
Actor
Mitzi Green
Born October 22, 1920 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USADied May 24, 196917 films
Mitzi Green, also known as Mitze Green, was born Elizabeth Keno in The Bronx on October 22, 1920. At age 3, she began appearing in her parents' vaudeville act. In the early 1930s, she starred in several popular films with Paramount Pictures, including Tom Sawyer (1930) and Huckleberry Finn (1931). She became known as "Little Mitzi," and she was the first child star to sign for a multi-picture contract with Paramount. Green had a natural talent for comedy and mimicry, and audiences were impressed by her uncanny imitations of Greta Garbo and George Arliss. She was also a gifted singer, performing two songs in Girl Crazy (1932).
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But her career as "Little Mitzi" would not last. Green matured quickly, and at age 14 she was cast in an adult role in Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934), which marked the end of her career as a child star. Green left Hollywood and spent the next several years performing on Broadway and in night clubs. She starred in the original Broadway production of Rogers' and Hart's Babes in Arms, where she introduced the classic song "My Funny Valentine." During this time she appeared in only one film, Santa Fe Trail (1940), in which she had a bit part. Green's career as an adult star in Hollywood began in 1952, when she re-emerged on screen in Lost in Alaska (1952), opposite Abbott and Costello. She also appeared in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952) and the sitcom So This Is Hollywood (1955), in which she played a perceptive stunt woman. After many years of retirement, Green died of cancer on May 24, 1969, in Huntington Beach, California. She was 48. She is buried in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.
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The best way into Mitzi Green's work
First watchSanta Fe Trail19405.8as Girl at Wedding (uncredited)As a penalty for fighting fellow classmates days before graduating from West Point, J.E.B. Stuart, George Armstrong Custer and four friends are assigned to the 2nd Cavalry, stationed at…View filmFilmography
17 films as actor- 1952Bloodhounds of Broadway'52nd Tessie' Sammis
- 1952Lost in AlaskaRosette
- 1940Santa Fe TrailGirl at Wedding (uncredited)
- 1934Transatlantic Merry-Go-RoundMitzi
- 1932Little Orphan AnnieAnnie
- 1932Girl CrazyTessie Deegan
- 1931Huckleberry FinnBecky Thatcher
- 1931Newly RichDaisy Tate
- 1931Dude RanchAlice Merridew
- 1931SkippyEloise
- 1931The Stolen JoolsLittle Mitzi
- 1931Finn and HattieMildred Haddock
- 1930Tom SawyerBecky Thatcher
- 1930The Santa Fe TrailEmily
- 1930Love Among the MillionairesPenelope 'Penny' Whipple
- 1930HoneyDoris
- 1929The Marriage PlaygroundZinnie Wheater