Peggy Ryan
Encyclopedia
Margaret O'Rene "Peggy" Ryan (August 28, 1924; Long Beach, California
– October 30, 2004; Las Vegas
, Nevada
) was an American
dancer, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures
with Donald O'Connor
and Gloria Jean
.
She joined her parents' vaudeville
act, "The Merry Dancing Ryans," before she was two years old. Her singing, acting, and dancing skills were noticed by song-and-dance actor George Murphy
, who helped her get a role in 1937's Top of the Town. She continued working in small roles until 1942, when she had a solo number in the feature film What's Cookin'?. The Gloria Jean-Donald O'Connor-Peggy Ryan team made a great hit with audiences and exhibitors, and the three teens made five features together. Peggy Ryan's screen character in these films was usually brash, wisecracking, and boy-crazy. In 1944 Peggy Ryan advanced to more elaborate productions, in support of Jack Oakie
and Abbott and Costello
.
She left Universal in 1945 and married James Cross that same year; they were divorced in 1952. She returned to the screen with dancer Ray McDonald
for 1949's There's a Girl in My Heart and Shamrock Hill, and 1953's All Ashore
. They wed in 1953 and toured together in a nightclub act before being divorced in 1957.
Her third marriage, in 1958, was to Hawaii columnist Eddie Sherman, following which she left movies for choreography
and semi-retirement. Sherman adopted her two children from her previous marriages. On television, she played a recurring role as secretary Jenny Sherman in Hawaii Five-O
from 1969 to 1976.
In later years she trained Las Vegas showgirls in tap dancing. Her last public performance, at her 80th birthday party, was a hilarious song-and-dance routine for her former Universal studio colleagues. She continued to teach tap until two days before her death at the age of 80 from the effects of two stroke
s.
She was survived by two children and five grandchildren.
Short subjects:
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
– October 30, 2004; Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dancer, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
with Donald O'Connor
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
and Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean is an American singer and actress who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films between 1939 and 1959. She also made radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances.-Career:...
.
She joined her parents' vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
act, "The Merry Dancing Ryans," before she was two years old. Her singing, acting, and dancing skills were noticed by song-and-dance actor George Murphy
George Murphy
George Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
, who helped her get a role in 1937's Top of the Town. She continued working in small roles until 1942, when she had a solo number in the feature film What's Cookin'?. The Gloria Jean-Donald O'Connor-Peggy Ryan team made a great hit with audiences and exhibitors, and the three teens made five features together. Peggy Ryan's screen character in these films was usually brash, wisecracking, and boy-crazy. In 1944 Peggy Ryan advanced to more elaborate productions, in support of Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie
Jack Oakie was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television.-Early life:...
and Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello
William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
.
She left Universal in 1945 and married James Cross that same year; they were divorced in 1952. She returned to the screen with dancer Ray McDonald
Ray McDonald
Raymondo Antoine "Ray" McDonald is an American professional football player who is a defensive end in the National Football League . McDonald played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he has played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.- Early years...
for 1949's There's a Girl in My Heart and Shamrock Hill, and 1953's All Ashore
All Ashore
All Ashore is a 1953 Technicolor musical comedy film directed by Richard Quine. It is the second of Mickey Rooney's three films for Columbia Pictures that was produced by Jonie Taps, directed by Richard Quine and written by Blake Edwards...
. They wed in 1953 and toured together in a nightclub act before being divorced in 1957.
Her third marriage, in 1958, was to Hawaii columnist Eddie Sherman, following which she left movies for choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
and semi-retirement. Sherman adopted her two children from her previous marriages. On television, she played a recurring role as secretary Jenny Sherman in Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
from 1969 to 1976.
In later years she trained Las Vegas showgirls in tap dancing. Her last public performance, at her 80th birthday party, was a hilarious song-and-dance routine for her former Universal studio colleagues. She continued to teach tap until two days before her death at the age of 80 from the effects of two stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s.
She was survived by two children and five grandchildren.
Filmography
Features:- Top of the Town (19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - The Women Men Marry (1937)
- The Flying IrishmanThe Flying IrishmanThe Flying Irishman is a 1939 biographical drama film produced by RKO Pictures in 1939 about Douglas Corrigan's unofficial transatlantic flight the previous year. Directed by Leigh Jason to a screenplay by Ernest Pagano and Dalton Trumbo, the film was made quickly to exploit the huge public...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - She Married a Cop (1939)
- The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath (film)The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
(19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) (cameo) - Sailor's LadySailor's LadySailor's Lady is a 1940 film starring Nancy Kelly. The supporting cast includes Jon Hall, Joan Davis, Dana Andrews, and Buster Crabbe. The movie was directed by Allan Dwan...
