Peg Entwistle
Peg Entwistle | |
---|---|
Born | Millicent Lilian Entwistle 5 February 1908 Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales, UK |
Died | 16 September 1932[a] Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 24)
Cause of death | Suicide by jumping off the Hollywoodland Sign |
Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery, Glendale, Ohio, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1925–1932 |
Spouse |
Millicent Lilian 'Peg' Entwistle (5 February 1908 – 16 September 1932) was a British
Early life
Born Millicent Lilian Entwistle in
It is often reported that her mother died when she was very young, but there is no documented evidence supporting this. There is, however, a Last Will and Testament dated 15 December 1922, in the Entwistle family archives, in which Robert Entwistle specifically stated the following:
Millicent Lilian Entwistle is the daughter of my first wife whom I divorced and the custody of my said daughter was awarded to me. I do not desire my said daughter to be at any time in the custody or control of her said mother.[2]
Peg Entwistle reportedly migrated from Britain to America, sailing from
In December 1922, Robert Entwistle died, the victim of a hit-and-run motorist on Park Avenue and 72nd Street in New York City.[5] Peg and her two younger half-brothers were taken in by their uncle, who had come with them to New York and was the manager of Broadway actor Walter Hampden.[6]
Broadway
By 1925, Entwistle was living in
By 1926, Entwistle had been recruited by the
The play The Uninvited Guest, closed after only seven performances in September 1927; however,
She went on tour with the Theatre Guild between Broadway productions. Changing characters every week, Entwistle garnered some publicity, such as an article in the Sunday edition of The New York Times in 1927[8] and another in the Oakland Tribune two years later.[13]
Aside from a part in the suspense drama Sherlock Holmes and the Strange Case of Miss Faulkner and her desire to play more challenging roles, Entwistle was often cast as a comedian, most often the attractive, good-hearted
I would rather play roles that carry conviction. Maybe it is because they are the easiest and yet the hardest things for me to do. To play any kind of an emotional scene I must work up to a certain pitch. If I reach this in my first word, the rest of the words and lines take care of themselves. But if I fail, I have to build up the balance of the speeches, and in doing this the whole characterisation falls flat. I feel that I am cheating myself. I don't know whether other actresses get this same reaction or not, but it does worry me.[13]
In early 1932, Entwistle made her last Broadway appearance, in J. M. Barrie's Alice Sit-by-the-Fire,[14] which also starred Laurette Taylor, whose alcoholism led her to two missed evening performances and refunds to ticket-holders.[15][16] The show was cancelled, and in the aftermath, Entwistle and the other players were given only a week's salary, rather than a percentage of the box office gross, which had been agreed upon before the show opened.[17]
Hollywood
By May 1932, at the depth of the
Belasco and Curran have staged the new play most effectively and have endowed this Romney Brent opus with every distinction of cast and direction. (producer) Bela Blau ... has developed the comedy to its highest points. Costumes and settings are of delightful quality, and every detail makes the production one entirely fit for its translation to the New York stage. In the cast Peg Entwistle and Humphrey Bogart hold first place in supporting the star (Billie Burke) and both give fine, serious performances. Miss Entwistle as the earnest, young daughter (Geneva Hope) of a vague mother and presents a charming picture of youth...[19]
After The Mad Hopes closed, Entwistle won her first and only credited film role with
Personal life
In April 1927, Entwistle married actor Robert Keith at the chapel of the New York City Clerk's office.[22] She was granted a divorce in May 1929. Along with charges of cruelty, she claimed her husband did not tell her he had been married before and was father to a six-year-old boy, Brian Keith, who later became an actor.[11][23]
Death
On 18 September 1932, a woman was hiking below the Hollywoodland sign, when she found a woman's shoe, purse, and jacket. She opened the purse and found a suicide note, after which she looked down the mountain and saw the body below. The woman reported her findings to the Los Angeles police and laid the items on the steps of the Hollywood police station.[24]
Later, a detective and two radio car officers found the body in a ravine below the sign. Entwistle remained unidentified until her uncle, with whom she had been living in the Beachwood Canyon area, identified her remains. He connected her two-day absence with the description and the initials "P.E.," written on the suicide note, which had been published in the newspapers.[25] He said that on Friday, 16 September, she had told him she was going for a walk to a drugstore and to see some friends. The police surmised that instead she made her way to the nearby southern slope of Mount Lee to the foot of the Hollywoodland sign, climbed a workman's ladder to the top of the "H" and jumped.[25]
The cause of death was listed by the coroner as "multiple fractures of the pelvis."[26][25]
The suicide note, as published, read:
I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.[27]
Entwistle's death brought wide and often sensationalized publicity. Her funeral was held at the W.M. Strathers Mortuary, in Hollywood, on 20 September.[28][29] Her body was cremated and the ashes were later sent to Glendale, Ohio, for burial next to her father in Oak Hill Cemetery, where they were interred on 5 January 1933.[30]
In 2014, roughly 100 people marked the anniversary of Entwistle's death by gathering in the parking lot of Beachwood Market in Hollywood, to watch Thirteen Women on an outdoor screen. Proceeds from a raffle and from food and beverages sold at the screening were donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Entwistle's name.[31]
In popular culture
Hollywood Girl: The Peg Entwistle Story (2017) is a short film based on the last day of Peg Entwistle's life.[32]
Dory Previn sang about Entwistle in the song "Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign," on her 1972 album of the same name.
Jakko Jakszyk's song "Damn This Town" (from his 1995 album Mustard Gas and Roses) mentions Entwistle and her suicide.
