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34-419: The original Santa Cruz High School building was built in 1895 and first opened in 1897. Previously, all High School classes had been taught on the fourth floor of Mission Hill Middle School. The first class graduated at Smith's Opera House on June 7, 1878, with a total of four pupils: Evelyn Pope, Cornelia Chappelmann, John Cooper, and Underwood McCann, receiving diplomas. In 1894, a vote of 530 to 175 decided that

68-425: A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). Pitts was married to actor Thomas Sarsfield Gallery from 1920 until their 1933 divorce. Gallery became a Los Angeles boxing promoter and later a TV executive. The couple had two children: In 1933, Pitts married John Edward "Eddie" Woodall, with whom she remained until her death. Declining health dominated Pitts's later years, particularly after she was diagnosed with cancer in

102-515: A dizzy dame constantly looking for a husband. When Marian Jordan temporarily withdrew from Fibber McGee and Molly due to illness, Pitts made guest appearances opposite Jim Jordan as Fibber. Pitts also guested on variety shows, trading banter with Bing Crosby , Al Jolson , W.C. Fields , and Rudy Vallee , among others. She played Miss Mamie Wayne in the soap opera Big Sister . , and was heard as Miss Pitts on The New Lum and Abner Show . In 1944, Pitts tackled Broadway , making her debut in

136-464: A dramatic actress. She was given the greatest tragic role of her career in Erich von Stroheim 's 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour epic Greed (1924). The surprise casting initially shocked Hollywood, but showed that Pitts could draw tears with her doleful demeanor, as well as laughs. Having been extensively edited prior to release — the final theatrical cut ran just over two hours — the movie failed initially at

170-424: A repressed romantic interest in her girlfriend; the studio reshot these scenes with Pitts, now playing the girl's companion for laughs, and von Stroheim's directorial credit was removed from the film. The film was finally released in 1933, much changed, as Hello, Sister! . ZaSu Pitts was so recognizable in comedies that the public didn't take her dramatic efforts seriously. In the classic war drama All Quiet on

204-489: A separate building was needed, leading its construction in 1895. On October 1, 1913, at approximately 6:00 in the evening the school caught fire. The cause of the fire remains unknown, however the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported the following day that the blaze appeared to have broken out on the third story of the building. The alarm sounded at 6:40 pm at the firehouse and the beach, the fire department arrived on

238-478: A vote of 5 to 1 made the decision to construct a new building in the same location. The current building was opened in the fall of 1915, is made of reinforced concrete, and contains 27 classrooms and an auditorium with a capacity of 830. It was designed by architect W. H. Weeks , of San Francisco. A total of 11 former students were killed in World War I , between 1917 and 1918. In 1919, the graduating class carved

272-575: Is controlled by Alden Global Capital . The paper was owned by the McPherson family from 1864 to 1982. Ottaway Community Newspapers , a division of Dow Jones & Company , bought the paper in 1982. Community Newspaper Holdings bought the Sentinel in late 2006 from Ottaway, but quickly sold it, February 2, 2007, to MediaNews Group . The MediaNews Group formed Digital First Media in 2013 when it merged with Journal Register Company. The company

306-516: Is controlled by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital . This article about a California newspaper is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . ZaSu Pitts ZaSu Pitts ( / ˈ s eɪ z uː ˈ p ɪ t s / ; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, starred in many silent film dramas , such as Erich von Stroheim 's 1924 epic Greed , and comedies, before transitioning successfully to mostly comedy roles with

340-491: Is on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard. In 1994, she was honored with her image on a United States postage stamp along with fellow actors Rudolph Valentino , Clara Bow and Charlie Chaplin as part of The Silent Screen Stars stamp set, designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld . Her birthplace of Parsons, Kansas, has a star tile at the entrance to the Parsons Theatre to commemorate her. In

374-463: The Western Front (1930), Pitts was cast as the distraught mother of young soldier Lew Ayres , but at preview screenings her intense performance drew unintentional laughs. Her scenes were refilmed with Beryl Mercer . In 1936 RKO needed a replacement actress for its Hildegarde Withers series of murder mysteries; Edna May Oliver had left the studio and Helen Broderick succeeded Oliver in

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408-593: The advent of sound films . She also appeared on numerous radio shows and, later, made her mark on television. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 at 6554 Hollywood Blvd. ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas , the third of four children of Rulandus and Nelly ( née Shay) Pitts. Her father, who had lost a leg while serving in the 76th New York Infantry in the Civil War , had settled

442-585: The age of 22, she spent many months seeking work as a film extra. Finally, she was discovered for substantive roles in films by screenwriter Frances Marion , who cast Pitts as an orphaned slavey (child of work) in the silent film A Little Princess (1917), starring Pickford. Pitts's popularity grew following a series of Universal one-reeler comedies, and earned her first feature-length lead in King Vidor 's Better Times (1919). The following year she married her first husband, Tom Gallery , with whom she

476-508: The arrival of a stage in the original building. It is a student-run after-school activity that still exists today. Well known actress and alumna ZaSu Pitts participated in school theater productions while attending SCHS, between 1914 and 1915. Santa Cruz Sentinel The Santa Cruz Sentinel is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California , covering Santa Cruz County, California , and owned by Media News Group , which

510-443: The blaze, according to one source, having abandoned early efforts to salvage school property; however some things, such as 40 new typewriters, and the school records and trophies, were saved. At the time, there were 345 students attending the school and the principal was George A. Bond. For the next few years the classes were held at various locations around town, for example Bay View and Mission Hill schools, until March 17, 1914, when

544-489: The box office, but has since been restored to over four hours and is considered one of the greatest films ever made . Based on her performance, von Stroheim labeled ZaSu Pitts "the greatest dramatic actress." He also featured her in his films The Honeymoon (1928), The Wedding March (1928), and Walking Down Broadway . Pitts's performance in Walking Down Broadway was dramatic, with her character showing

578-415: The displeasure of several members of Veterans of Foreign Wars , who saw it as breaking a "covenant" made when the trees were planted. After WWII, a second memorial was constructed along the same wall as the first, listing the names of the students who had fallen in service. Each year, these students' biographies and photos, as well as those of women who served but were unharmed in the war, are placed next to

612-596: The early 1920s, eleven black walnut trees were planted around the athletic field, one for each of the alumni who died during the war. In 2008, there were tensions between neighborhood residents of Myrtle Street and the Santa Cruz City School District over plans to cut down four of the trees as part of a track renovation project for the Santa Cruz High School Memorial Track and Field. The residents argued that

646-558: The family in Kansas before ZaSu's birth. The names of her father's sisters, Eliza and Susan, were purportedly the basis for the name "ZaSu", i.e., to satisfy competing family interests. It has been (incorrectly) spelled as Zazu Pitts in some film credits and news articles. Although the name is commonly mispronounced / ˈ z æ z uː / ZAZ -oo or / ˈ z eɪ s uː / ZAY -soo , or / ˈ z eɪ z uː / ZAY -zoo , in her 1963 book Candy Hits (pg. 15), published

680-491: The firefighters made several advances, most notably by getting onto the second story balcony at the North corner of the building, they ultimately were forced to retreat. The school was deemed unsalvageable around 7:00, after the water from the fire hoses was dissolved into steam by the heat of the flames. The fire threatened neighboring homes until the building eventually collapsed in on itself. Approximately 5,000 onlookers watched

714-521: The hospital room scene of Alum and Eve (1932). In 1903, when Pitts was nine years old, her family moved to Santa Cruz, California , to seek a warmer climate and better job opportunities. Her childhood home at 208 Lincoln Street still stands. She attended Santa Cruz High School , where she participated in school theatricals. Pitts made her stage debut in 1914–15 doing school and local community theater in Santa Cruz. Going to Los Angeles in 1916, at

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748-500: The marching band to join a 0-period jazz band. The band meets before school every morning and travels along with the marching band to play in various competitions and festivals, including the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival . The Woman's Honor Society (or Girl's Honor Society, as it was known until 1989), was founded in 1922. It still exists at Santa Cruz High School today. The Drama Club was founded c. 1912, along with

782-550: The mid-1950s. She continued to work, appearing on TV and making brief appearances in the films The Thrill of It All and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . She died in Hollywood on June 7, 1963, aged 69, and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City . Pitts wrote a book of candy recipes, Candy Hits , which was published posthumously in 1963. ZaSu Pitts was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960, for her contribution to motion pictures. Her star

