Peggy Aarup

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Thomas Reeder
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Peggy Aarup

Postby Thomas Reeder » Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:59 am

Can anyone supply some information regarding this blonde actress's involvement in silent comedies of the teens? Aarup was her birth name, and she supposedly had minor parts in films for Sennett and Lehrman before changing her last name to O'Day for several films 1919-1920, then finished out her film career through '28 as Peggy O'Day (the O'Dare and O'Day info taken from IMDb, for better or worse).

Tom Reeder

Steve Rydzewski
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Steve Rydzewski » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:00 am

Hello Tom, I don't know of Peggy's involvement at Sennett, but I have seen her name tied as the star to at least a couple of Lehrman Knock-Outs of 1919, "Let Fido Do It" a three reeler with Dick Smith and, "Gymbelles and Boneheads," two reels, with a young Billy Bevan made shortly before he joined Sennett.

sr

Andrew Sholl
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Andrew Sholl » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:18 am

One of those real-names-of-the-stars articles from 1924 says Peggy O'Day and Genevieve Berte are one and the same. Both are mentioned in newspaper articles as being expert horsewomen and both starred alongside Franklyn Farnum. Berte is also mentioned in connection with Christie c.1920. The UPI obit for O'Day says she began her career as a stunt woman for Christy [sic] Brothers.

Btw - O'Day's career didn't end with the coming of sound; she spent the rest of her working days behind the camera at MGM. As the IMDB entry states, O'Day worked as an editor. She was later to be found in the sound department working on films such as "The Good Earth". De Mille apparently employed her as a script editor and she retired in 1960 after a stint supervising the foreign-language dubbing of MGM output. Her husband, Earl F. Reis, was a sound engineer.

Thomas Reeder
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Thomas Reeder » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:37 am

Thanks for the background, guys. "Gymbelles and Boneheads" was the sole credit I had for her, Steve, so the "Fido" credit is another step forward. And thanks, Andrew, for the Christie and Genevieve Berte leads - that gives me something more to pursue.

Tom

Frank Flood
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Frank Flood » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:49 am

I have "Peggy O'Dare" listed in the cast of WELCOME HOME, a Royal Comedy released by Reelcraft late in 1920 or so, and "Peggy O'Day, The Thrill Girl" in PEGGY OF THE SECRET SERVICE, one the 1925-26 Shieks and Shebas Comedies from J. Charles Davis and Womack-McKnight, the same folks responsible for the Hey Fellas Comedies. Was she the "Peggy" in all of the Shieks and Shebas? Interesting career.

Frank

Andrew Sholl
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Andrew Sholl » Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:46 am

Hang on. It looks like we've got a surfeit of Peggys on our hands.

Peggy O'Day/Genevieve Berte was a Christie cutie-turned-Farnum co-star.

Peggy O'Dare/Peggy Aarup/Ella Aarup worked for Sennett, Fox & Universal.

This posting on a genealogy site would appear to settle matters: http://www.gencircles.com/users/spaan/1/data/9.

Thomas Reeder
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Thomas Reeder » Thu Aug 13, 2009 1:28 pm

Mr. Wooster, I presume!

Thanks for this link which offers one heck of a lot more information than I'd hoped for. Unfortunately (for me), it's somewhat cloudy regarding the area I was specifically interested in, which is whether or not she actually worked for Lehrman. The two L-Ko's from 1919 are after Lehrman's tenure there, and while I got excited over the reference to Fox Lehrman Sunshine Comedies, the year given - 1916 - predates them, and the mention of "5 reel pictures with a story very much like serials" leaves me scratching my head. Which really means nothing since the author may very well have messed up the date and made the "5 reel" comment out of naievete. Still, this puts an end to the O'Dare/O'Day connection, and adds one more tick to the "Don't blindly trust IMDb" column. Thanks again.

Tom

Steve Rydzewski
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Steve Rydzewski » Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:01 pm

That's real nice that this family member posted her bio of Peggy Aarup, whom was pretty obscure to me, but a name I knew. Looks like she had a nice little career, too.

We should ask this family member to post us a nice portrait of Peggy, as most of us may be able to place her in some particular comedies we've seen. If you seem to think or read that she worked for Lehrman in 1916, Tom, maybe she worked with Billie Ritchie, Hank Mann, and others on the lot. Does this family member have any early comedy stills? Maybe you want to try getting in touch with the writer, she might have some answers to your sleep-losing questions LOL.

Andrew, you are a true Sherlock Holmes!

SteveR

Thomas Reeder
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Thomas Reeder » Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:59 pm

Hey Steve:

I've sent an email to "Spaan" who posted the Aarup bio, with the hopes of clearing up some of the confusion therein (Fox Sunshine? In 1916?). We'll see if I receive any sort of response.

I have no real reason to believe that Aarup actually worked for Lehrman directly. I found an undated article from Feb 1919 saying that Peggy had worked for Sennett and Lehrman and was headed to Universal. The two films you mentioned were released a month and two months after this article, so they were probably in the can when the article was published. Even so, Lehrman was no longer affiliated with L-Ko at that time. I could make some guesses here, but I'd much rather see if "Spaan" can sort it out for me. And if "Spaan" seems sociable enough, I'll see if I can get an image or two forwarded.

Tom

Thomas Reeder
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Re: Peggy Aarup

Postby Thomas Reeder » Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:07 pm

Damn! It bounced back as undeliverable due to "extended inactivity." Oh, well, it was worth a shot.

TR


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