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". Best known for her leading role as the femme fatale in the 1953 film adaptation of Mickey Spillane's best-selling novel I, The Jury, Castle also 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 MerrillMcNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television. Penguin Books USA, Inc. . P. 472. 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.(This source lists the address as 6266 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 Year Title Role Notes 1947 When a Girl's Beautiful "Koko" Glayde Credited as Peggy Call 1950 Buccaneer's Girl Cleo 1951 The Prince Who Was a Thief Princess Yasmin 1951 Payment on Demand Diana Ramsey 1951 Air Cadet Pat 1951 The Golden Horde Lailee 1952 Invasion, U.S.A. Carla Sanford 1952 Wagons West Ann Wilkins 1953 I, the Jury Charlotte Manning Shown in 3-D 1953 99 River Street Pauline Driscoll 1953 Cow Country Melba Sykes 1954 The Yellow Tomahawk Katherine 1954 The White Orchid Kathryn Williams 1954 Overland Pacific Ann Dennison 1954 The Long Wait Venus 1954 Jesse James' Women Waco Gans 1955 Finger Man Gladys Baker1955 Two-Gun Lady Karen Marshall 1955 Tall Man Riding Reva1955 Target Zero Ann Galloway Korean War UN worker 1956 Miracle in the Rain Millie Kranz 1956 Quincannon, Frontier Scout Lesley Selander 1957 Beginning of the End Audrey Aimes 1957 The Counterfeit Plan Carole Bernard 1957 Back from the Dead Mandy Anthony Horror Film 1958 Arrivederci Roma Carol Ralston
Television Year Title Role Notes 1952–1954 Fireside Theater Various roles 3 episodes 1956 Our Miss Brooks Uncredited (played Frankie) Episode: "Connie and Frankie" 1956 The Millionaire Candy Caldwell Episode: "The Candy Caldwell Story" 1956 Four Star Playhouse Molly Barry Episode: "Success Story" 1956 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Jenny Episode: "A Quiet Sunday in San Ardo" 1956 Cheyenne Mississippi Episode: "Fury at Rio Hondo" 1957 Conflict Lila Prescott Episode: "The Money" 1957 Gunsmoke Nita Tucker Episode: "Chester's Murder" 1957 Perry Mason Sally Fenner Episode: "The Case of the Negligent Nymph" 1958 The Restless Gun Amity Hobbs Episode "Hornitas Town" 1958 The Texan Charlotta Rivera Episode: "The First Notch" 1958 77 Sunset Strip Valerie Stacey Episode: "The Well-Selected Frame" 1959 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Joan Barry Episode: "The Big Drop" 1959 The Restless Gun Episode: "Lady by Law" 1959 Markham Ann Jennings Episode: "Deadline Date" 1959–1962 Lawman Lily Merrill 105 episodes 1966 The Virginian Melissa Episode: "Morgan Starr"
References
External links
The Girl They Loved to Kill