Peggy Webber (born September 15, 1925) is an American actress and writer who has worked in film, stage, television, and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

Early years

The daughter of a wildcat oil driller, Webber was born in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

. Before she was 3 years old, she was entertaining audiences at intermission times in theaters. In 1942, she graduated from Tucson High School, where she was active in dramatics.

Film

Webber's screen debut came in the 1946 film '' Her Adventurous Night''. In 1948, she played Lady Macduff in

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

' adaptation of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. 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 Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Radio

Webber debuted on radio at age 12 on

WOAI (AM) WOAI (1200 kHz) is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas, which airs a news/talk radio format. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. With iHeart's headquarters in San Antonio, WOAI is the company's flagship station. The stat ...

in San Antonio, Texas.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 278. 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." Programs on which she was heard included '' The Dreft Star Playhouse'', '' Dragnet'', ''The Woman in My House'', '' Pete Kelly's Blues'', ''Dr. Paul'', ''The Damon Runyon Theater'',Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 89-90. and '' The Man Called X''. In 1979, she played many characters on ''

Sears Radio Theater ''Sears Radio Theater'' was a radio drama anthology series which ran weeknights on CBS Radio in 1979, sponsored by the Sears chain. Often paired with ''The CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' during its first season, the program offered a different g ...

''. She is the founder of California Artists Radio Theatre. The September 8, 2019, episode of ''The Big Broadcast'' highlighted her career and included a recent interview in which she mentioned her current projects.

Television

Webber appeared on a number of television programs including "Dragnet". She portrayed Elise Sandor in ''

Kings Row ''Kings Row'' is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Betty Field that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century. The picture was directed by Sam Woo ...

'' on ABC in 1955–56.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 567. She played the part of Ella McIntyre in the 1956 Quicksand episode of “

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

”. She also played abused sister Flora Stencil in the 1957 episode of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' in the episode "Cheap Labor".

Writing, directing, and producing

Webber wrote and directed "some 250 stage plays, radio and television programs." 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."

Recognition

Webber received the 2014

Norman Corwin Norman Lewis Corwin (May 3, 1910 – October 18, 2011) was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during th ...

Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre, "which celebrates a lifetime of achievement in this sonic art." She was the first woman so honored. Her program ''Treasure of Literature'' was named "Most Popular Television Program – 1949" by the Television Academy.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Peggy Webber at the RadioGOLDINdex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Peggy 1925 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American radio actresses American film actresses American television actresses People from Laredo, Texas Actresses from Texas Tucson High School alumni