduating Jefferson High School, she studied at the UCLA Conservatory of Music and Zoellner's Conservatory of Music. She then joined the African American musical comedy theatre troupe, the Lafayette Players.
In 1929, she 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 played by such actresses as Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Esther Williams, Thelma Todd, Kay Francis, and Barbara Stanwyck. These parts, however, were sometimes uncredited. She also floated around studios doing bit-parts, usually at Warner Bros. or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Aside from maids, she also specialized in playing blues singers, waitresses, tribal women, prostitutes, and hat check girls.
Harris had a featured role as a friend of Jean Harlow in MGM's Hold Your Man (1932), also starring Clark Gable. In 1933, she starred 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.
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