# Peggy Stewart (actress)

Peggy Stewart (born Peggy O'Rourke; June 5, 1923 – May 29, 2019) was an American actress known for her roles in Western B movies and television series.

## Early life

Stewart was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she was raised, the daughter of John Francis O'Rourke and Frances Velma (McCampbell) Splane, who were from Bessemer, Alabama. She distinguished herself as a swimming champion in high school; in the 1930s, her family moved to California, where she met character actor Henry O'Neill who recommended her to Paramount Pictures executives who were looking for a new actress for the part of Joel McCrea's teenage daughter in Wells Fargo (1937). Her work in the film led to numerous other film roles.

## Career

In April 1944, Stewart signed a contract with Republic Pictures and began starring in Western B movies opposite such actors as Allan Lane, Sunset Carson, and Wild Bill Elliott. During that time she played in several episodes of Adventures of Red Ryder. She usually played the part of the tough heroine, rather than a passive girl needing to be saved. From 1944 to 1951 she starred in 35 films, most of which were Westerns and film serials. She also starred with Gene Autry several times during that period. as well as appearing on several episodes of The Cisco Kid, including "Oil Land", which first aired on October 10, 1950.
In 1949, she played alongside Jim Bannon in Ride, Ryder, Ride. She again played the part of heroine to Bannon in 1949, starring in The Fighting Redhead. In 1952 she starred with Bill Elliott in Kansas Territory. In 1957, she had a minor role on CBS's Have Gun – Will Travel episode "The Outlaw". In 1958, she was cast as Etta Jackson, the romantic interest of the painter Hurley Abbott, played by Brad Johnson, in the episode "The Underdog" of the ABC/Desilu western series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, with Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

## Later years

Her career slowed in the 1960s, and by the 1970s she was residing in Studio City, California. Stewart won the Golden Boot Awards in 1984. Semi-retired, Stewart still continued to act on occasion. She played a minor part in a 1993 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Implant", in which she portrayed the aunt of George Costanza's girlfriend.
Stewart played Pam Beesly's grandmother, Mee-Maw, in a 2009 episode of The Office and reprised the role in a 2010 episode. In 2012, she played Grandma Delores in Adam Sandler's comedy film, That's My Boy.

