Peg Entwistle

Peg Entwistle (February 6, 1908 – September 18, 1932) was a Hollywood actress, famous for her suicide. Image File history File links PegEntwistlePortrait. ... Image File history File links PegEntwistlePortrait. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ...

Early life

Born Lillian Millicent Entwistle in Port Talbot, on Swansea Bay in Wales, she emigrated with her widowed father to New York City in 1922. After her father was killed in a traffic accident, she began to suffer from depression. Despite this, dreams of becoming a famous entertainer kept her determined and striving for success at a very young age. Entwistle had begun to pursue a career in theatre, making her stage debut in Hamlet with the Boston repertory company at age 17. She later obtained two co-starring roles in prestigious Broadway productions—Getting Married (with Dorothy Gish) and Alice-Sit-By-The-Fire (with Laurette Taylor). But by the early 1930s, with the onslaught of The Great Depression, a majority of the public could no longer afford the expensive tickets to Broadway shows. This caused Peg's last seven New York plays to flop. Entwistle took the failures personally and began drinking alcohol. With both her parents dead, life had been stressful for the young actress. She was further troubled by a brief but very difficult marriage to divorceé Robert Keith, an actor and playwright. Arms of Port Talbot Port Talbot (Welsh: or Porth Talbot) is an industrial town in the traditional county of Glamorgan, south Wales, UK, with a population of approximately 50,000. ... Swansea Bay (Welsh: Bae Abertawe) is an inlet of the Bristol Channel lying south of Swansea, Wales. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd in... Nickname: Big Apple, City that never Sleeps Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Clinical depression (also called severe depressive disorder, major depressive disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... The third quarto of Hamlet (1605); a straight reprint of the 2nd quarto (1604) The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and is one of his best-known and most-quoted plays. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Dorothy Gish photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1932 Dorothy Gish (March 11, 1898 - June 4, 1968) was an American actress. ... Theater legend, born Helen Loretta Cooney (although other birth names have been tossed about) in New York on April 1, 1884, whose major roles include her unforgettable performances in the eponymous Peg o My Heart and as deluded Southern matriarch Amanda Wingfield in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams... The Great Depression was a global economic slump that began in 1929 and bottomed in 1933. ... Robert Keith (February 10, 1896/8 – December 22, 1966) was an actor who appeared in several dozen films, mostly in the 1950s as a character actor. ...

Hollywood Career

While Broadway was suffering, the Hollywood motion picture industry was booming with prosperity. With work on the New York stage no longer reliable, Entwistle decided to move to California in hopes of finding work in the movies. She arrived in Los Angeles in April of 1932 and moved into a rooming house for aspiring young actresses called the Hollywood Studio Club. After her money ran out, she went to live at the home of her Uncle Harold at 2428 Beachwood Canyon Drive. Entwistle's theatre experience helped her land an acting job in a play starring Billie Burke. The play only had a short run, but Peg's luck soon changed when movie studio RKO signed her to a small role in the David O. Selznick production, Thirteen Women. Unfortunately, the film was panned by critics and largely considered a disappointment. After this small role her contract with RKO wasn't renewed. Saddened, but still determined to make a name for herself in the movies, Peg went on numerous casting calls and auditions. She wasn't offered any more work and began to feel she wasn't a good actress. Her career was at a standstill. Only five months after arriving in Hollywood, the once-hopeful Peg felt rejected, was left with no self-esteem and very little money. Desperate for any opportunity, she posed topless for a small fee. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (born August 7, 1884 in Washington D.C.; died May 14, 1970 in Los Angeles, California) was an actress primarily known to modern audiences for her role as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in the musical The Wizard of Oz. ... RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ... David O. Selznick David Oliver Selznick (May 10, 1902–June 22, 1965), was one of the icon Hollywood producers of the Golden Age. ... Thirteen Women is a 1932 film, produced by RKO Studios and directed by George Archainbaud. ...

Death

The depression Entwistle was suffering reached its zenith. After drinking alcohol on the night of September 16, 1932, she told her uncle she was going to walk to a nearby drugstore. But instead of walking to the drugstore as promised, Peg made her way up the southern slope of a high hill called Mount Lee — just down the street from her uncle's home — to the foot of the giant Hollywoodland sign. Originally constructed in 1923 to advertise a real estate development, the sign was made up of 50-foot-high white letters spelling "HOLLYWOODLAND" (the last four letters were removed in 1949).^[1] September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... Mount Lee is a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains on whose southern slope the Hollywood Sign is located (north of Mulholland Hwy). ... The Hollywood Sign as it appears today The Hollywood Sign is a famous landmark in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, spelling out the name of the area in 45-foot high white letters. ...

When Peg reached the sign, she took off her coat, folded it into a neat bundle, and placed it on the ground next to her purse. She then climbed the maintenance ladder to the top of the letter "H" and jumped to her death.

Her bloody and broken body was discovered on September 18, 1932, in the brush at the base of the hill. When police examined the girl's belongings, in her purse they found a note that 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.

Two days later, in an ironic twist, Entwistle's uncle opened a letter addressed to Peg from the Beverly Hills Playhouse. It was mailed the day before she jumped. In it was an offer for her to play the lead role in a stage production, in which her character would commit suicide in the final act. [1]

On January 5, 1933, the body of twenty-four-year-old Peg Entwistle was shipped to Glendale, Ohio for burial next to her father in Oak Hill Cemetery. January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Glendale is a village located in Hamilton County, Ohio. ...

See also

• Haunted Hollywood

Haunted Hollywood is a term used for places that are believed by some to be haunted by ghosts in Hollywood, California. ...

References

1. ^ Renée Montagne (2002-10-28). The Hollywood Sign. Present at the Creation. National Public Radio Crime Library. Retrieved on 2006-09-20.

NPR redirects here. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ...

External links

• Peg Entwistle at the Internet Movie Database
• Death certificate
• Trailer for Short Film About The Legend of Peg Entwistle