Peggy Ann Garner | |
|---|---|
 Garner inJane Eyre (1943) | |
| Born | (1932-02-03)February 3, 1932 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 1984(1984-10-16) (aged 52) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1938–1980 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress.
As achild actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the18th Academy Awards, Garner won theAcademy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of contributions to film in 1945, particularly inA Tree Grows in Brooklyn andJunior Miss.[1][2]
Featured roles in such films asBlack Widow (1954) did not help to establish her in mature film roles, although she progressed to theatrical work and she made acting appearances on television as an adult.
Peggy Ann Garner was born on February 3, 1932, atAultman Hospital inCanton, Ohio. She was the daughter of William H. Garner,[3] an attorney,[4] and Virginia Craig Garner; they were married in Toledo, Ohio on April 7, 1931.[5] She attended University High School in Los Angeles.[6] She was pushed by her mother into the limelight[4] and entered in talent quests while still a child. Her parents divorced on February 26, 1947.[5]
Garner was a child model for still photographers for two years before she began working in films in 1938.[7]
In 1938, Garner made her first film appearance at the age of six in theWarner Bros. filmLittle Miss Thoroughbred (1939), in which she had a small role as an orphan. Over the next few years, she continued to appear in small roles in the filmsIn Name Only (1939),Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939),Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), andEagle Squadron (1942). She was offered a more substantial role inThe Pied Piper (1942) after the actress originally cast came down with measles.[8]
In 1943, she was cast inTwentieth Century Fox'sJane Eyre (1943), in which she played the young Jane Eyre. Her performance received acclaim from critics, who praised her acting skills.[9]
She played Young Nora inThe Keys of the Kingdom (1944).Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer wanted her to star in their filmNational Velvet (1944), but Twentieth Century Fox wouldn't allow her contract to be half-sold. Instead, the part went to Garner'sJane Eyre co-starElizabeth Taylor.[10]
In 1944, she was cast as Francie Nolan inElia Kazan's adaptation of the Betty Smith novelA Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Her performance inA Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) was universally acclaimed. At the18th Academy Awards she was awarded theAcademy Juvenile Award largely for this performance.[11]
After the success ofA Tree Grows in Brooklyn, she had a relatively smaller role in the musicalNob Hill (1945). That same year, she starred in the comedyJunior Miss (1945), which Twentieth Century Fox produced specifically with Garner in mind for the leading role.
Garner continued to star in films throughout the rest of the 40's includingHome Sweet Homicide (1946),Thunder in the Valley (1947),Daisy Kenyon (1947),The Sign of the Ram (1948),Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949),The Big Cat (1949), andThe Lovable Cheat (1949). In 1947, Garner appeared as herself in a promotional trailer forMiracle on 34th Street.[12]
Like many child performers, Garner was unable to make a successful transition into adult film roles and she only had roles in two films throughout the 50's,Teresa (1951), andBlack Widow (1954).[citation needed]
In 1949, Garner starred inPeg O' My Heart at the Famous Artists Playhouse inFayetteville, New York.[3] In 1954, she toured with a troupe in several states, performing inThe Moon Is Blue.[13] Garner headlined the national tour of the William Inge hit Broadway playBus Stop beginning in 1955. She starred with Albert Salmi, who later became her husband. Garner also appeared with Dick York in the touring production.[citation needed]
Garner'sBroadway credits includeHome Is the Hero,First Lady,The Royal Family, andThe Man.[14]
In 1950, Garner starred as Esther Smith in the radio comedyMeet Me in St. Louis. The program ran two months on NBC.[15]
Garner was a panelist in two television programs,Leave It to the Girls on ABC and NBC[16] andWho Said That? on NBC. In 1951, she starred in the comedyTwo Girls Named Smith on ABC.[16]: 1121
In summer 1960, Garner appeared in "The Unfamiliar", an episode ofProducer's Choice,[17] and she was cast as Julie in the episode "Stopover" ofDavid McLean's Western seriesTate. In 1960 and again in 1962, Garner was cast in the episodes "Once Around the Circuit" and "Build My Gallows Low", respectively, on the ABC seriesAdventures in Paradise, withGardner McKay. Garner appeared as Edie Brewer in the 1961Naked City episode "Button in the Haystack" alongsideAlbert Salmi, to whom she was married at the time, and in which the couple played husband and wife onscreen. In 1961, she starred with Richard Boone in the episode "Dream Girl" onHave Gun – Will Travel. During the early 1960s, Garner also appeared in one episode each ofBonanza ("The Rival") andCombat!, both under directorRobert Altman (see next section).
After Garner's film career ended, she ventured into stage acting and had some success, but also worked as areal estate agent[18] andfleet car executive between acting jobs to support herself. After a decade away from work in feature films, she appeared as the pregnant aunt in the critically acclaimed film,A Wedding (1978), directed by Robert Altman, with whom she had worked on television in the early 1960s. Her final screen performance was a small part in a made-for-television featureThis Year's Blonde (1980).
