Baby Peggy

About Baby Peggy

Who is it?: Actress, Writer, Miscellaneous Crew
Birth Day: October 29, 1918
Birth Place:  San Diego, California, United States
Birth Sign: Scorpio
Other names: Baby Peggy Baby Peggy Montgomery Peggy Montgomery Diana Ayres
Education: Lawlor Professional School Fairfax High School
Occupation: Actress, author, film historian
Years active: 1921–1938
Spouse(s): Gordon Ayres (m. 1938; div. 1948) Bob Cary (m. 1954; d. 2001)
Children: 1

Baby Peggy Net Worth

Baby Peggy was born on October 29, 1918 in  San Diego, California, United States, is Actress, Writer, Miscellaneous Crew. 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 of acting stock. Her father, Jack Montgomery, was a 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 himself. In fact, his daughter was the one who became the celebrity and breadwinner.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 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 commented on 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 now considered to be 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 is a member of Actress

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Baby Peggy images

Biography/Timeline

1918

Cary was born on October 29, 1918, in San Diego, California, as Peggy-Jean Montgomery, the second daughter of Marian (née Baxter) and Jack Montgomery. While some sources incorrectly give her birth name as Margaret, Cary herself, in her autobiography, notes that she was indeed born as Peggy-Jean. She further explains that although the Roman Catholic nuns at her birth hospital recommended the name Margaret, her parents rejected the suggestion. Her elder sister, called Louise or, occasionally, Jackie, was legally named Jack-Louise.

1921

Between 1921-24, Peggy made close to 150 short comedy films for Century. Her movies often spoofed full-length motion pictures, social issues and stars of the era; in one, Peg O' the Movies, she satirized both Rudolph Valentino and Pola Negri. She also appeared in film adaptations of novels and fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel and Jack and the Beanstalk, contemporary comedies, and a few full-length motion pictures.

1923

While under contract with Century and Universal, Peggy commanded an impressive salary. By 1923 she was signed to a $1.5 million a year contract at Universal (equivalent to $20.6 million in 2014 dollars); on her vaudeville tours she made $300 per day. Her parents handled all of the finances; money was spent on expensive cars, homes, and clothing.

1924

The success of the Baby Peggy films brought her into prominence. When she was not filming, she embarked on extensive "In-Person" personal appearance tours across the country to promote her movies. She was also featured in several short skits on major stages in Los Angeles and New York, including Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre and the Hippodrome. Her likeness appeared on magazine covers and was used in advertisements for various businesses and charitable campaigns. She was also named the Official Mascot of the 1924 Democratic Convention in New York, and stood onstage waving a United States flag next to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

1925

From 1925 to 1929, Peggy had a successful career as a vaudeville performer. Although her routine, which included a comedy Sketch, singing and a dramatic monologue, was initially met with skepticism, it soon became a popular and respected act. Although she was prohibited from "playing the Palace" because of her young age, she appeared onstage there as a special guest. Peggy and her family toured the United States and Canada, performing in major venues, until the family tired of touring.

1926

The vast majority of Cary's Baby Peggy films have not survived and records related to their production have been lost. Century Studios burned down in 1926. In addition, another older Actress named Peggy Montgomery was active in Hollywood Western films between 1924–29; her credits are occasionally confused with those of Baby Peggy. Filmographies at major websites are incomplete, and sometimes incorrect, because of these facts.

1929

Peggy's father planned to buy a ranch and convert it into a high-end getaway. However, the stock market crash of 1929 put an immediate halt to the plans. Having made a $75,000 deposit on the land and existing property, the Montgomerys were forced to move to rural Wyoming where they lived near the Jelm Mountains. Peggy found the change in pace refreshing and hoped her stage days were over. However, the family struggled to make a living, and as a last-ditch effort returned to Hollywood in the early 1930s, much to the teen-aged Peggy's chagrin.

1938

At the age of seventeen, trying to escape the film industry and her parents' plans for her life, Cary ran away from home and rented an apartment with her sister Louise. She married actor Gordon Ayres, whom she met on the set of Ah, Wilderness!, in 1938. They divorced in 1948.

1954

In 1954, she married Artist Robert "Bob" Cary (sometimes listed as Bob Carey). They had one son, Mark. They remained married until Bob Cary's death in 2001.

2008

On November 8, 2008, ten days after her 90th birthday, Cary was honored at the Edison Theatre in Niles, California, with a screening of two of her feature films, Helen's Babies and Captain January.

2012

In 2012, a campaign to get Cary a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was initiated on crowd-funding site Indiegogo. On December 3, 2012, Turner Classic Movies presented the 2011 documentary Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room.

2016

In 2016, it was announced that her lost film Our Pet was found in Japan.

2019

Baby Peggy’s career was controlled by her father, who accompanied her to the studio every day and made every decision about her contracts. Mr. Montgomery often claimed that Peggy's success was based not on her own talent, but on her ability to follow orders unquestioningly.