In 2015, French songwriter and musician Benoit Clerc composed and released "Peg est mon nom" ("Peg is my name"), a ballad sung by Camille Saillant. The song imagines Peg Entwistle standing atop "The big white letter H" as she wonders whether she will be remembered after her death.[33]
The song "Lust for Life" by Lana Del Rey references the suicide of Entwistle. The song includes lyrics such as "climb up the H of the Hollywood Sign," and in the music video for the song, Del Rey and The Weeknd are seen dancing atop the "H" of the Hollywood Sign.[citation needed]
Some have speculated that the 1977 Steely Dan recording "Peg" is about Entwistle; however, in 2000, during a question-and-answer session with fans, the band said the song was written about a real person, but not Entwistle.[34] In 2020, Steely Dan cofounder Donald Fagen said, "There's no hidden meaning. We just wanted a dotted half note for that spot, and 'Peg' was short enough to fit with the music."[35]
The song "Gardenias" by
In 2021, a new mural appeared in the star's hometown of Port Talbot.[37]
Portrayals
She was portrayed by actress Laura Liguori in the 2017 short film Hollywood Girl: The Peg Entwistle Story.[38]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1932 | Thirteen Women | Hazel Clay Cousins | Posthumous release |
Notes
- ^ 16 September was surmised by police and is widely believed to be the date of her death. The body was found on 18 September.
References
- ^ Owen, Martha (1 October 2011). "Death in Hollywood: the Peg Entwistle story". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ISBN 978-0786473137.
- ^ List or Manifest of Alien Passengers of S.S. Philadelphia. 11 March 1916.
- ^ Zeruk 2013, p. 20.
- ^ "ACTOR DIES; STRUCK BY AUTO THAT FLED; Robert S. Entwistle, Former Stage Manager for Charles Frohman, Dead in Hospital. INJURED ON ELECTION DAY Chauffeur, Who Sped Away After Looking at His Victim, Never Found" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 December 1922.
- ^ Zeruk 2013, p. 14; 33–35.
- ^ Hamlet at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ a b "The Return of Marion Harris -- And Something About Al Sexton, Ida Mulle, Dorothy Stickney and Various Others". The New York Times. 20 February 1927.
- ^ ISBN 0-7432-6208-5.
- ^ Atkinson, J. Brooks (18 June 1926). "The Play: Smart Comedy in June". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Girl Ends Life After Failure In Hollywood". Syracuse Herald-Journal. 20 September 1932. p. 5.
- ^ Atkinson, J. Brooks (28 September 1927). "'Uninvited Guest' Falters". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "English Actress With Guild". Oakland Tribune. 5 May 1929.
- ^ Atkinson, J. Brooks (8 March 1932). "A Night of Barrie ... Alice Sit-by-the-Fire". The New York Times.
- ^ "Two Barrie Revivals Suddenly Canceled". The New York Times. 15 May 1932.
- ^ "Laurette Taylor Absent". The New York Times. 6 April 1932.
- ASIN B0007DN520.
- ^ Yeaman, Elizabeth (7 June 1932). "Guild Asks Consent of Il Dulce for Film". Hollywood Citizen-News.
- ^ Lawrence, Florence (24 May 1932). "Mad Hopes New Triumph for Miss Burke Here". Los Angeles Examiner.
- ^ Thirteen Women, RKO Pictures, 1932. In the film, a very short scene shows Hazel Cousins (played by Entwistle) murdering her husband with a knife. In Thayer's novel, the Hazel Cousins character is a lesbian who becomes heartbroken and starves herself to death in a sanitarium.
- ^ Basinger, Jeanine (16 June 2008). "Few female ensemble films". Variety. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ NYC Marriage license No. 12687. 18 April 1927.
- ^ "Pulled Hair - Stage Star Gets Divorce After Tale of Fight With Husband". The Pittsburgh Press. 3 May 1929. p. 47.
- ^ "Young Actress Ends Life In Hollywood". The Lewiston Daily Sun. 20 September 1932. p. 11. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ a b c "Suicide Laid To Film Jinx". Los Angeles Times. 20 September 1932. pp. A1.
- ^ County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health/Vital Statistics--Standard Certificate of Death #10501, sections 24-25; Filed 20 September 1932
- ^ "Young Actress Ends Life In Hollywood". The Lewiston Daily Sun. 20 September 1932. p. 1. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ Ensley, Jim (4 December 1993). "Hollywood Has Share of Tragedy". The Calhoun Times. p. 9. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ "Peg Entwistle Is Laid To Rest". Schenectady Gazette. 21 September 1932. p. 7. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ Zeruk 2013, p. 187.
- ^ Lelyveld, Nita (17 September 2014). "A Hollywood tragedy, a neighborhood remembrance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- Broadway World.
- ^ McKenzie, Maria (6 January 2014). "An Interview with Author James Zeruk, Jr". Provocative History: Laugh, Cry, Think... Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Fan Questions". 21 May 2000.
- Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Spencer, Samuel (5 May 2020). "'Hollywood' on Netflix: Is 'Meg' a Real Movie?". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ Cymru, Nation (5 September 2021). "Street art capital of Wales grows with stunning new tributes to lost stars". Nation.Cymru.
- Broadway World.
Further reading
- Zeruk Jr., James Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign Suicide: A Biography (ISBN 978-0-7864-7313-7)
External links
- Peg Entwistle at IMDb
- Peg Entwistle at the TCM Movie Database
- Peg Entwistle at the Internet Broadway Database
- Peg Entwistle Stage Musical Goodnight September (2014)
- Peg Entwistle Short Film Hollywood Girl: The Peg Entwistle Story (2017)
- Peg Entwistle UK Website Pegentwistle.co.uk
- Peg Entwistle at Find a Grave
- Parents' Divorce, granted 21 July 1913 in Warwick on grounds of her mother's adultery with one Jules Shaw [1] (Subscription Required)