Peggy Shannon

On May 11, 1941, Shannon's second husband, Albert G. Roberts (born 11 October 1902), and his friend found Shannon slumped over the kitchen table dead with her head down on her arms, a cigarette in her mouth, and an empty glass in her hand. 19 days after Shannon's death, Roberts fatally shot himself right on the spot where she died.

Peggy Shannon was born Winona Sammon on January 10, 1907, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She attended Catholic school where she became friends with child actress Madge Evans. While visiting her aunt in New York sixteen year old Peggy was discovered by producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. . He hired her as a chorus girl in The Ziegfeld Follies.

Studio publicity claimed the year of her birth as 1910, but the 1920 Census Report confirms that she was actually born in 1907.

Peggy married actor Alan Davis in 1926. The following year she was starring on Broadway in Earl Carrol's production of What Anne Brought Home.

In 1931 she was offered a contract at Paramount studios. With her beautiful face and red hair Peggy was promoted as "the new Clara Bow".

When Clara suffered a nervous breakdown Peggy was given her role in The Secret Call (1931).

Although she starred in the films This Reckless Age (1932) and Hotel Continental (1932), her career never really took off. She also developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. After her movie contract was not renewed she tried returning to Broadway. Unfortunately by this time she had serious drinking problem and was fired from the play The Light Behind The Shadow.

Appeared in a Broadway play "Page Miss Glory" which opened November 27th, 1934 as the girlfriend of a then-unknown Jimmy Stewart.

Peggy continued to get small parts in B-movies like Youth on Parole (1937) and Cafe Hostess (1940).

She divorced Alan in 1940 and married camera man Al Roberts.