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IMDbPro

Baby Peggy(1918-2020)

  • Actress
  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Baby Peggy
The reclusive Patricia Douglas comes out of hiding to discuss the 1937 MGM scandal, in which the powerful film studio tricked her and over 100 other underage girls into attending a stag party, where she was raped.
Play trailer1:39
Girl 27 (2007)
1 Video
24 Photos
Silent moppet star Jackie Coogan, immortalized as Charles Chaplin's The Kid (1921), had only one screen rival during the early 1920s, and that was none other than Baby Peggy. She was "discovered" while visiting the Century Studios lot on Sunset Boulevard with her mother when she was a mere 19 months old and went on to appear in nearly 150 shorts (between 1920 and 1923) and nine feature films during her silent heyday. Often considered a precursor to Shirley Temple, Baby Peggy's most popular film vehicle was the child classic Captain January (1924), which would be made a decade later as a vehicle for Temple.

She was born Peggy-Jean Montgomery in 1918 in San Diego, California, of acting stock. She was the daughter of Marian (Baxter), from Wisconsin, and Jack Montgomery, a Nebraska-born cowboy for years all over the western states. He ended up in the movies as a stuntman and extra, driving stagecoaches and buckboards. He supported himself as Tom Mix's double, but never achieved the rugged stardom he yearned for. In fact, his daughter was the one who became the celebrity and chief breadwinner for the family.

Many of Baby Peggy's popular comedies were parodies of movies that grown-up stars had made, and she delightfully imitated such legends as Rudolph Valentino, Pola Negri, Mary Pickford and Mae Murray. Her first feature-length film was Penrod (1922); her first film with Universal, The Darling of New York (1923), shot when she was 3-1/2 years old, was a solid hit. A few more, including Helen's Babies (1924), were also certifiable winners. However, by the age of 8, she was finished.

Her fortune reportedly was depleted by her father Jack's stepfather, a banker to whom she had entrusted all her money. Within a short time, she was forced to turn to the vaudeville circuit for survival. A comeback in early talkies with the new moniker Peggy Montgomery was very short-lived. Her credits, as a result, are often mixed up with another actress named Peggy Montgomery, who was a western ingénue for many years.

The former child star lived in dire straits and suffered from nervous breakdowns and near poverty for many years until she found a new and unexpectedly successful career as a book publisher and writer, using the pseudonym "Diana Serra Cary". As the author of "Hollywood Posse" (1975) and (later) "Hollywood's Children", she wrote about her youthful career, post-stardom years, child stars in general, and Hollywood history in all its fascinating glory. Her own autobiography, "Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy?", was released in 1996.

In 2016, Diana was inducted into the Classic Film Hall of Fame at the Rheem Theater in Moraga, CA. Diana was present, at age 98, to receive the honor and answer questions. She is considered to have been the last living star of the silent film era. Per Robert Garfinkle, a board member of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, CA, Diana now has the longest acting career of all time, from 1920 to 2015. Her last film was a silent film she made at the above-referenced museum. The film was actually made using one of their antique hand-cranked cameras!

Baby Peggy died on February 24, 2020 in Gustine, California. She was 101.
BornOctober 29, 1918
DiedFebruary 24, 2020(101)
BornOctober 29, 1918
DiedFebruary 24, 2020(101)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos24

Baby Peggy in Little Miss Mischief (1922)
Clara Bow, Edward Everett Horton, and Baby Peggy in Helen's Babies (1924)
Baby Peggy in Peg o' the Mounted (1924)
Baby Peggy in Peg o' the Mounted (1924)
Baby Peggy in Peg o' the Mounted (1924)
Baby Peggy in Peg o' the Mounted (1924)
Baby Peggy, Max Davidson, Pat Hartigan, Sheldon Lewis, William Quinn, Carl Stockdale, and William H. Turner in The Darling of New York (1923)
Baby Peggy and Fred Spencer in The Little Rascal (1922)
Baby Peggy, LAW FORBIDS, THE, Universal, 1924, **I.V.
Baby Peggy
Baby Peggy
Baby Peggy

Known for

Baby Peggy in Captain January (1924)
Captain January
7.0
  • Captain January
  • 1924
Helen's Babies (1924)
Helen's Babies
6.5
  • Toddie
  • 1924
April Fool
6.4
  • Irma Goodman - a Child
  • 1926
Baby Peggy, Johnny Fox, and Buddy Williams in Hansel and Gretel (1923)
Hansel and Gretel
Short
  • Gretel
  • 1923

