Susan Douglas

Susan Douglas Rubes is an Austrian-born actress and producer. She was born Zuzka Zenta in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Alfred and Charlotte Burstein. When she was young, her parents moved to a ranch in central Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. Her family took her to the theater or opera in Brno, and on occasion, they would visit Zuzka's maternal grandmother in Vienna, who was the manager of the Burgtheater. She began studying ballet at the age of eight. In 1939, her Jewish parents moved to Paris, and a year later Zuzka moved to the United States with her mother to escape the war in Europe. Emigration to the U.S. was allowed on the basis of annual quotas. Charlotte was allowed in the country on the basis of her birth in Italy, because the quota of Italy had not been filled for that year. Alfred moved to London to work for the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. Zuzka learned English (her fourth language) by seeing three movies a day. Under the name Suzi Burstein, she attended George Washington High School in New York. After graduating in 1943, she changed her name to Susan Douglas. Her first name, Zuzka, is Czech for Susan, while she selected Douglas from a phone book. Beginning in 1945, she began a career spanning radio, television, theater and film; she was both an actress and producer. Her 1947 movie debut was in The Private Affairs of Bel Ami.  Following the film, she was offered a standard seven year contract by Albert Lewin of MGM, but turned it down to live in New York.  Betwe…