816-715: The mystery Ramshackle Inn . The play, written expressly for her, did well, and she took the show on the road in later years. She was also a familiar attraction in summer-stock theaters, playing annually in the Norma Mitchell play Post Road. Postwar films continued to give her the chance to play comic snoops and flighty relatives in such fare as Life with Father (1947), but in the 1950s, she started focusing on television. This culminated in her best-known series role, playing second banana to Gale Storm in ABC 's The Gale Storm Show (1956) (also known as Oh, Susanna ), in

850-402: The names of those alumni into the marble facing of the wall of the entry hall, as a memorial to those lost in the war. Above the names is carved the inscription, "Freedom Cometh Not Free." George A. Bond wrote a letter in the 1919 year book dedicating it, saying "Their names are carved...not only on the marble of our school walls, but on the ineffaceable marble of our memories and our hearts." In

884-504: The names upon the wall. Much of the historical information known about Santa Cruz High School comes from the old school newspaper, "The Trident". First published in 1906 and edited by George Griffin (class of 1907), it gave accounts of events around the school, student opinion, activities and administration at SCHS. After the boys' Manual Training program was introduced in 1916, the Trident was printed on two small student-operated presses in

918-671: The printing department. The newspaper continued at least into the 1990s. The newspaper returned in the fall of 2017. There is also a separate Trident Building, now used to teach classes in. After being established in 1925, the band program is one of the oldest in California. The Cardinal Regiment , the Santa Cruz High School's marching band, is the only competitive marching band left in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz High also offers students enrolled in

952-601: The role of Elvira Nugent ("Nugie"), the shipboard beautician . In 1961, Pitts was cast opposite Earle Hodgins in the episode "Lonesome's Gal" of the ABC sitcom Guestward, Ho! , set on a dude ranch in New Mexico . In 1962, she appeared in an episode of CBS's Perry Mason , "The Case of the Absent Artist". Her final role was as Gertie, the switchboard operator in the Stanley Kramer comedy epic It's

986-451: The role. Pitts was chosen to succeed Broderick. In theory, it was a good idea: Pitts seemed to fit the role of a prim, spinster schoolmistress. However, mystery fans couldn't accept the fluttery Pitts as a brainy sleuth who matched wits with the police, and after her two Withers films the series was abandoned. Beginning in the 1930s, Pitts found work in radio. She appeared several times in the earliest Fibber McGee and Molly shows, playing

1020-405: The scene, and unsuccessfully tried to combat the blaze with its singular "fire auto" and various hoses placed all around the building. Neighbors used their garden hoses from across the street, with reports of people climbing on the roofs of their houses to better aim the jets of water. The frame structure of the building and the ignition point of the fire made it extremely difficult to combat. While

1054-456: The trees were a valuable part of the school's history and the plans should be altered to accommodate them, whereas the District argued that it would cost too much money and the trees, which showed indications of interior rot, would have to be cut down anyway. As of 2009, two of the trees had been removed, with plans for the removal of the remaining two of the original four disputed trees, much to

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1088-490: The year of her death, the actress gave the correct pronunciation as "Say Zoo" / ˈ s eɪ z uː / , recounting that Mary Pickford had predicted "many will mispronounce it", and adding, "How right she was." However, when introducing herself on the September 4, 1952 episode of I've Got a Secret , she herself pronounced it as Zay-zoo. Her comedy series partner Thelma Todd also clearly addresses her as Zay-zoo in

1122-430: Was often imitated in cartoons and other films. She starred in a number of Hal Roach short films and features, often in partnership with Thelma Todd as two trouble-prone working girls. At Universal she co-starred in a series of feature-length comedies with Slim Summerville . Switching between comedy short films and features, by the advent of sound, she became a specialist in comedy roles. ZaSu Pitts had hidden talents as

1156-413: Was paired in several films, including Heart of Twenty (1920), Bright Eyes , Patsy (both 1921) and A Daughter of Luxury (1922). Pitts enjoyed her greatest fame in the early 1930s, often starring in B movies and comedy short films, teamed with Thelma Todd . She played secondary parts in many films. Her stock persona (a fretful, flustered, worried spinster ) made her instantly recognizable and

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