# Peggy Webber

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

## Early years

The daughter of a wildcat oil driller, Webber was born in Laredo, Texas. 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' adaptation of Macbeth. 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.

## Radio

Webber debuted on radio at age 12 on WOAI (AM) in San Antonio, Texas. 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,$^{:358}$ Pete Kelly's Blues,$^{:269}$ Dr. Paul,$^{:101}$ The Damon Runyon Theater, and The Man Called X. In 1979, she played many characters on Sears Radio Theater. 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 on ABC in 1955–56. She played the part of Ella McIntyre in the 1956 Quicksand episode of “Cheyenne”. She also played abused sister Flora Stencil in the 1957 episode of Gunsmoke 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 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

Films :
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1946 | Her Adventurous Night | Miss Howard | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Little Miss Big | Ellen | |
| 1948 | Macbeth | Lady Macduff / The Three | |
| 1951 | Fighting Coast Guard | Head Hostess | |
| 1951 | Journey Into Light | Jane Burrows | |
| 1951 | Submarine Command | Alice Rice | |
| 1956 | The Wrong Man | Alice Dennerly | |
| 1958 | The Screaming Skull | Jenni Whitlock | |
| 1958 | The Space Children | Anne Brewster | |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Woman praying at temple | Uncredited |
| 1987 | 'Tis the Season to Be Smurfy | Elise | Voice |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1952–1955 | Dragnet | Peg Ruskin / Virginia Sterling / Leona Perry / Police dispatcher / Roberta Salazar | |
| 1955 | The Public Defender | Mrs. Gayley | |
| 1955 | Medic | Stell Ramsey | |
| 1955 | The Whistler | Denise Clark | |
| 1955 | Big Town | Carla Jackson | |
| 1955 | Matinee Theatre | Cathy | |
| 1956 | Frontier | Meg Horn | |
| 1956 | Damon Runyon Theatre | Claire Simpson | |
| 1956 | Front Row Center | Kathy Mullin | |
| 1956 | Cheyenne | Ella McIntyre | |
| 1956 | Climax! | Inez Harley | |
| 1956 | Chevron Hall of Stars | Martha | |
| 1956 | The Millionaire | Mildred Kester | |
| 1957 | Jane Wymann Presents the Fireside Theatre | Mrs. Helding | |
| 1957 | The Ford Television Theatre | Mrs. Wane | |
| 1957 | Zane Grey Theatre | Norah | |
| 1957 | Gunsmoke | Flora Stancil | |
| 1957 | The Walter Winchell File | Mary | |
| 1957–1960 | M Squad | Mary Nichols / Amy Pryor | |
| 1958 | Panic! | Fran Pulaski | |
| 1959 | Wagon Train | Millie Collins | |
| 1959 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Minnie Lee Blake | |
| 1959 | Man Without a Gun | Kate Hutchins | |
| 1959 | Trackdown | Nora | |
| 1960 | Law of the Plainsman | Hattie Mullen | |
| 1960 | The Rebel | Juanita Flynn | |
| 1962 | Laramie | Martha Grundy | |
| 1967 | I Spy | Sister Agatha | |
| 1967–1970 | Dragnet 1967 | Jean Sawyer / Mrs. Atkins / Alice Philbin / Mrs. Mary Tucker/ Mrs Eunice Rustin / Marian Stanley / Mrs. Peggy Lassin / Janet Ohrmund | |
| 1968 | The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Old Lady / Maiden | Voice |
| 1969 | The Survivors | Wife on TV | |
| 1969 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Mrs. Ross | |
| 1971–1972 | Night Gallery | Old Crone / First Phone Operator | |
| 1971–1973 | Adam–12 | Mrs. Rule / Mary Grant | |
| 1976 | The Waltons | Eva Hadley | |
| 1977 | Emergency! | Helen Phillips | |
| 1978 | Project U.F.O. | Emma Smith / Helen Carson | |
| 1981 | Bossom Buddies | Dr. Fritzly | |
| 1982 | Quincy M.E. | Woman | |
| 1983–1984 | The Smurfs | Elderberry | Voice |
| 2005 | The Inside | Mama Bunch | Episode: "Everything Nice" |