Garner married singer/game show hostRichard Hayes on February 22, 1951;[19] the couple divorced in 1953. She then married actorAlbert Salmi on May 16, 1956; they divorced on March 13, 1963. (Another source says that Garner and Salmi were married May 18, 1956.)[20] Garner's final marriage was to Kenyon Foster Brown. After a few years, that marriage also ended in divorce.[citation needed]
In 1984, at age 52, Garner died frompancreatic cancer in theMotion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles.[21] Her only child, Catherine Ann Salmi, died of heart disease on May 17, 1995. She was 38 years old.[22] Peggy's mother, Virginia, outlived both her only child and only grandchild.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Little Miss Thoroughbred | Praying Orphan | Uncredited |
| 1939 | In Name Only | Ellen | |
| Blondie Brings Up Baby | Melinda Mason | ||
| 1940 | Abe Lincoln in Illinois | Little Girl | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Eagle Squadron | Child | |
| The Pied Piper | Sheila Cavanaugh | ||
| 1943 | Jane Eyre | Jane Eyre as a child | |
| 1944 | The Keys of the Kingdom | Young Nora | |
| 1945 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Francie Nolan | Academy Juvenile Award |
| Nob Hill | Katie Flanagan | ||
| Junior Miss | Judy Graves | ||
| 1946 | Home Sweet Homicide | Dinah Carstairs | |
| 1947 | Thunder in the Valley | Maggie Moore | |
| Daisy Kenyon | Rosamund O'Mara | ||
| 1948 | The Sign of the Ram | Christine St. Aubyn | |
| 1949 | Bomba, the Jungle Boy | Patricia Harland | |
| The Big Cat | Doris Cooper | ||
| The Lovable Cheat | Julie Mercadet | ||
| 1951 | Teresa | Susan Cass | |
| 1954 | Black Widow | Nancy "Nanny" Ordway | |
| 1966 | The Cat | Susan Kilby | |
| 1978 | A Wedding | Candice Ruteledge |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Ford Theatre | Beth March | Season 2 Episode 6: "Little Women" |
| 1950 | The Prudential Family Playhouse | Catherine Hilton | Season 1 Episode 3: "Call It a Day" |
| 1951 | Two Girls Named Smith | Barbara "Babs" Smith | TV series (46 episodes) |
| 1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Judy | Season 2 Episode 36: "Salad Days" |
| 1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Girl | Season 2 Episode 51: "Orchard" |
| 1952 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Claire Ambler | Season 3 Episode 21: "Claire Ambler" |
| 1952 | Westinghouse Studio One | Honey Weber / Frances Weston | Season 5 Episode 8: "Plan for Escape" |
| 1954 | Eight Witnesses | Helen Hildebrand | TV movie |
| 1954 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Season 5 Episode 40: "Once Upon a Time" | |
| 1955 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Season 6 Episode 20: "Deadline" | |
| 1955 | The Best of Broadway | Kaye Hamilton | Season 1 Episode 8: "Stage Door" |
| 1955 | Climax! | Nora Wallen | Season 1 Episode 23: "The First and the Last" |
| 1955 | Westinghouse Studio One | Jenny | Season 7 Episode 35: "Strange Companion" |
| 1955 | Stage 7 | Miranda Abbelard | Season 1 Episode 18: "The Time of Day" |
| 1957 | The Dupont Show of the Month | Lena Anderson | Season 1 Episode 3: "Beyond This Place" |
| 1957 | Kraft Television Theatre | Season 10 Episode 52: "The Killer Instinct" | |
| 1958 | Kraft Television Theatre | Jane Bell | Season 11 Episode 15: "The Velvet Trap" |
| 1958 | General Electric Theater | Janey | Season 6 Episode 25: "The Unfamiliar" |
| 1958 | Westinghouse Studio One | Katey | Season 10 Episode 39: "Man Under Glass" |
| 1959 | The United States Steel Hour | Frances Barclay | Season 6 Episode 23: "Wish on the Moon" |
| 1959 | The Lineup | Yvonne | Season 6 Episode 5: "Thrills" |
| 1960 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Sarah Malloy | Season 4 Episode 28: "Deception" |
| 1960 | Tate | Julie | Season 1 Episode 2: "Stopover" |
| 1960 | Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond | Laura Perkins | Season 3 Season 11: "Tonight at 12:17" |
| 1960 | Adventures in Paradise | Deborah Baxter | Season 2 Episode 3: "Once Around the Circuit" |
| 1961 | Naked City | Edie Brewer | Season 2 Episode 16: "Button in the Haystack" |
| 1961 | Bonanza | Cameo Johnson | Season 2 Episode 28: "The Rival" |
| 1962 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Virginia "Ginger" Adams | Season 5 Episode 22: "Dream Girl" |
| 1962 | Adventures in Paradise | Lorrie Hamilton | Season 3 Episode 20: "Build My Gallows Low" |
| 1962 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Madeline Drake | Season 7 Episode 32: "Victim Four" |
| 1962 | The Untouchables | Margaret Radick / Margaret Wilson | Season 4 Episode 8: "Elegy" |
| 1963 | Alcoa Premiere | Bernice Meredith | Season 2 Episode 14: "Impact of an Execution" |
| 1963 | Perry Mason | Letty Arthur | Season 6 Episode 16: "The Case of Constant Doyle" |
| 1963 | Combat! | Nurse Lieutenant Amelia Marsh | Season 1 Episode 20: "Off Limits" |
| 1963 | The Untouchables | Barbara Sultan | Season 4 Episode 25: "The Giant Killer" |
| 1963 | The Patriots | Patsy Jefferson Randolph | TV movie |
| 1964 | The Eleventh Hour | Myra Hopp | Season 2 Episode 18: "Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree?" |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Anne Donfield | Season 1 Episode 9: "The Project Strigas Affair" |
| 1965 | The Outer Limits | Amanda Frank | Season 2 Episode 17: "The Probe" |
| 1967 | Batman | Betsy Boldface | Season 3 Episode 2: "Ring Around the Riddler" |
| 1968 | The Big Valley | Mrs. Whittaker | Season 4 Episode 11: "The Prize" |
| 1978 | Betrayal | Mrs. Carol Stockwood | TV movie |
| 1979 | Lou Grant | Dixie Collins | Season 3 Episode 13: "Kids" |
| 1980 | This Year's Blonde | Father's Wife (Stepmother) | TV movie (final appearance) |
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| National | |
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