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Mitzi Green
Green in 1932
Born	Elizabeth Keno (1920-10-22)October 22, 1920 New York City, U.S.[1]
Died	May 24, 1969(1969-05-24) (aged 48) Huntington Beach, California, U.S.[1]
Resting place	Eden Memorial Park Cemetery,Mission Hills, California
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1929–1955
Spouse	Joseph Pevney ​ ​ (m. 1942)​
Children	4

Mitzi Green (bornElizabeth Keno; October 22, 1920 – May 24, 1969)^[1] was an American actress and singer known for her work as a child actress forParamount andRKO, in the early "talkies" era. She then acted onBroadway and in other stage works, as well as in films and on television.

Mitzi Green was born in The Bronx on October 22, 1920 to a Jewish family.^[2] Starting at the age 3, she began appearing in her parents' vaudeville act under the nameLittle Mitzi.^[3]

Green was often featured inParamount's early talkies, as an outspoken and mischievous little girl alongside studio starsClara Bow,Jack Oakie,Ed Wynn,Leon Errol, andEdna May Oliver among others. Green was a gifted mimic and her celebrity imitations were often worked into the films. She was cast (against type) oppositeJackie Coogan in twoMark Twain adaptations,Tom Sawyer (1930) andHuckleberry Finn (1931). Paramount released her in 1931, as she was rapidly outgrowing child roles.

She moved toRKO for two pictures, both adaptations of works from other media. She played the title role inLittle Orphan Annie (1932), based on the popular comic strip, withEdgar Kennedy asDaddy Warbucks. She also appeared as the precocious kid sister inGirl Crazy (1932), the first movie version of theGeorge Gershwin-Ira Gershwin stage musical. Green brightened the film with surprising impersonations ofGeorge Arliss and her former co-star Edna May Oliver.

At the age of 14, she played asoubrette role inTransatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934), produced independently byEdward Small forUnited Artists release. It did not result in further film offers, and Green left Hollywood.

She went on toBroadway, where she starred in the original production ofRodgers andHart'sBabes in Arms (1937).^[4] Two of Green's numbers in the musical were "My Funny Valentine," which would later become a jazz standard in many cover recordings and performances, and "The Lady Is a Tramp".

Green made one more film in 1940 (Santa Fe Trail withErrol Flynn), then went back to stage and nightclub work, includingWalk with Music byHoagy Carmichael andJohnny Mercer, and theBetty Comden andAdolph Green musicalBillion Dollar Baby. Green married Broadway (and later movie and TV) directorJoseph Pevney and retired to raise a family. At age 31 she returned briefly to the screen oppositeAbbott and Costello inLost in Alaska (1952) and inBloodhounds of Broadway (1952), co-starring another Mitzi—Mitzi Gaynor.

In 1955, she starred withVirginia Gibson andGordon Jones in the short-livedNBCTV sitcomSo This Is Hollywood, in the role of Queenie Dugan, a high-spirited stuntwoman.^[5]

After a brief stint on thenightclub circuit, Green retired again, although she did appear insummer stock anddinner theater around the Los Angeles area thereafter, and she appeared occasionally as a guest on talk shows.

On radio, Green starred inPassport to Romance, a program "spiced with music and comedy", which premiered on theMutual Broadcasting System on April 5, 1946.^[6]

For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Green received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6430 Hollywood Blvd.^[7]

On May 24, 1969, Green died in Huntington Beach, California, at age 48, ofcancer.^[1][8]

• Babes in Arms (1937)
• Walk with Music (1940)
• Let Freedom Sing (1942)
• Billion Dollar Baby (1945)

• Best, Marc.Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 100–104.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMitzi Green.

• Mitzi Green atIMDb
• Mitzi Green at theInternet Broadway Database
• Photographs of Mitzi Green and bibliography

• 1920 births
• 1969 deaths
• American child actresses
• American film actresses
• American musical theatre actresses
• American television actresses
• Actresses from the Bronx
• Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
• Deaths from cancer in California
• Paramount Pictures contract players
• 20th-century American actresses
• 20th-century American singers
• 20th-century American women singers

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