Quick Facts
Biography
Zita Johann (born Elisabeth Johann, 14 July 1904 – 17 September 1993) was an Austrian-American actress, best known for her performance in Karl Freund's 1932 film, The Mummy, with Boris Karloff.
Biography
A Banat German, Zita Johann was born Elisabeth Johann in the village of Deutschbentschek (near Temesvar), Austria-Hungary. 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, working 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.
Theatre credits
| Date | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 14 – June 1924 | Man and the Masses | First Woman Prisoner | Garrick Theatre, New York |
| November 24, 1924 – January 1925 | Dawn | Judith | Sam H. Harris Theatre, New York |
| June 18 – November 29, 1925 | Grand Street Follies | Performer | Neighborhood Playhouse, New York |
| January 25 – March 1926 | The Goat Song | Kruna | Guild Theatre, New York |
| September 7 – November 24, 1928 | Machinal | A Young Woman | Plymouth Theatre, New York |
| April 1 – April 1930 | Troyka | Natascha | Hudson Theatre, New York |
| September 22 – October 1930 | Uncle Vanya | Sofya Alexandrovna | Booth Theatre, New York |
| January 13 – July 1931 | Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Eve Redman | Henry Miller's Theatre, New York |
| March 14–16, 1935 | Panic | Ione | Imperial Theatre, New York:159 |
| May 27 – June 1935 | Seven Keys to Baldpate | Mary Norton | National Theatre, New York |
| March 1–2, 1940 | The Burning Deck | Nina Brandt | Maxine Elliott Theatre, New York |
| June 23 – July 1942 | Broken Journey | Rachel Thatcher Arlen | Henry Miller's Theatre, New York |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Struggle, TheThe Struggle | Florrie Wilson | |
| 1932 | Tiger Shark | Quita Silva | |
| 1932 | Mummy, TheThe Mummy | Helen Grosvenor | |
| 1933 | Luxury Liner | Miss Morgan | |
| 1933 | Man Who Dared, TheThe Man Who Dared | Teena Pavelic | |
| 1933 | Sin of Nora Moran, TheThe Sin of Nora Moran | Nora Moran | |
| 1934 | Grand Canary | Suzan Tranter | |
| 1986 | Raiders of the Living Dead | ||
| 1993 | D. W. Griffith: Father of Film | On-screen participant |
