Wikipedia

Peggy Cass

Mary Margaret"Peggy"Cass(May 21, 1924 – March 8, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.

Peggy Cass
Cass in 1973
Born
Mary Margaret Cass

(1924-05-21)May 21, 1924
DiedMarch 8, 1999(1999-03-08)(aged 74)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • game show panelist
  • announcer
Years active1949–1997
Spouses
Carl Fisher
​
​
(m.1948;div.1965)​
Eugene Feeney
​
​
(m.1979)​

As an actress, Cass is best known for originating the role of Agnes Gooch in the1956 stageand1958 filmversions ofAuntie Mame,for which she won aTony Awardand was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.As a television personality, Cass is best known as one of the resident panelists onTo Tell the Truthfrom 1962 to 1968 when hosted byBud Collyer,1969 to 1978 when hosted byGarry Mooreand his successorsBill CullenandJoe Garagiola,and 1990 when hosted byGordon Elliott.

Early life

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Peggy Cass received acting training atHB Studio[1]inNew York Cityand eventually landed the lead role of Billie Dawn in a traveling production ofBorn Yesterday.[citation needed]

Stage and film

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Cass made herBroadwaydebut in 1949 with the playTouch and Go.She portrayed Agnes Gooch inAuntie Mameon Broadway and in thefilm version(1958), a role for which she won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress, and received anOscar nominationforBest Supporting Actress.[2]

She was cast as "First Woman" in the nine-member ensemble of the 1960 Broadway revueA Thurber Carnival,adapted byJames Thurberfrom his own works.[3]She played several characters throughout the performance, including: the mother in "The Wolf at the Door", the narrator of "The Little Girl and the Wolf", a nameless American tourist (who insistedMacbethwas a murder mystery), Miss Alma Winege in "File and Forget" (who wanted to ship to Mr. Thurber 36 copies ofGrandma Was a Nudist,which he did not order), Mrs. Preble in "Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife", Lou in "Take Her Up Tenderly" (who was helping to make old poetry more cheerful), andWalter Mitty's wife.[3]

In 1961, she played Mitzi Stewart in the movieGidget Goes Hawaiian.In 1964, she starred as First Lady Martha Dinwiddie Butterfield in the mock-biographical novelFirst Lady: My Thirty Days in theWhite House.The book, written byAuntie MameauthorPatrick Dennis,included photographs byCris Alexanderof Cass,Dody Goodman,Kaye Ballardand others who portrayed the novel's characters.[4]

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cass succeeded other actresses inDon't Drink the Water(as Marion Hollander) and inNeil Simon'sPlaza Suite,and played Mollie Malloy in two revival runs ofThe Front Page.She also appeared in the 1969 film comedyIf It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.In the 1980s, she returned to the stage in42nd Streetand in the 1985 run ofThe Octette Bridge Club.[2]

Television and stage

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One of Cass's earliest television roles was as Elinore Hathaway inThe Hathaways,a 26-episodesituation comedythat aired onABCfrom October 6, 1961, to March 30, 1962.[citation needed]She starred withJack Westonas suburbanLos Angeles"parents" to a trio of performingchimpanzees.Weston portrayed Walter Hathaway, a real estate agent, and Cass was his zany wife, "mother" andbooking agentfor theMarquis Chimps,named Candy, Charlie and Enoch.[citation needed]

Peggy Cass (left) withJames Thurberand Joan Anderson inA Thurber Carnival(1960)

Cass filled in as announcer on Jack Paar's late night talk show that aired in the 1970s on ABC.[citation needed]

In addition to her work with Paar, Cass's notable television work includes appearances on many game shows, on shows based mainly in New York City. She was a regular panelist onTo Tell the Truthfrom 1960 through its 1990 revival, appearing in most episodes in the 1960s and 1970s.[5]She was also a panelist on the pilot of the 1960s version ofMatch Game.[citation needed]

OnTo Tell the Truthand other series, she often displayed near-encyclopedic knowledge of various topics and would occasionally question the logic of some of the "facts" presented on the program. Cass appeared onWhat's My Line?in 1963, and made several appearances on the$10,000 & $20,000 Pyramidhosted byDick Clarkfrom 1973 to 1980, as well as the nighttime version, which was titledThe $25,000 Pyramid(1974–1979), hosted by her friendBill Cullen.All three of these versions were taped in New York City. She also appeared in the late 1970s onShoot for the Starshosted byGeoff Edwards,which was another game show that partnered contestants with celebrities, also filmed in New York City.[citation needed]

