Diana Serra Cary ("Baby Peggy")

When 'Peggy' was a little girl, a man came to their apartment to tell them they had inherited an estate in Ireland. The family were delighted, they were poor; although they hadn't been that way for long and their fall into poverty was spectacular.

At 19 months old, Margaret Montgomery, became a child film star in the silent movies. She made $2 million in 1924. Her family spent or lost it all.

By the time she was 10 her career was over. But she had earned enough money to allow them buy a ranch and settle down.

That was a relief to her: she could have a childhood at last.

Within 3 years the family was broke again and Diana had to go back to work.

This is the story of that bizarre childhood and the remarkable woman who emerged from it.


The Bristol Silents Festival: www.slapstick.org.uk

This site is worth checking out

Music: Neil Brand (piano), Gunter Buchwald (vioilin) and Frank Bockius (drums).

Diana Serra Cary's Books:

"What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star"
(St Martins Press)

"Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King - A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star"
(Scarecrow Press)

"Hollywood's Children"
(Southern Methodist University Press,U.S.)

"Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television"
Diana Serra Cary (Foreword), et al
McFarland & Company

"The Hollywood Posse: The Story of a Gallant Band of Horsemen Who Made Movie History"
(University of Oklahoma Press/Houghton Mifflin)

Originally broadcast as part of the "Flux" series. Producer, Ronan Kelly (curiousear@rte.ie)

First broadcast: January 30th., 2006

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