Biography
Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 [some sources cite 1909] – October 8, 1985) was an American actress, singer, and dancer known for her work in film and television.
In 1929, Harris moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. She debuted in the film Thunderbolt, performing the song "Daddy Won't You Please Come Home." In the 1930s, she frequently portrayed maids serving fictional Southern belles, socialites, and female criminals, often without screen credit. She also appeared in minor roles at studios such as Warner Bros. and MGM, commonly playing blues singers, waitresses, tribal women, prostitutes, and hatcheck girls.
Harris had a notable role as a friend of Jean Harlow in MGM’s Hold Your Man (1932). In 1933, she appeared as Chico in Warner Bros.' pre-Code film Baby Face, starring Barbara Stanwyck. That same year, she played a significant part opposite Ginger Rogers in Professional Sweetheart. Harris's character, the maid to Rogers's character, substitutes as a radio singer, playing a crucial role in the film’s plot, though she received no credit.
Throughout the 1930s, Harris took on many uncredited roles in films including Horse Feathers (1932), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933), and Morning Glory (1933). She also portrayed Zette, Bette Davis’s maid, in Jezebel (1938). In 1937, Harris starred alongside Ralph Cooper in the race film Bargain With Bullets, produced by Million Dollar Productions. While promoting the film, she expressed frustration about the limited opportunities for African American actors in Hollywood, saying, "I never had the chance to rise above the role of maid in Hollywood movies. My color was against me no matter how you looked at it. The fact that I was not 'hot' labeled me either as uppity or confined to the eternal role of stooge or servant... My ambition is to be an actress. Hollywood had no parts for me."
Despite advocating for better roles, Harris found few opportunities in Hollywood. In the 1939 film Tell No Tales, she was credited as Ruby, the wife of a murdered man, delivering an emotional scene with Melvin Douglas at a funeral. She also appeared in a memorable supporting role as Eunice Leonard, the ex-maid of Kathie Moffat, in Jacques Tourneur’s 1947 film Out of the Past.
Beyond film, Harris performed in numerous radio programs, often cast opposite Eddie Rochester Anderson, who played her on-screen boyfriend. She secured several prominent roles with RKO Pictures, favored by producer Val Lewton, who cast African American actors in more nuanced roles. Under Lewton, Harris appeared as a sarcastic waitress in Cat People (1942), followed by parts in I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Phantom Lady (1944), and Strange Illusion (1945).
In the 1950s, Harris appeared multiple times on television. Her final film role was an uncredited appearance in The Gift of Love (1958).
Later in life, Harris married a doctor and retired from acting, living comfortably thanks to careful investments made during her career.
Theresa Harris, known later as Theresa Robinson, passed away on October 8, 1985, in Inglewood, California.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
