Ann Sothern - Later Career

Later Career

Previously a beauty, Sothern had a bout of hepatitis which left her with a bloated, overweight appearance from the waist down. From this point on, she wore black, high-waisted flaring dresses to hide her appearance. In addition, she suffered an injury to her back after a fall during a stage production which left her disabled.

She co-starred with Henry Fonda in a 1964 dramatic film, The Best Man, as a woman whose annoying behavior must be tolerated by presidential candidates because she is considered to have considerable influence in party politics.

In 1965, she was heard as the voice of Gladys Crabtree (the car) in the short-lived series My Mother the Car, which co-starred Jerry Van Dyke. That year she appeared in the title role of "The Widow Fay" episode of ABC's western series The Legend of Jesse James, starring Christopher Jones in the title role of the outlaw Jesse James. She had her meatiest character role in the obscure film Sylvia with a memorable scene with star George Maharis in an elegant restaurant with Sothern playing an alcoholic, tubby call girl-friend of Carroll Baker.

During this period, Sothern made occasional guest appearances on The Lucy Show with her old RKO and MGM cohort, Lucille Ball. After Vivian Vance left the show, Sothern was considered to replace Vance. In 1967 her former boss Desi Arnaz approached her to co-star with Eve Arden as battling neighbors in The Mothers-in-Law. However, NBC felt that Sothern's style was too similar to Arden's.

She resumed working sporadically on television until the mid-1980s, including a remake of her earlier success A Letter to Three Wives. Her final film role was in The Whales of August in 1987. Her role as the neighbor of elderly sisters, played by Lillian Gish and Bette Davis, brought Sothern her only Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination.