Peggie Castle

Peggy Thomas Blair (December 22, 1927 – August 11, 1973), known professionally as Peggie Castle, was an American actress who specialized in playing the "other woman" in B-movies. She was Miss Cheesecake in 1949.

Early life

Castle was born in Appalachia, Wise County, Virginia. She changed her last name "because there was another actress named Blair at the first studio in which she worked." Her father, Doyle H. Blair, was at one point "an industrial relations director for a large corporation" and later business manager for Donald O'Connor and studio manager for Goldwyn Studios. Her mother was Elizabeth Blair. She took lessons in drama when she was 8 years old.

Castle graduated from Hollywood High School and attended Mills College for two years.

Career

Radio

Castle's first work as an actress came in the soap opera Today's Children. A spot on Lux Radio Theatre in 1947 brought her a screen-test offer from 20th Century Fox.

Film

Castle was discovered by a talent scout at a restaurant in Beverly Hills and signed to a seven-year contract with Universal-International. She made her film debut in the 1947 film When a Girl's Beautiful. In 1949, she was named "Miss Cheesecake" by the Southern California Restaurant Association; and later that year, the Junior Chamber of Commerce named her "Miss Three Alarm". She appeared in the films Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949), Payment on Demand (1951), The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951) Invasion, U.S.A. (1952), Cow Country (1953), 99 River Street (1953), Beginning of the End (1957), and Arrivederci Roma (1957). She often starred in Westerns, appearing in nearly a dozen between Wagons West (1952) and Hell's Crossroads (1957).

Television

In the 1950s, Castle moved into television, with multiple guest roles on Fireside Theater, Cheyenne, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Restless Gun. In 1956, she appeared as Mississippi in the episode Fury At Rio Hondo and then again in 1957 as Amy Gordon on Cheyenne in the episode titled "The Spanish Grant". In 1957, she played defendant Sally Fenner in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Negligent Nymph". Also in 1957, she was a primary star on Gunsmoke, as forlorn Nita Tucker in the episode "Chester's Murder".

From 1959 to 1962, she co-starred in the television Western series Lawman, her first continuing series. Her role as saloon owner Lily Merrill brought out a new dimension of Castle's talent. She said, "For the first time in my life, I'm a singer—that's the producer's opinion, not mine."

Her final onscreen role was a guest appearance in a 1966 episode of The Virginian.

Stage

In 1958, Castle appeared with Jesse White in a production of A Hole in the Head at the Civic Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Personal appearances

In 1960, Castle and Peter Brown (who also was a regular in Lawman) traveled to rodeos, performing as a song-and-dance team. Castle stressed, "We're very careful not to sing any romantic songs," treating the act more like a brother-sister team. The duo's stops included St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Albuquerque.

Awards

On February 8, 1960, Castle received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6230 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

Castle was married four times. She married Revis T. Call, a second lieutenant in the Army, on August 19, 1945, in Los Angeles. Following that marriage, she began using Peggy Call as her professional name. They divorced in 1950. She married Universal publicist Robert H. Rains on January 4, 1951. They divorced April 29, 1954.

On July 24, 1955, Castle married producer/director, William McGarry. They had a daughter, Erin McGarry. Castle divorced McGarry in 1969.

In 1971, Castle married Arthur Morganstern. They remained married until his death in April 1973.

Death

Castle was addicted to alcohol. On August 11, 1973, her third husband, William McGarry, found her body on the couch of her Hollywood apartment. Her death was later determined to be caused by cirrhosis.

Filmography

This is a partial list of films.

Films

Television

External links

• at IMDb