Peggy Dow ( born Peggy Josephine Varnadow ), husband by name Peggy V. Helmerich ( born Peggy V. Helmerich ; born March 18, 1928 ) is an American actress who starred in cinema at the turn of the 1940-1950s.
| Peggy Dow | |
|---|---|
| Pegy dow | |
| Birth name | Peggy josephine varnadow |
| Date of Birth | March 18, 1928 (91 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Columbia , Mississippi , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Profession | actress |
| Career | 1949-1951 |
| IMDb | ID 0235627 |
Some of the best-known films featuring Dow include the Noir films Support (1949), Woman on the Run (1950), Extortion (1950) and Sleeping City (1950), the comedy Harvey (1950), and “ You Can't Say That ” (1951), as well as the military melodrama “ Brilliant Victory ” (1951).
Content
The Early Years and Early Careers
Peggy Dow, birth name of Peggy Josephine Warnadau, was born March 18, 1928 in the small town of Columbia in southern Mississippi . At the age of 4, Peggy moved with her parents to Covington , Louisiana , where her sister Ann was born. His father had a small chain of vegetable stores in South Louisiana, and during the Second World War, he engaged in the supply of propane and butane to local farmers. Mother was a housewife and raised children [1] .
After graduating from high school in Gulfport , Mississippi, Peggy decided to enroll at Northwestern University in Evanston , Illinois , on the advice of her teacher, who said that "there is the best theater training school in the world." Peggy studied there at a two-year college, where she began to play in theatrical productions, graduating at the age of 20 [1] .
In 1949, Peggy Josephine Warnadau went to Hollywood, where she signed a 7-year contract with Universal Pictures , after which the studio’s public relations department stung her name to Peggy Dow [2] [1] . At the studio, she was enrolled in a special training group for young actors. For two years, she lived in a Hollywood dormitory for beginner actresses "Studio Club", which was taken care of by the wife of director Cecil B. Demille [1] . In 1949, Dow first appeared on the screen in the episode "The Leg of the Mummy" of the television series "The Time of Your Show" [1] .
Cinema career
At the very beginning of her career, Dow got an excellent role in the film Noir “ Support ” (1949), where she played a good and decent school teacher Ann McKnight, who, during her vacation in Reno, met with war veteran Tony Regan ( Scott Brady ), who flies with her to his fiancee in Chicago . After Tony is substituted in the murder of the father of the bride, who is one of the leaders of the local mafia, he with the help of Anne escapes the pursuit of both the police and the criminals, and eventually finds the real killers. Gradually, Tony and Anne begin to feel romantic feelings for each other, and in the final of the film they make plans for living together on a rural ranch [2] [3] [1] . Cinema historian Michael Keeni praised the play in this film by a group of young actors in the lead roles, among them Dow in the role of “a school teacher who helps a military veteran on the run find a real killer, falling in love with him along the way” [4] .
The film Noir “ Woman on the Run ” (1950), where she “vividly played the role of the“ other woman “,” also became Dow's second picture. The main characters of this film - the newlyweds Deborah ( Aida Lupino ) and Seldon ( Stephen McNally ) - come to spend their honeymoon in a secluded mountain house rented by Seldon. On the doorstep of the house they are unexpectedly met by a young beauty named Patricia Monahan (Dau), from whose words it becomes clear that she was (and possibly is) in a love affair with Seldon. Angry Seldon hits Patricia in the face, after which the girl accuses him of marrying Deborah for money. Having made Debore realize that it was Seldon who killed her rich father, Patricia leaves. As Dow recalled, when “Lupino and McNally arrive at the mountain house, his door opens and I appear with a glass in my hand and the words“ Stephen, dear, I did not expect you so fast, ”and when he pushes me away I say“ Okay, okay , I leave you alone, "and, throwing the keys to the house, with the words" you may need the keys, "I leave. This is a small role, but the stage was skilfully set up ” [1] . After the premiere of the film, the New York Times film critic Bosley Krauser praised the play of the entire cast, noting, among others, the “worthy play of Peggy Dow as the unfortunate girlfriend of McNally” [5] . And modern critic David Bramburg noted that this film "clearly showed that Dow is capable of deep romantic roles in a wide range" [3] .
In the same year, in the film Noir Sleeping City (1950), Dow played a small role as a positive girl, whom one of the doctors was planning to marry, who accidentally became involved in the drug trafficking network deployed in the hospital [1] [6] . Dow again played her next role in the film Noir Extortion (1950). This time it was the supporting role of one of the leaders of a major newspaper from San Francisco, Ellen Bennett, who supported the daring and desperate photojournalist Jack Earley ( Howard Duff ) when he contacts the mafia bosses in the hope of making a scandalous photo essay about her crimes. At some point, Ellen begins an affair with Jack, and she asks him to take a quiet position in the newspaper. However, Jack by this time “had already gone so far and rose so high that he could not stop” [7] .
In 1950, Dow played the role of the charming nurse Ellen Kelly in probably her most famous film, the classic comedy Harvey (1950), starring James Stuart [1] [3] [8] . According to Erickson, “Peggy was pretty good as a romantic heroine” in this film [2] .