## Personal life

In her latter decades, Stewart appeared regularly as a guest speaker at Western film festivals. From 1993 till her death, Stewart appeared as a special guest at the annual Lone Pine Film Festival.
Stewart was married twice. In 1940, aged 17, she married actor Don "Red" Barry; the marriage ended in divorce in 1944. They had a son, Michael, born on November 18, 1943. She was married to actor Buck Young from 1953 until his death on February 9, 2000. The couple had two children.
Her sister, Patricia Ann O'Rourke, was married to the actor Wayne Morris.
Stewart died in May 2019 at the age of 95.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 1937 | Wells Fargo | Alice MacKay | |
| 1938 | White Banners | Sally's friend | Uncredited |
| 1938 | Little Tough Guy | Rita Belle | |
| 1938 | That Certain Age | Mary Lee | |
| 1938 | Little Tough Guys in Society | Jane | |
| 1939 | Man About Town | Mary, chorus girl | Uncredited |
| 1939 | 5th Ave Girl | Katherine's girlfriend | Uncredited |
| 1939 | Everybody's Hobby | Bunny | |
| 1940 | Star Dust | College girl | Uncredited |
| 1940 | All This, and Heaven Too | Helen Lexington | |
| 1941 | Back Street | Freda Smith | |
| 1942 | Sleepytime Gal | Dancer | |
| 1943 | Girls in Chains | Terry, convict | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Tucson Raiders | Beth Rogers | |
| 1944 | Silver City Kid | Ruth Clayton | |
| 1944 | Stagecoach to Monterey | Jessie Wade | |
| 1944 | Cheyenne Wildcat | Betty Lou Hopkins | |
| 1944 | Code of the Prairie | Helen Matson | |
| 1944 | Firebrands of Arizona | Poppy Calhoun | |
| 1944 | Sheriff of Las Vegas | Ann Carter | |
| 1945 | Utah | Jackie | |
| 1945 | The Vampire's Ghost | Julia Vance | |
| 1945 | Oregon Trail | Jill Layton | |
| 1945 | Bandits of the Badlands | Hallie Wayne | |
| 1945 | Marshal of Laredo | Judy Bowers | |
| 1945 | Rough Riders of Cheyenne | Melinda Sterling | |
| 1945 | The Tiger Woman | Phyllis Carrington | |
| 1946 | The Phantom Rider | Doris Shannon | |
| 1946 | Days of Buffalo Bill | Molly Owens | |
| 1946 | California Gild Rush | Hazel Parker | |
| 1946 | Sheriff of Redwood Valley | Molly | |
| 1946 | Alias Billy the Kid | Ann Marshall | |
| 1946 | Red River Renegades | Julia Bennett | |
| 1946 | Conquest of Cheyenne | Cheyenne Jackson | |
| 1946 | The Invisible Informer | Rosalind Baylor | |
| 1946 | Stagecoach to Denver | 'Beautiful', fake May Barnes | |
| 1947 | Son of Zorro | Kate Wells | |
| 1947 | Trail to San Antone | Kit Barlow | |
| 1947 | Vigilantes of Boomtown | Molly McVey | |
| 1947 | Rustlers of Devil's Canyon | Bess | |
| 1947 | Messenger of Peace | Evangeline Lockley | |
| 1948 | Tex Granger | Helen Kent | |
| 1948 | Dead Man's Gold | June Thornton | |
| 1948 | Frontier Revenge | Joan De Lysa | |
| 1948 | Ride, Ryder, Ride! | Libby Brooks | |
| 1949 | Desert Vigilante | Betty Long | |
| 1949 | The Fighting Redhead | Sheila O'Connor | |
| 1950 | Cody of the Pony Express | Linda Graham | |
| 1951 | Pride of Maryland | Christine Loomis | |
| 1952 | The Black Lash | Joan De Lysa | |
| 1952 | Kansas Territory | Kay Collins | |
| 1952 | Montana Incident | Clara Martin | |
| 1961 | When the Clock Strikes | Mrs. Pierce | |
| 1961 | Gun Street | Mrs. Knudson | |
| 1961 | The Clown and the Kid | Sister Grace | |
| 1967 | The Way West | Mrs. Turley | |
| 1970 | The Animals | Mrs. Emily Perkins | |
| 1972 | Pickup on 101 | Car Family of Four | |
| 1973 | Terror in the Wax Museum | Second chairwoman | |
| 1975 | White House Madness | Rosemary Woods | |
| 1976 | Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw | Hattie Baker | |
| 1977 | Black Oak Conspiracy | Virginia Metcalf | |
| 1979 | The Fall of the House of Usher | Barmaid | |
| 1980 | Beyond Evil | Lady patient | |
| 1981 | The Boogens | Victoria Tusker | |
| 2004 | Big Chuck, Little Chuck | Liz | |
| 2010 | The Runaways | Grandma Oni | |
| 2010 | The Bang | Evelyn | Short film |
| 2011 | Dadgum, Texas | Pearl Ruth Anna 'MiMa' Magee | |
| 2012 | That's My Boy | Grandma Delores Spirou | Final film role |

