Peggy Moran (born Mary Jeanette Moran, October 23, 1918 – October 24, 2002) was an American film actress who appeared in films between 1938 and 1943.

Early years

Born Marie Jeanette Moran on October 23, 1918, in

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...

, Moran was the daughter of

Earl Moran Earl Steffa Moran (December 8, 1893 – January 17, 1984) was an American pin-up photographer and glamor artist. Background Moran was born in December 1893 on Belle Plaine, Iowa, United States. His first instruction in art came under the ...

, an artist specializing in pin-ups for calendars and magazines, and dancer Louise Scott, formerly a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. Moran's family moved to Hollywood when she was 5. She attended the Micheltorina School and John Marshall High School, graduating in 1937.

Career

Moran's film career began at Warner Bros. in the late 1930s. She starred in a number of

B movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, ...

, including ''

The Mummy's Hand ''The Mummy's Hand'' is a 1940 American horror film directed by Christy Cabanne and produced by Ben Pivar for Universal Studios. Shot in black-and-white, the film is about the ancient Egyptian mummy of Kharis ( Tom Tyler), who is kept alive wit ...

'' (1940), ''Slightly Tempted'' (1940), ''

Horror Island ''Horror Island'' is a 1941 American mystery and horror film directed by George Waggner. It was based on the short story "Terror of the South Seas" by Alex Gottlieb. It stars Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Leo Carrillo, Eddie Parker, Dale Van Si ...

'' (1941), ''

Treat 'Em Rough ''Treat 'Em Rough'' is a 1942 film about a boxer directed by Ray Taylor and starring Eddie Albert. Plot Bill Kingsford, a prizefighter called the Panama Kid (Eddie Albert), returns to his hometown with his trainer Hotfoot (William Frawley ( ...

'' (1942), and '' King of the Cowboys'' (1943), and played smaller parts in A pictures, such as the "first

cigarette girl Cigarette girls in Florida in 1956 Cigarette girl at the Bellmansro restaurant in Sweden, 1940 In Europe and the United States, a cigarette girl was an attractive young woman who sold or provided cigarettes from a tray held by a neck strap, ...

" in ''

Ninotchka ''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, b ...

'' (1939). After marrying director

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

on October 29, 1942, a bust of Moran was featured in every picture her husband directed. After her marriage, Moran retired from acting and appeared in only one other film; a documentary made in 2000. The existing bust did not fit the period of one film, so Koster had a new bust made at a cost of $4000. Films also used "silhouettes, cameos, paintings, and even photographs" of Moran.

Personal life

Koster and Moran had two sons. After Koster retired in 1966, the couple traveled extensively until his death in 1988.

Death

On October 24, 2002, only one day after her 84th birthday, Moran died of complications from injuries she had suffered in a car accident on August 26, 2002. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview About ''The Mummy's Hand''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Peggy Actresses from Iowa American film actresses People from Clinton, Iowa 1918 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American actresses Road incident deaths in California