PEGGY WEBBER: Marvelous Maven of Radio Theatre

Having worked with him on radio, Orson Welles personally chose Peggy to portray the ill-fated Lady Macduff in his film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s MACBETH (1948)
Peggy is a life insurance company clerk who wrongly thinks Henry Fonda held up the company weeks before in Alfred Hitchcock’s THE WRONG MAN (1956).

Films of the Golden Age,
Issue Number 97,
Summer 2019

“On radio I was able to portray all sorts of ages and ethnic types. Not on TV, unless they were Anglo, Austrian or Scandinavian.”

Her versatility as a lead/character player was verified on films, TV and the stage, but radio would always have an indefatigable appeal for PEGGY WEBBER (1925- ). Active into her mid-90’s, she singlehandedly kept the art form of radio theatre alive with the California Artists Radio Theatre (CART). In a professional career that surpasses an astounding 90 years (stage debut at age 2-1/2 and radio debut at 12), Peggy tallied up a total of over 8,000 network appearances, receiving dozens of national and international awards in the process. She worked with Orson Welles throughout much of her career and her minor output of films included those for Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.

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