Mary Jeanette Moran was born in Clinton, Iowa. The daughter of Louise Moran, a dancer with the famous Denishawn Dancers, and the celebrated artist Earl Moran, whose paintings graced many a barracks wall during World War II. One of Earl's favorite models was Norma Jean Baker, who later changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. Peggy never modeled for ...
[on what it was like working at Universal Pictures in the 1940s] I was there 2-1/2 years and did something like 30 pictures. I remember coming out of one picture and two days later they handed me another script.
Though retired for nearly 60 years, Peggy developed minor cult fame over the years thanks to her "scream queen" roles in The Mummy's Hand (1940) and Horror Island (1941) at Universal in the early 40s. She frequently flew to conventions all over the country and was invited in 2001 to Universal's premiere of The Mummy Returns (2001) with Brendan Fraser.
5
When she married Henry Koster in 1942, he promised to put her in every movie he made in the future and he did. He had a bust of her head made and it was used in all of his films after their marriage.
6
Her mother was a member of the Denishawn Dance Company and her father, Earl Moran, an artist specialising in pin-up portraits.
7
In late August, 2002, Peggy Moran was a passenger in a car involved in a serious automobile accident in Oxnard, California. She broke her neck, leg and several ribs as well as puncturing one of her lungs.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Stage Door Canteen
1943
Peggy Moran
King of the Cowboys
1943
Judy Mason
Seven Sweethearts
1942
Albert 'Al' Van Maaster
There's One Born Every Minute
1942
Helen Barbara Twine
Drums of the Congo
1942
Enid Waldron
Treat 'Em Rough
1942
Betty Newman
Flying Cadets
1941
Kitty Randall
Hello, Sucker
1941
Rosalie Watson
Horror Island
1941
Wendy Creighton
Double Date
1941
Penelope 'Penny' Kirkland
Trail of the Vigilantes
1940
Barbara Thornton
One Night in the Tropics
1940
Mickey Fitzgerald
Slightly Tempted
1940
Judy Ross
Spring Parade
1940
Archduchess Irene
The Mummy's Hand
1940
Marta Solvani
Argentine Nights
1940
Peggy
Hot Steel
1940
Babe Morrison
Alias the Deacon
1940
Phyllis
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
1940
Linda Carroll
Danger on Wheels
1940
Pat O'Shea
West of Carson City
1940
Millie Harkins
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
1940
Carol Ann 'Kelly' Archer
The Big Guy
1939
Joan Lawson
First Love
1939
Girl at School (uncredited)
Little Accident
1939
Tall Girl (uncredited)
Ninotchka
1939
First Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
Winter Carnival
1939
Viola (uncredited)
Zenobia
1939
Party Guest (uncredited)
Rhythm of the Saddle
1938
Maurine McClune
The Sisters
1938
Minor Role (uncredited)
Girls' School
1938
Myra
Campus Cinderella
1938
Short
Co-Ed (uncredited)
Secrets of an Actress
1938
Actress Waiting to See Carstairs (uncredited)
Boy Meets Girl
1938
New York Operator (uncredited)
Gold Diggers in Paris
1938
Golddigger
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
One Night in the Tropics
1940
performer: "Remind Me"
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
1940
performer: "Maybe I Like What You Like", "Bring Back My Bonnie" aka "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean"
$500,000
