Peggy Webber, a classic era Hollwood actress who worked with legends like Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, has passed away.
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Webber, who was also a prolific radio actress, died on Aug. 15 of natural causes at an independent living facility in Napa, California, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As a radio star, the actress rubbed elbows with high-profile Golden Age actors like Basil Rathbone and Lionel Barrymore. She also starred in radio adaptations of huge movies, like Casablanca.
However, her most remembered radio role is likely as the mother of Jack Webb’s Joe Friday in the first iteration of Dragnet. Per THR, she appeared in another role in the very first episode of the radio version of the iconic series back in 1949.
Webber went on to appear in 8 episodes of the TV version of Dragnet from 1967 to 1970, according to IMDb.
In 1948, she appeared in Orson Welles’ Macbeth adaptation as Lady Macduff. Per THR, her ability to nail a Scottish accent impressed Welles and landed her the role.
In 1956, she worked with another iconic director, Alfred Hitchcock, in his Film Noir drama The Wrong Man. Her character is actually responsible for accusing the titular wrong man (Henry Fonda) of robbing her Insurance office.
Meanwhile, Webber also starred in an iconic horror film: 1958’s The Screaming Skull. In the fun thriller, Webber’s character becomes convinced that the ghost of her husband’s first wife haunts their home, a spooky Southern mansion.
Roger Corman’s American International Pictures boasted that anyone who kicked the bucket while watching the flick would be offered a free burial via the studio.
The film went on to become a cult classic for horror fans,
Webber’s later career included voice acting work in The Smurfs, Paddington Bear, and The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas.
Webber married twice. First, she wed winegrower and trailblazing eye surgeon Robert Sinskey in 1951. They divorced in 1967. She married Irish actor Sean McClory in 1983, remaining together until his death in 2003.
Peggy Webber was 100.