### Partial Television Credits

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1950-1953 | The Cisco Kid | various characters | 5 episodes |
| 1950 | The Gene Autry Show | Ellie March | Episode: "The Peacemaker" |
| 1951 | The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | Jane | Episode: "Pony Express vs. Telegraph" |
| 1952 | The Roy Rogers Show | Eileen Barton/Myra Fuller | 2 episodes |
| 1952 | Gang Busters | Violet Fairchild | Episode: "The Case of Willie Sutton, pt. 1" |
| 1952 | The Living Bible | Woman at the Tomb | Episode: "The Lord Is Risen" |
| 1953 | The Range Rider | Mrs. Brant | Episode: "The Black Terror" (uncredited) |
| 1956 | The Millionaire | Mary | Episode: "The Betty Perkins Story" |
| 1957-1958 | The Silent Service | First nurse/Sister Mary | |
| 1957 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Edna Raleigh | Episode: "The Brothers" |
| 1958-1959 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Elsa Johnson/Etta Jackson | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | Peter Gunn | Wilma Baxter | |
| 1959 | Yancy Derringer | Karen Ogilvie | |
| 1959 | Not for Hire | Nadine |
| 1959 | Gunsmoke | Mrs. Phillips | Episode: "Fawn" |
| 1960 | National Velvet | Mrs. Anderson | |
| 1960 | Hotel de Paree | Martha Holcombe | |
| 1960 | Pony Express | |
| 1961 | Gunsmoke | Fran Hacker | Episode: "The Long, Long Trail" |
| 1961 | The Rebel | Sarah Wallace | |
| 1961 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Sarah Holt | Episode: "The Outlaw" |
| 1961 | The Americans | Mrs. Gilroy | Episode: "The Guerrillas" |
| 1961 | Lassie | Mrs. Johnson | Episode: "Lassie and the Greyhound" |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone | Grace Stockton | Episode: "The Shelter" |
| 1964 | Gunsmoke | Daisy Huckaby | Episode: "The Promoter" |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Mrs. Franklin | |
| 1965 | Daniel Boone | Ida Morgan |
| 1967 | Hondo | Mrs. Malcolm | |
| 1969 | The Mod Squad | Mrs. Kane | |
| 1970 | Ironside | Mrs. Knudson | |
| 1972 | The Smith Family | Mrs. Dennison | Episode: "Off Duty Cop" |
| 1972 | Sarge | Mrs. Whitman | |
| 1972 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Mrs. Norman | |
| 1972 | Mission Impossible | Screaming Woman | Episode: "TOD-5" |
| 1973 | The Stranger | Inner council member | TV movie (uncredited) |
| 1974 | Emergency! | Martha Felt/Claire Freeman | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Baretta | Teacher | |
| 1980 | Taxi | Buyer | |
| 1980 | Quincy, M.E. | Mrs. Ethel Sullivan | |
| 1981 | The Adventures of Nellie Bly | Mrs. Long | |
| 1984 | Trapper John, M.D. | Mrs. Rogers | Episode: "My Son the Doctor" |
| 1984 | The A-Team | Miriam Klein | Episode: "It's a Desert out There" |
| 1985 | Hollywood Beat | Judge | |
| 1987 | Werewolf | Evelyn Storm | Episode: "Blood Ties" |
| 1993 | Seinfeld | Aunt May | Episode: "The Implant" |
| 1998 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Ms Barton | Episode: "Band Candy" |
| 1999 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Mrs. Fike | Episode: "Baby, You Can Drive My Car" |
| 2000 | Charmed | Lilian | Episode: "Ex-Libris" |
| 2000 | The Norm Show | Myrtle | Episode: "Laurie Loses It" |
| 2001 | The Norm Show | Tippi | Episode: "Promblems" |
| 2001 | Popular | Old lady | Episode: "" |
| 2001 | Yes, Dear | Old lady | Episode: "Halloween" |
| 2007 | My Name Is Earl | Dotty Lake | Episode: "Buried Treasure" |
| 2007-2008 | The Riches | Cherien's mother | 8 episodes |
| 2008 | NCIS | Elderly lady | Episode: "Collateral Damage" |
| 2009 | Weeds | Ingrid | Episode: "Su-Su-Sucio" |
| 2009 | FlashForward | Secretary | Episode: "Black Swan" (uncredited) |
| 2009 | Operating Instructions | Older lady | TV movie |
| 2009-2010 | The Office | Pam's Meemaw Sylvia | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Justified | Mrs. Inez Davis | Episode: "The Hammer" |
| 2010 | Community | Agnes | Episode: "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" |
| 2014 | Getting On | Mrs. Decker | Episode: "No Such Thing as Idealized Genitalia" |