Diana Serra Cary

"Baby Peggy" (2012)

Diana Serra Cary , better known as Baby Peggy (actually Peggy-Jean Montgomery ; born October 29, 1918 in San Diego , California - † February 24, 2020 in Gustine , California), was an American film actress and author . In the 1920s she was the most popular child star in Hollywood alongside Jackie Coogan . In the later years of her life, she was considered the last living movie star of the silent film era .

Life

Peggy-Jean Montgomery was the second daughter of Marian Baxter and Jack Montgomery. Her father was a former cowboy and worked as a stuntman in Hollywood , including for western star Tom Mix . She had an older sister named Jack-Louise. Diana was discovered by director Fred Fishbach at the age of nineteen months while visiting the Century film studio. He was enthusiastic about her good behavior and her cute appearance with a bob hairstyle . Her first film, Playmates , was a huge success in 1921 and over the next three years she took on leading roles in around 150 short films for Studio Century. The well-known film historian Kevin Brownlow called her an "extraordinary actress" and emphasized her qualities: "Baby Peggy" showed a special talent for imitating other people, which is unusual for a child of her age, for example when she played a grandmother in a film . In addition, she followed the stage directions precisely and possessed a naturalness in her acting.

Through her films, Baby Peggy became the greatest child star of the 1920s in Hollywood alongside Jackie Coogan . She received over a million fan letters annually and her annual income also ran into the millions. Numerous merchandising products were created around her ; for example there was a special “Baby Peggy” doll collection. In 1924 she acted with her popularity as a mascot at the Congress of the Democratic Party .

Diana Serra Cary in a 1922 film magazine

After her father fell out with film producer Sol Lesser in 1925 , Baby Peggy had to switch to theater work. Until puberty, Baby Peggy appeared regularly in vaudeville shows or plays, which brought her further success. But her parents carelessly wasted a large part of their earned money; Among other things, they invested in a 14-room villa and a luxury car. In the 1929 stock market crash , Baby Peggy's family lost the rest of their fortune. She therefore returned to the film business as a teenager in the 1930s, but was no longer in demand and was only offered small supporting roles. In 1938 she ended her film career. Diana Serra Cary was married twice: the first marriage to Gordon Ayres was divorced; then she was married to Bob Cary from 1954 until his death in 2001, with whom she had a son. She took the name Serra after Fra Juníper Serra after she had converted to Catholicism.

Cary spent a large part of her adult life as a stranger, especially since the majority of her films are now considered lost. In the recent past, however, she has been in the spotlight again. In 1996, Cary published her autobiography Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy? , alluding to the film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? . Her career as a child star is said to have partly been a model for the film character "Baby Jane Hudson" in this film. She then published a biography about her fellow actor Jackie Coogan and, in January 2018, at the age of 99, her first novel The Drowning of the Moon . In 2012, the documentary Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room was released , which deals with her life.

Diana Serra Cary was one of the last remaining actors of the silent film era at the time of her death. Among them, she was the only person who could really claim to have had the status of a " star " in the silent film era - hence one could call her the last living "silent film star". She died on February 24, 2020 at the age of 101 in Gustine, California, near Modesto .

Filmography (selection)

Baby Peggy in a movie magazine as Little Red Riding Hood (1922)

1921: Her Circus Man
1921: Brownie's Little Venus
1921: Fool's Paradise
1922: Little Red Riding Hood
1922: The Little Rascal
1923: Carmen, Jr.
1923: The Kid Reporter
1923: The Darling of New York
1924: Helen's Babies
1924: The Family Secret
1924: Peg o 'the Mounted
1924: My Little Captain (Captain January)
1926: April Fool
1934: The Return of Chandu
1937: Souls at Sea (Souls at Sea)
1937: True Confession
1938: Having Wonderful Time

Web links

Commons : Diana Serra Cary - Collection of Images

Diana Serra Cary in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Mike Barnes: Baby Peggy, Child Star of Silent Films, Dies at 101. In: The Hollywood Reporter . February 24, 2020, accessed on February 25, 2020 .
↑ Thomas Gladysz: The Return of Baby Peggy - The Last Silent Film Star. In: Huffington Post . October 21, 2015, archived from the original on February 27, 2017 ; accessed on February 25, 2020 (English).
^ Diana Serra Cary: The million dollar baby. January 11, 2006, accessed February 26, 2020 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Chris Gardner: The Last Living Silent Star: Child Actress Baby Peggy Made the Equivalent of $ 14M a Movie and Lost It All. In: Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2016, accessed February 25, 2020 .
↑ Thomas Gladysz: Silent film star recalls 1924 Democratic Convention. In: thomasgladysz.wordpress.com. September 6, 2012, accessed January 18, 2018 .
↑ Tom Lamont: Interview: 'I spent most of my life as a nobody': the last of the silent movie stars. In: theguardian.com . May 23, 2015, accessed February 25, 2020 .
↑ Chris Gardner: Former Child Star Baby Peggy Self-Publishes Her First Novel at 99. In: The Hollywood Reporter. January 4, 2018, accessed January 18, 2018 .
^ Baby Peggy, the Elephant in the Room. September 5, 2012, accessed February 25, 2020 .
↑ Klaritza Rico, Klaritza Rico: Diana Serra Cary, Child Star Known as Baby Peggy, Dies at 101. In: Variety. February 25, 2020, accessed on February 26, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Cary, Diana Serra
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Baby peggy; Montgomery, Peggy-Jean (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American film actress and author
DATE OF BIRTH	October 29, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH	San Diego , California , United States
DATE OF DEATH	February 24, 2020
Place of death	Gustine , California

[1] Mike Barnes: Baby Peggy, Child Star of Silent Films, Dies at 101. In: The Hollywood Reporter . February 24, 2020, accessed on February 25, 2020 .

[2] Thomas Gladysz: The Return of Baby Peggy - The Last Silent Film Star. In: Huffington Post . October 21, 2015, archived from the original on February 27, 2017 ; accessed on February 25, 2020 (English).

[3] Diana Serra Cary: The million dollar baby. January 11, 2006, accessed February 26, 2020 .

[A-4] Chris Gardner: The Last Living Silent Star: Child Actress Baby Peggy Made the Equivalent of $ 14M a Movie and Lost It All. In: Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2016, accessed February 25, 2020 .

[5] Thomas Gladysz: Silent film star recalls 1924 Democratic Convention. In: thomasgladysz.wordpress.com. September 6, 2012, accessed January 18, 2018 .

[6] Tom Lamont: Interview: 'I spent most of my life as a nobody': the last of the silent movie stars. In: theguardian.com . May 23, 2015, accessed February 25, 2020 .

[7] Chris Gardner: Former Child Star Baby Peggy Self-Publishes Her First Novel at 99. In: The Hollywood Reporter. January 4, 2018, accessed January 18, 2018 .

[8] Baby Peggy, the Elephant in the Room. September 5, 2012, accessed February 25, 2020 .

[9] Klaritza Rico, Klaritza Rico: Diana Serra Cary, Child Star Known as Baby Peggy, Dies at 101. In: Variety. February 25, 2020, accessed on February 26, 2020 .