Zita Johann (14 July 1904 – 17 September 1993) was an American actress, best known for her role as Princess Ankhesenamón in Karl Freund's 1932 film version of The Mummy, co-starring with Boris Karloff.A Banat German, she was born Elisabeth Johann in the village of Deutschbentschek (near Temesvar), Austria-Hungary (now Timi?oara, Romania). Her father, a hussar officer named Stefan Johann, emigrated with his family to the United States in 1911.She debuted on Broadway in 1924 and made her first film appearance in D. W. Griffith's 1931 film The Struggle. After seven films, she quit to work in theater, starring with John Houseman, to whom she was married 1929-1933, and with Orson Welles. She also taught acting to people with learning disorders.Johann married three times. She made her last film appearance in the 1986 horror film Raiders of the Living Dead.She died in 1993 at age 89 in Nyack, New York. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered in a stream in upstate New York.
[on Boris Karloff] He had the saddest eyes I'd ever seen. Whatever his pain was, it was very deep and very real.
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Fact
1
She was given an MGM contract with a script approval clause but turned down every script offered to her. She reportedly said Io production head Irving Thalberg, "Why do you make these awful pictures?.
2
She asked RKO to be released from her contract with the studio when they tried to make her appear in what she considered a tawdry melodrama, "Thirteen Women.".
3
She turned down the lead in the 1929 version of "Showboat" in favor of appearing in a Broadway play along with Clark Gable.
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She moved to New York City with her family when she was 7, and appeared in high school plays. She had roles in touring productions of "Peer Gynt," "The Devil's Disciple" and "He Who Gets Slapped." She made her Broadway debut in 1924 in the Theater Guild's production of "Man and the Masses.".
5
During WWII, she raised money for war-related charities, and organized shows for American soldiers. In later years, she worked with disturbed children and gave private acting lessons.
6
In February 1933, the car Johann was driving was hit by John Huston and she sustained minor injuries. A little over 6 months later, Huston was involved in another accident that killed dancer Tosca Roulien.
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Acted on Broadway from 1924-1942. Appeared in 12 major productions.
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She was a strong woman in Hollywood and once phoned up a major studio executive to ask why he made such rubbish.
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Before acting in a scene she would pray.
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She was married and divorced twice more after John Houseman.
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She by whom the title character, played by Boris Karloff, was enthralled in The Mummy (1932).
$1.5 Million