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Christopher Goodwin in Broncho Billy and the Bandit's Secret (2013)
    Broncho Billy and the Bandit's Secret
    • The Movie Star
    • Short
    • 2013
  • Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Ginger Rogers in Having Wonderful Time (1938)
    Having Wonderful Time
    • Camp Guest (uncredited)
    • 1938
  • John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, and Fred MacMurray in True Confession (1937)
    True Confession
    • Autograph Hunter (uncredited)
    • 1937
  • Gary Cooper, Olympe Bradna, Frances Dee, and George Raft in Souls at Sea (1937)
    Souls at Sea
    • Minor Role (uncredited)
    • 1937
  • Herbert Marshall, Ruth Chatterton, and Simone Simon in Girls' Dormitory (1936)
    Girls' Dormitory
    • Student (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • Wallace Beery, Eric Linden, and Cecilia Parker in Ah Wilderness! (1935)
    Ah Wilderness!
    • Schoolgirl at Graduation (uncredited)
    • 1935
  • Marian Marsh in A Girl of the Limberlost (1934)
    A Girl of the Limberlost
    • Schoolgirl (uncredited)
    • 1934
  • Bela Lugosi and Maria Alba in The Return of Chandu (1934)
    The Return of Chandu
    • Judy Allen (uncredited)
    • 1934
  • Jennifer Gray, Baby Peggy, Barbara Barondess, Kay Johnson, Margaret Marquis, Douglass Montgomery, Jean Rogers, Dorothy Wilson, Ruth Heinaman, and Virginia Hall in 8 Girls in a Boat (1934)
    8 Girls in a Boat
    • Hortense (as Peggy Montgomery)
    • 1934
  • Off His Base (1932)
    Off His Base
    • Peggy (as Peggy Montgomery)
    • Short
    • 1932
  • April Fool
    • Irma Goodman - a Child
    • 1926
  • Helen's Babies (1924)
    Helen's Babies
    • Toddie
    • 1924
  • Baby Peggy in The Family Secret (1924)
    The Family Secret
    • Peggy Holmes
    • 1924
  • Jack and the Beanstalk (1924)
    Jack and the Beanstalk
    • Short
    • 1924
  • Baby Peggy in Captain January (1924)
    Captain January
    • Captain January
    • 1924

Writer

  • Baby Peggy and Jack Montgomery in Baby Peggy, the Elephant in the Room (2012)
    Baby Peggy, the Elephant in the Room
    • narration written by (as Diana Serra Cary)
    • Video
    • 2012
  • Hollywood's Children (1982)
    Hollywood's Children
    • book "Hollywood's Children" (as Diana Serra Cary)
    • TV Movie
    • 1982

Additional Crew

  • Girl 27 (2007)
    Girl 27
    • archive photographs (as Diana Serra Cary)
    • 2007
  • Hollywood's Children (1982)
    Hollywood's Children
    • consultant (as Diana Serra Cary)
    • TV Movie
    • 1982

Videos1

Trailer
Trailer 1:39
Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Diana Sera Carey
  • Born
    • October 29, 1918
    • San Diego, California, USA
  • Died
    • February 24, 2020
    • Gustine, California, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Robert Edward CaryMay 15, 1954 - January 12, 2003 (his death, 1 child)
  • Parents
      Jack Montgomery
  • Other works
    Book: "The Hollywood Posse".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 1 Interview
    • 9 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Son Mark was born in 1961. She had previously been told that she couldn't have children. She also has a granddaughter who strongly resembles her.
  • Quotes
    I see it [her days in motion pictures] as all of a piece. It's kind of like putting a quilt together. Quilt-making is very good because everything becomes equally important and equally valid, and everything forms the core of yourself. So both the good and the bad--I always felt that was the hand life dealt, and I've tried to handle it as best I could. I don't have any rancor or any anger or anything toward anyone--or toward Hollywood. Even when it was happening, I realized it was nobody's fault, but you get hurt in spite of that. But I'm very peaceful about it.
  • Nickname
    • Diana Serra Cary
  • Salaries
      Ah Wilderness!
      (1935)
      $7 .50/wk

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