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Peggy Knudsen Profile
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| 27 April 23 | is born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Virgil William and Rose Erspamer. Her father is a fire chief. |
| April 41 | is heard on a CBS's dramatic serial originating in the Chicago studios |
| ? | is discovered at the Stage Door Canteen. Afterwards, she goes to Broadway. |
| 9 June 42 | elopes with Adrian P. Samish to Medina, Pennsylvania. He's 32; she's 19. The ceremony is performed by Justice of the Peace A. Randall Mathues. Samish is radio production manager for Young & Rubicam, the advertising agency. Jo Ann Sayers marries 24 hours later in New York. |
| May 43 | columnist Walter Winchell knows:?"It’s a girl for the Adrian Samishs. Mama is Peggy Knudsen of the stage." |
| 44 | director Lewis Milestone spots her in New York City and wants her for his Guest in the House, but the part goes to Marie McDonald |
| April 45 | is reported bowing out of her marriage to Samish. Columnist Luella Parsons tells that her "movie break and marital breakup happened simultaneously." |
| ? | divorces Samish. He will marry Carolyn B. Bacot in 1973 and die at age 66 in 1976 in Los Angeles. |
| August 45 | is tagged "The Lure" because of her lureful role in a forthcoming Errol Flynn movie |
| October 45 | her next husband will be Don McGuire as soon as he's divorced from his estranged bride, Nancy Jacobson |
| December 45 | is selected as "the girl who fills our stockings best" at the annual holiday poll of the hosiery designers of America |
| suffers a bruised nose in an automobile collision in which her mother's nose is broken |
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| February 46 | wants permission from her Warners bosses to act in Marc Connelly's play Lie Down in Darkness |
| April 46 | she and her terrier Devotion are pictured posing in honor of the upcoming "Be Kind to Animal Week" |
| July 46 | columnist Walter Winchell writes: "Peggy Knudson and William S. Paley, rich radioman, lighting two cigarettes on one match..." |
| December 46 | the press tells that she "put out a dressing room fire with a handy pitcher of grapefruit juice, we're told. Her pop was fire chief of Duluth..." |
| May 47 | columnist Louella Parsons tells that Peggy "is having a difficult time deciding between Phil Reed and Howard Hughes. Both are paying her attention..." |
| June 47 | is noted "whirling about" with Sherman Fairchild |
| July 47 | helps Vic Orsatti forget Marie McDonald. They are a twosome at Ciro's. |
| September 47 | is seen chaperoned around the Stork Club by Life editorialist F. Norris and his wife Lee |
| December 47 | attends Jimmy McHugh's party for Donald Nelson and his bride |
| September 48 | is seen dining at Ciro's with Jim Jordan |
| January 49 | tells columnist Louella Parsons that she decided against going to New York and taking that television job. Parsons reports that she "saw her dining with Fefe Ferry." |
| March 49 | she and Jim Jordan are a big romance |
| June 49 | columnist Harrison Carroll tells about aspiring actresses: "Even if you are 'specifically invited' to Hollywood, it's tough. Three weeks usually are needed to prepare for a test. Most hotels in Los Angeles now have a five-day limit. Apartments are virtually impossible to find. The lucky ones are like Peggy Knudson who came out to make a test for Warners and was able to stay with a friend. Peggy's friend is Jennifer Jones." |
| 15 June 49 | marries James C. Jordan, Jr., in Santa Barbara. He's 25; she's 26. They haven't told any of their friends, who send back their wedding gifts after it seems as if the wedding is off. Parsons knows: "Some of the friends of the young couple hurriedly sent the gifts again to Mr. and Mrs. Jordan. The happy pair is now honeymooning somewhere near town and will leave soon for New York, where Jim is a television director." |
| September 49 | is seen dining at the Brown Derby with her husband and his parents, Jim and Marian Jordan of the "Fibber McGee and Molly" radio show |
| 23 May 50 | her daughter Janice Colleen is born in Los Angeles |
| January 52 | she and her husband are reported knitting tiny garments |
| May 52 | her daughter Marian Lou is born in Los Angeles |
| June 52 | the press notes her and Jordan celebrating the birth of their third daughter at Ciro's |
| 24 June 54 | returns to the screen for the first time since becoming the mother of three daughters. "Producer Hal Bartlett signed her for Unclaimed, to be filmed at the California Institution for Men at Chino." |
| July 55 | she and Jordan are reported reconciled |
| c. 55 | she and Jordan separate |
| February 56 | columnist Walter Winchell knows that the Jordans are seeing barristers |
| December 56 | columnist Dorothy Kilgallen writes: "The Jim Jordan Jrs.' reconciliation fizzled and they'll take it to the divorce courts." |
| June 60 | gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame |
| c. 20 October 60 | after a five-year separation, she files for divorce from Jordan in Los Angeles charging cruelty. He's 41; she's 36. She asks custody of their three minor children and $1,000 monthly for support and alimony. |
| 15 December 60 | divorces Jordan in Los Angeles. She testifies that Jordan drank and made her "a nervous wreck." She's awarded $1,000 monthly support for herself and the children. Jordan will marry actress Beverly Tyler in 1962 and die at age 75 in 1998 in Nevada. |
| 12 February 62 | marries electrical contractor Francis S. Kellstrom in Honolulu, Hawaii. He's 48; she's 38. |
| 2 July 62 | she and Kellstrom separate |
| 22 October 62 | divorces Kellstrom in Los Angeles saying he "was very rude, would constantly criticize me and would fly into an angry rage." He's 49; she's 39. The press gives her age as 33. She wins $500 monthly alimony. Kellstrom will die at age 90 in 2003 in Los Angeles. |
| ? | resides in Encino, California |
| ? | suffers from a crippling arthritic condition |
| 11 July 80 | as Peggy Knudsen, she dies at age 57 at her Encino, California, home of cancer; three daughters survive |
| Sources: Whatever Became Of...? by Richard Lamparski, "Marie McDonald" in Fallen Angels by Kirk Crivello, The New York Times, Lincoln Sunday Journal and Star, San Mateo Times, The Lowell Sun, Traverse City Record-Eagle, The Daily Gleaner, The Daily Courier, Middletown Times Herald, Waterloo Daily Courier, Pottstown Mercury, The Port Arthur News, The Modesto Bee, Mansfield News-Journal, The Bradford Era, Oswego Palladium-Times, The Delta Democrat-Times, Nevada State Journal, Syracuse Herald-Journal, The Coshocton Tribune, Star-News, Long Beach Independent, Brainerd Daily Dispatch, www.Ancestry.com | |
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| Links: Filmography | |