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." and studio manager for Goldwyn Studios. She took lessons in drama when she was 8 years old. 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. Best known for her leading role as the femme fatale in the 1953 film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's best-selling novel I, The Jury, Castle also appeared in the films Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949), 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." The duo's stops included St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Albuquerque.
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.
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.
right|thumb|[[John Russell (actor)|John Russell and Peggie Castle in ABC's Lawman (1959)]]
right|thumb|Russell and Castle in Lawman (1962)
Films
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | 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 Baker
|
|-
|1955
| Two-Gun Lady
| Karen Marshall
|
|-
| 1955
| Tall Man Riding
| Reva
|
|-
|1955
| 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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | 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