In 1983, she appeared in the New Amsterdam Theatre Company's concert staging ofKurt WeillandOgden Nash'sOne Touch of Venusas Mrs. Kramer, withSusan Luccias her daughter, as well asLee Roy Reams,Ron Raines,andPaige O'Haraas the titular Venus. In the spring of 1991, she participated in a concert staging ofCole Porter'sFifty Million Frenchmenat New York City'sFrench Institute Alliance Françaiseas Mrs. Gladys Carroll, singing Porter's "The Queen of Terre Haute".[6][7]

In 1987, Cass was featured in the earlyFoxsitcomWomen in Prison.Aside from sitcoms, she played the role of H. Sweeney on theNBCafternoonsoap operaThe Doctorsfrom 1978 to 1979.[citation needed]

Cass appeared on thepilot episodeofMajor Dadon September 17, 1989.[8]She portrayed Esther Nettleton, a civilian secretary working on theMarinebase for Maj. John "Mac" MacGillis.

Personal life and death

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On March 8, 1999, Cass died of heart failure in New York City at age 74 at theMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.[9]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1952 The Marrying Kind Emily Bundy Uncredited
1958 Auntie Mame Agnes Gooch
1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Rhoda Motherwell Season 4 Episode 13: "Six People, No Music"
1961 Gidget Goes Hawaiian Mitzi Stewart
1969 If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium Edna Ferguson
1969 Age of Consent His Wife
1970 Paddy Irenee

Stage

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Year Title Role(s) Notes Ref.
1945 The Doughgirls performer [10]
1949 Touch and Go Moonbeam / Olivia / Second Sister Broadway debut [11]
1950 The Live Wire Liz Fargo [12]
1952 Bernardine Helen [13]
1956 Auntie Mame Agnes Gooch [14]
1960 A Thurber Carnival performer [15]
1963 Children From Their Games Vera von Stobel [16]
1968 Don't Drink the Water Marion Hollander [17]
1969 The Front Page Mollie Malloy [18]
1970 Plaza Suite Karen Nash / Muriel Tate / Norma Hubley [19]
1979 Once a Catholic Mother Basil [20]
1981 42nd Street Maggie Jones [21]
1983 Agnes of God Mother Miriam Ruth [22]
1985 The Octette Bridge Club Lil [23]

Awards and nominations

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Awards
  • 1957 Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Play – Agnes Gooch inAuntie Mame
  • 1957 Theatre World Award – Agnes Gooch inAuntie Mame
Nominations

References

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  1. ^HB Studio Alumni,hbstudio.org. Accessed March 30, 2022.
  2. ^abPeggy Cassat theInternet Broadway Database
  3. ^abThurber, James(1962).A Thurber Carnival.New York: Samuel French, Inc.OCLC154260496.
  4. ^Staff (August 7, 1964)."Also Current".Time.Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 2007.RetrievedMarch 31,2007.
  5. ^Akers, Marshall (August 22, 2007)."To Tell the Truth".University of Georgia New Media Institute. Archived fromthe originalon May 2, 2007.RetrievedMay 28,2007.
  6. ^"Cole Porter / Fifty Million Frenchmen".sondheimguide.RetrievedMarch 4,2022.
  7. ^Fifty Million Frenchmen 1991 Studio Cast Import, Cast Recording(Audio CD).ASINB0000030H8.
  8. ^Pilot,Major Dad,retrievedMarch 4,2022
  9. ^Peggy Cass, 74, an Actress; Won Tony as Agnes Gooch,The New York Times;accessed October 11, 2016.
  10. ^"Auntie Mame Tony-Winner, Peggy Cass, Dies at 74".Playbill.March 10, 1999.RetrievedMay 1,2022.
  11. ^"Touch and Go – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  12. ^"The Live Wire – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  13. ^"Bernardine – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  14. ^"Auntie Mame – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  15. ^"Peggy Cass in the stage production A Thurber Carnival".NYPL Digital Collections.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  16. ^"The Theater: Comedy by Irwin Shaw; 'Children From Their Games' at Morosco Martin Gabel Appears With Peggy Cass".timesmachine.nytimes.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  17. ^"Don't Drink the Water – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  18. ^"The Front Page – Broadway Play – 1969 Revival | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  19. ^Barnes, Clive (March 22, 1970)."The Theater: 'Plaza Suite' Revisited".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  20. ^Kerr, Walter (October 11, 1979)."Stage: From Britain, 'Once a Catholic'".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  21. ^"42nd Street – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  22. ^"Agnes of God – Broadway Play – 1983-1984 Tour | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
  23. ^Rich, Frank (March 6, 1985)."STAGE: FAMILY PORTRAIT, 'OCTETTE BRIDGE CLUB'".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMay 2,2022.
Esther Nettleton
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