Peggy Webber (born September 15, 1925)[1] is an American actress and writer who has worked in film, stage, television, and radio.
Peggy Webber | |
|---|---|
 Webber in a 1955 episode of Dragnet | |
| Born | September 15, 1925 Laredo, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1937–present |
| Television | Dragnet (1952–1955) The Waltons (1976) The Smurfs (1983–1984) |
| Spouse |
Dr. Robert Marshall Sinskey
(m. 1951; div. 1967) |
| Children | 3 |
Early years
editThe daughter of a wildcat oil driller,[2] Webber was born in Laredo, Texas.[1] Before she was 3 years old, she was entertaining audiences at intermission times in theaters.[3] In 1942, she graduated from Tucson High School, where she was active in dramatics.[4]
Film
editWebber's screen debut came in the 1946 film Her Adventurous Night. In 1948, she played Lady Macduff in Orson Welles' adaptation of Macbeth. Her other notable roles include Mrs. Alice Rice in the 1952 film Submarine Command and Miss Dennerly in The Wrong Man, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.[5]
Radio
editWebber debuted on radio at age 12 on WOAI (AM) in San Antonio, Texas.[6] Her vocal talents for radio were highlighted in Time magazine's August 5, 1946, issue. The Radio: Vocal Varieties article noted, "In three years, her latex voice has supplied radio with 150 different characters on some 2,500 broadcasts."[7]
Programs on which she was heard included The Dreft Star Playhouse,[6] Dragnet,[8] The Woman in My House,[9]: 358 Pete Kelly's Blues,[9]: 269 Dr. Paul,[9]: 101 The Damon Runyon Theater,[9] and The Man Called X.[4] In 1979, she played many characters on Sears Radio Theater. She is the founder of California Artists Radio Theatre.[8] The September 8, 2019, episode of The Big Broadcast highlighted her career and included a recent interview in which she mentioned her current projects.[10]
Television
editWebber appeared on a number of television programs including "Dragnet". She portrayed Elise Sandor in Kings Row on ABC in 1955–56.[11] She also played abused sister Flora Stencil in the 1957 episode of Gunsmoke in the episode "Cheap Labor".
Writing, directing, and producing
editWebber wrote and directed "some 250 stage plays, radio and television programs."[3] She was writer and producer for Treasures of Literature, an early television program. In her later years, she was responsible for writing, directing, and producing "hundreds of new audio programs."[3]
Recognition
editWebber received the 2014 Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre, "which celebrates a lifetime of achievement in this sonic art."[3] She was the first woman so honored.[3] Her program Treasure of Literature was named "Most Popular Television Program – 1949" by the Television Academy.[12]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Her Adventurous Night | Miss Howard | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Little Miss Big | Ellen | |
| 1948 | Macbeth | Lady Macduff / The Three | |
| 1951 | Fighting Coast Guard | Head Hostess | |
| 1951 | Journey Into Light | Jane Burrows | |
| 1951 | Submarine Command | Alice Rice | |
| 1956 | The Wrong Man | Alice Dennerly | |
| 1958 | The Screaming Skull | Jenni Whitlock | |
| 1958 | The Space Children | Anne Brewster | |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Woman praying at temple | Uncredited |
| 1987 | 'Tis the Season to Be Smurfy | Elise | Voice |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952–1955 | Dragnet | Peg Ruskin / Virginia Sterling / Leona Perry / Police dispatcher / Roberta Salazar | |
| 1955 | The Public Defender | Mrs. Gayley | |
| 1955 | Medic | Stell Ramsey | |
| 1955 | The Whistler | Denise Clark | |
| 1955 | Big Town | Carla Jackson | |
| 1955 | Matinee Theatre | Cathy | |
| 1956 | Frontier | Meg Horn | |
| 1956 | Damon Runyon Theatre | Claire Simpson | |
| 1956 | Front Row Center | Kathy Mullin | |
| 1956 | Cheyenne | Ella McIntyre | |
| 1956 | Climax! | Inez Harley | |
| 1956 | Chevron Hall of Stars | Martha | |
| 1956 | The Millionaire | Mildred Kester | |
| 1957 | Jane Wymann Presents the Fireside Theatre | Mrs. Helding | |
| 1957 | The Ford Television Theatre | Mrs. Wane | |
| 1957 | Zane Grey Theatre | Norah | |
| 1957 | Gunsmoke | Flora Stancil | |
| 1957 | The Walter Winchell File | Mary | |
| 1957–1960 | M Squad | Mary Nichols / Amy Pryor | |
| 1958 | Panic! | Fran Pulaski | |
| 1959 | Wagon Train | Millie Collins | |
| 1959 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Minnie Lee Blake | |
| 1959 | Man Without a Gun | Kate Hutchins | |
| 1959 | Trackdown | Nora | |
| 1960 | Law of the Plainsman | Hattie Mullen | |
| 1960 | The Rebel | Juanita Flynn | |
| 1962 | Laramie | Martha Grundy | |
| 1967 | I Spy | Sister Agatha | |
| 1967–1970 | Dragnet 1967 | Jean Sawyer / Mrs. Atkins / Alice Philbin / Mrs. Mary Tucker/ Mrs Eunice Rustin /
Marian Stanley / Mrs. Peggy Lassin / Janet Ohrmund |
|
| 1968 | The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Old Lady / Maiden | Voice |
| 1969 | The Survivors | Wife on TV | |
| 1969 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Mrs. Ross | |
| 1971–1972 | Night Gallery | Old Crone / First Phone Operator | |
| 1971–1973 | Adam–12 | Mrs. Rule / Mary Grant | |
| 1976 | The Waltons | Eva Hadley | |
| 1977 | Emergency! | Helen Phillips | |
| 1978 | Project U.F.O. | Emma Smith / Helen Carson | |
| 1981 | Bossom Buddies | Dr. Fritzly | |
| 1982 | Quincy M.E. | Woman | |
| 1983–1984 | The Smurfs | Elderberry | Voice |
| 2005 | The Inside | Mama Bunch | Episode: "Everything Nice" |
References
edit- ^ a b Who's Who in the West?. Vol. 3. University of Michigan. 2000. p. 662. ISBN 9780837909301.
- ^ Weaver, Tom (2010). A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 191. ISBN 9780786458318. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Zizza, Sue (October 2014). "Hear now festival honors radio actress: Webber receives Norman Corwin Award for excellence in audio theatre". Radio World. 38 (25). Retrieved 2 August 2016. – via General OneFile (subscription required)
- ^ a b "Peggy Webber to Be on Air". Tucson Daily Citizen. Arizona, Tucson. June 13, 1946. p. 5. Retrieved August 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Radio theater's Peggy Webber is 90 – and cooler than you". Los Angeles Weekly. 6 May 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ a b DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 278.
- ^ "Radio: Vocal Varieties". Time. August 5, 1946. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Peggy Webber". Cartradio.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. Pp. 89-90.
- ^ Interview with Peggy Webber @7:45 pm https://wamu.org/story/19/09/01/the-big-broadcast-september-8-2019/
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 567.
- ^ "Awards Search". Television Academy. Retrieved 2 August 2016.