Peggy Shanor

Peggy Shanor (November 1895 — May 30, 1935) was an American actress in silent films.

Peggy Shanor
Peggy Shanor, from a 1918 publication.
Born1895 (1895)
Sistersville, West Virginia, Virginia, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 1935(1935-05-30) (aged 39)
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Peggy Shanor - Jan 1920 EH

Early life

Margaret Marion Shanor was from Sistersville, West Virginia, and raised in the Pittsburgh area, the daughter of Perry Absalom Shanor and Etta Kate Leasure Shanor.[1][2] Her father, who was elected to represent Sistersville in the West Virginia legislature soon after Peggy was born,[3] was a leader in the Loyal Order of Moose,[4][5] and the International Order of Odd Fellows.[6]

Career

Shanor appeared in several silent films, notably in vamp roles[7] in serials, including The House of Hate (1918), The Queen of Hearts (1918), The Echo of Youth (1919), The Lurking Peril (1919), The Mystery Mind (1920), The Man Who Stole the Moon (1921), and The Prodigal Judge (1922).[8] "Peggy Shanor distinguished herself, in The House of Hate, by her ability to go upstairs in a truly regal manner," noted one film magazine of her day.[9] She declined an offer to make films for an English production company in 1919.[10] Shanor commented on her typecasting as a "vamp" in a 1920 interview: "I don't know why the public persists in calling any woman character in a play or picture who has red blood, brains or allurement a 'vamp'. The word irritates me excessively."[11]

Stage roles, mainly in Somerville, Massachusetts, included Yes or No? (1917), Behind the Screen (1922),[12] The Goldfish (1923),[13] Very Bright Green (1923),[14] Grumpy (1923),[15] and Love 'Em and Leave 'Em (1926).[16]

Shanor was one of the entertainers donating their talents at a "smoke fund" benefit in New York in 1918, raising money to send cigarettes to American troops in World War I.[17] In 1921, she visited orphans in the Jewish Foster Home of Germantown, with colleagues Vera Gordon and Stanley Price.[18] In 1922 she was in the news for her role in a "hospital mystery", as fellow film actor Earle Foxe collapsed in her apartment at the Knickerbocker Hotel.[7][19] They were rumored to be romantically involved.[20]

Personal life

Peggy Shanor was engaged to marry Harry Caplan in 1923.[21] She died in New York City in 1935, aged 39 years, "after a brief illness", according to her obituary in Variety.[4]

References
  1. Untitled society item, Daily Republican (September 10, 1894): 1. via Newspapers.comopen access
  2. "Theatre Party and Supper" Pittsburgh Press (November 27, 1910): 42. via Newspapers.comopen access
  3. Untitled news item, Butler Citizen (November 19, 1896): 2. via Newspapers.comopen access
  4. "Peggy Shanor" Variety (June 5, 1935): 54.
  5. "Perry A. Shanor" New York Times (November 7, 1939): 26. via ProQuest
  6. "Odd Fellows Pay Tribute to Dead" York Daily (May 19, 1917): 3. via Newspapers.comopen access
  7. "Mystery Remains" Daily News (January 16, 1922): 25. via Newspapers.comopen access
  8. John T. Soister, Henry Nicolella, Down from the Attic: Rare Thrillers of the Silent Era through the 1950s (McFarland 2016): 34, 44, 50. ISBN 9781476625447
  9. "Peggy Shanor" Picture-Play Magazine (September 1918): 21.
  10. "British Bid for American Star" Motion Picture News (November 8, 1919): 3472.
  11. "Peggy Shanor an Unwilling Vamp" Exhibitors Herald (January 31, 1920): 66.
  12. "Mr. Crosby's Play Acted in Somerville" Boston Globe (December 19, 1922): 4. via Newspapers.comopen access
  13. "Somerville Theatre" Boston Globe (April 1, 1923): 53. via Newspapers.comopen access
  14. "Sheffield's Merry Play at the Somerville Theatre" Boston Globe (May 1, 1923): 8. via Newspapers.comopen access
  15. "Somerville Players" Boston Globe (February 6, 1923): 6. via Newspapers.comopen access
  16. "Merry Comedy at the Castle Sq" Boston Globe (November 30, 1926): 17. via Newspapers.comopen access
  17. "Smokes Will Go Right to Germany" New York Herald (November 25, 1918): 4. via Newspapers.comopen access
  18. "Actress Visits Orphans" Philadelphia Inquirer (March 4, 1921): 8. via Newspapers.comopen access
  19. "Screen Stars Figure in Hospital Mystery" Washington Times (January 16, 1922): 3. via Newspapers.comopen access
  20. "Peggy Shanor's Forgettery" Broadway Brevities (December 1921): 28.
  21. Untitled brief news item, Boston Globe (June 2, 1923): 5. via Newspapers.comopen access
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