The next film, “A Brilliant Victory ” (1951), was based on a true story “a touching post-war melodrama telling the story of a blinded soldier Larry Nevins ( Arthur Kennedy ) who must adapt to civilian life.” As the actress recalled, before filming, the actors were specially taken to Philadelphia to the hospital for the blind, where they were prepared to return to the real world [1] . In this picture, Dow played a bank employee Judy Green, who voluntarily takes care of the blind in the hospital. She falls in love with Larry, but he goes home to marry his childhood lover. However, in the end, the bride Larry parted with him, and he reunited with his loving Judy, to whom he also began to experience love feelings [1] . According to Erickson, in this picture, Dow is "very good in the role of a staunch friend of a blind war veteran" [2] .
The melodrama " I Want You " (1951) spoke about family members in a small town in the East of the United States , who have different attitudes to conscription during the Korean War . In this picture, Dow played the bride of a young conscript ( Farley Granger ), who fears that military service could ruin his plans for marriage [1] [9] .
In 1951, Dow received prominent roles in two family comedies. In the film “ Reuniting at Reno ” (1951), she played a lawyer girlfriend ( Mark Stevens ), whom the girl hires to divorce her parents [1] . In the fantasy comedy “ Anything Can Happen ” (1951), Dow played the executor of the old millionaire, who protects his condition from the attacks of numerous false heirs. When dying, the millionaire bequeaths a fortune to his German shepherd , which is soon poisoned, but she returns to Earth in the form of a private detective Rex Shepard ( Dick Powell ). As a result, Rex with the help of his animal instincts restores justice, while falling in love with Ellen [10] .
Acting Role and Evaluation of Creativity
Critics say that Dow was "a beautiful blonde with intelligence and talent" [3] [2] . In 1949, she signed a 7-year contract with Universal , which starred in the films Noir " Support " (1949) and " Woman on the Run " (1950), and also played the main female in the classic film " Harvey " (1950) with Jimmy Stuart [1] . According to Bramburg, “already in her first roles, Dow has shown that she can play both in comedy and in drama with equal skill” [3] .
However, after three years of work in Hollywood, she completed her acting career, and, according to Bramburg, “today she is more remembered for charity than for Hollywood roles” [3] .
Personal life
In 1951, Dow married a wealthy Oklahoma oilman, Walter Helmerich III. After that, after only three years in show business, she, on her own initiative, interrupted her thriving film career and left with her husband to live in Tulsa , changing her name to Peggy Helmerich. In her marriage, she had five sons - Rick, Zach, Matt, Hans and John, each of whom made a successful career. In 2012, her husband Walter Helmerich died [1] [3] [11] .
Charity and social activities
For many years, Peggy Dow Helmerich has been actively involved in charitable activities in Oklahoma. In particular, she participates in the financing of the Tulsa Library Fund, where one of the libraries received her name [1] [12] .
Every year since 1985, the Tulsa Library Foundation has been presenting the Peggy W. Helmerich Writer Award “Outstanding Author” [13] [1] .
In addition, she finances the University of Oklahoma School of Dramatic Art [14] , as well as the School of Public Communications at Northwestern University , where one of the classrooms is named for it [15] .
She also sponsors the Peggy W. Helmerich Women's Health Center in Tulsa [1] . In 1998, Peggy Helmerich received an honorary degree from the University of Oklahoma for her contribution to health and cultural education [11] .
Filmography
| Year | Russian name | original name | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | with | Time of your show | Your show time | (1 episode) |
| 1949 | f | Support | Undertow | Anne McKnight |
| 1950 | f | Woman on the run | Woman in hiding | Patricia Monaghan |
| 1950 | f | Extortion | Shakedown | Ellen Bennett |
| 1950 | f | Sleeping city | The sleeping city | Katie Hall |
| 1950 | f | Harvey | Harvey | miss kelly |
| 1951 | f | Brilliant victory | Bright victory | Judy Green |
| 1951 | f | Anything happens | You never can tell | Ellen Hathaway |
| 1951 | f | I want you | I want you | Carrie Turner |
| 1951 | f | Reino Reunion | Reunion in reno | Laura Carson |
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Peggy V. Helmerich Hollywood Starlet & Gracious Philanthropist. Interview Voices of Oklahoma (October 9, 2009). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Hal Erickson. Peggy Dow. Biography AllMovie. Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gary Brumburgh. Peggy Dow. Mini Biography Internet Movie Database. Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Keaney, 2003 , p. 447.
- ↑ Bosley Crowther. The Screen: Six Newcomers Mark Holiday . The New York Times (February 23, 1950). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ The Sleeping City. Synopsis American Film Institute. Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Dennis Sshwartz. A routine story that is more about a depiction of the American drive for material success than an exposé newspaper story . Ozus' World Movie Reviews (March 25, 2005). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Peggy Dow in lead . Toledo Blade (March 25, 1951). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Hal Erickson. I Want You (1951). Synopsis AllMovie. Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Hal Erickson. You Never Can Tell (1951). Synopsis AllMovie. Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Peggy Dow. Mini Biography Internet Movie Database. Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Oklahoma Library Legends: Peggy Helmerich . Oklahoma State University (January 5, 2009). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ David Jones. Helmerich Family Leaves Fascinating Legacy . GTR Newspapers (01/19/2019). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ OU School of Drama Named to Honor Peggy Dow Helmerich . University of Oklahoma (06-12-2012). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Annie May Swift Renovation to Begin . Northwestern University (06-06-2006). Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
Literature
- Michael F. Keaney. Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940–1959 . - Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2003. - ISBN 978-0-7864-1547-2 .