(1940) - What's Cookin'?What's Cookin'?What's Cookin'? is a 1942 American musical film starring The Andrews Sisters, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige and Gloria Jean. The film was directed by Edward F. Cline and is based on the story Wake Up and Dream written by Edgar Allan Woolf.-Plot:...
(19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - Girls' Town (1942)
- Private BuckarooPrivate BuckarooPrivate Buckaroo is a 1942 American Musical film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Harry James, Shemp Howard, Joe E...
(1942) - Miss Annie RooneyMiss Annie RooneyMiss Annie Rooney is a 1942 American drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin. The screenplay by George Bruce was based on the silent film, Little Annie Rooney starring Mary Pickford. Miss Annie Rooney is about a teenager from a humble background who falls in love with a rich classmate...
(1942) - Give Out, SistersGive Out, SistersGive Out, Sisters is a 1942 black and white American film starring The Andrews Sisters. The film co-stars Dan Dailey, and the teenage couple of the time, Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. Dailey and O'Connor went on to be in the 1954 film There's No Business Like Show Business....
(1942) - Get Hep to LoveGet Hep to LoveGet Hep to Love is a 1942 musical film starring Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige and Peggy Ryan. The film was directed by Charles Lamont.-Plot:...
(1942) - When Johnny Comes Marching HomeWhen Johnny Comes Marching Home (film)When Johnny Comes Marching Home is a 1942 musical film starring Allan Jones and Jane Frazee. The film was directed by Charles Lamont and is loosely based on the song with the same title.-Plot:...
(1942) - Mister Big (19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Top Man (1943)
- Chip Off the Old BlockChip Off the Old BlockChip Off the Old Block is 1944 American film starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, and Ann Blyth. In the story, the son of a strict man from the Navy falls in love with a girl from a performing family . In the end, the families learn to except their differences and they are allowed to be in love...
(19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) - Follow the BoysFollow the BoysFollow the Boys , also known as Three Cheers for the Boys, is a musical film made by Universal Pictures as an all-star cast morale booster to entertain the troops abroad and the civilians at home. The film was directed by A. Edward "Eddie" Sutherland and produced by Charles K. Feldman...
(1944) - This Is the LifeThis Is the Life (1944 film)This is the Life is a 1944 American film starring Donald O'Connor, Susanna Foster, and Peggy Ryan. This is one of the several films that Universal Studios rushed O'Connor and Ryan through before O'Connor was drafted into the Army to serve in World War II....
(1944) - The Merry MonahansThe Merry MonahansThe Merry Monahans is a 1944, American, black-and-white film starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, and Jack Oakie. The story is of a vaudeville family trying to make money through hard times. The film features the great song and dance duet with O'Connor and Ryan, "I Hate To Lose You"....
(1944) - Babes on Swing Street (1944)
- Bowery to BroadwayBowery to BroadwayBowery to Broadway is a 1944 American film starring Maria Montez, Jack Oakie, and Susanna Foster. Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan also had a small specialty act, and it was the only film they were in together where they didn't have a name or character....
(1944) - Here Come the Co-EdsHere Come the Co-EdsHere Come The Co-Eds is a 1945 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.-Plot:Three friends, Oliver Quackenbush , Molly McCarthy , and her brother Slats work for the Miramar Ballroom as taxi dancers. Slats plants a phony article in the local newspaper that declares Molly's ambition to...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - Patrick the GreatPatrick the GreatPatrick the Great is a 1945 American film starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, and Frances Dee. This was the last ever film for O'Connor and Ryan together, who had been a teenage team for the past several years. This was also O'Connor last film before he went to serve in World War II....
(1945) - That's the Spirit (1945)
- On Stage Everybody (1945)
- Men in Her Diary (1945)
- Shamrock Hill (19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - There's a Girl in My Heart (1949)
- All AshoreAll AshoreAll Ashore is a 1953 Technicolor musical comedy film directed by Richard Quine. It is the second of Mickey Rooney's three films for Columbia Pictures that was produced by Jonie Taps, directed by Richard Quine and written by Blake Edwards...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
)
Short subjects:
- The Wedding of Jack and Jill (19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - Billy Rose's Casa Mañana Revue (19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - A Night at the Troc (1939)
- Varsity Vanities (1940)
- Universal Musical Short 3655: Singin' and Swingin (19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
)
Television work
- Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
(cast member from 19681968 in televisionThe year 1968 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1968.For the American TV schedule, see: 1968-69 American network television schedule.-Events:...
- 19761976 in televisionThe year 1976 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1976.-Global television events:*The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide....
) - Pleasure Palace (19801980 in televisionThe year 1980 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.-Events:...
)