While the names of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe may be more familiar to the viewing public of the motion picture industry, in the early 1950’s, Peggy Dow was a prominent actress in that era. More importantly she was a resident of Athens, Tennessee, during a portion of her early years.
Although Peggy only made nine movies and she, like Grace Kelly, gave up her career to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco, she retired from being an actress to marry Tulsa, Oklahoma, oil man Walter Helmerich before he became prominent.
Peggy Dow was born Margaret Varnadow on March 18, 1928, in Columbus, Mississippi. At age four her family moved to Covington, Louisiana. They would later move to Athens, Tennessee.
She would attend a high school called Gulf Park College for Women in Gulfport, Mississippi, and college at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied for her acting career.
Several future stars on the stage and screen were also at Northwestern while Peggy was a student. The most memorable one in her class was future comedian Paul Lynde. Charlton Heston, Patricia Neal and Clovis Leachman were students at the university a couple of years before Peggy. During her senior year she went to California to visit a classmate whose father died and her acting career began.
In Hollywood she obtained an agent and signed a contract with Universal International. She attended an in-studio class of young actors including Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie.
For two years Peggy lived at the Hollywood Studio Club which was a women’s hotel that was sponsored by Mr. Cecil B. DeMille. Marilyn Monroe was one of the other girls residing there.
Her first public acting role took place in a television show titled Your Show Time in a segment titled The Mummy’s Foot in 1949.
She was under an exclusive seven-year contract that would not allow her to work for any other studio without Universal’s permission and she made her film debut in Woman in Hiding (1950) with Ida Lupino in the title role along with Stephen McNally.
The second of the nine movies in her abbreviated movie career between 1949-1951 was Undertow filmed in Chicago. Her third film was The Sleeping City (1950) which starred Richard Conte as a detective in New York City. She was invited to an opening party given by the cast of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and it was where she met Walter Helmerich who would later become her husband and father of their five sons. What would follow would be a whirlwind romance with Walter which resulted in marriage after nine movies and ended a prominent movie career.
Before she retired from acting to become the wife of Walter Helmerich who would become a millionaire in the oil business and philanthropist in the Tulsa area, she performed in Shakedown in 1950 which co-starred Brian Donlevy and Howard Duff.
The Sleeping City (1950) followed as one of the first films to be shot exclusively at one location - Bellevue Hospital in New York and starred Richard Conte in a murder thriller.
She had her first role in a famous movie with Jimmy Stewart in the classic Harvey where she played the role of a nurse. She spoke glowingly of Jimmy Stewart as she did with all of her leading men.
Another memorable movie was Bright Victory with Arthur Kennedy who portrayed a blind veteran that won him an Oscar for Best Actor in 1951.
Her last three movies in 1951 before retiring to domestic life as a wife and mother were I Want You and two family films, Reunion in Reno and You Never Can Tell.
She was also chosen to present an Oscar to Edith Head at the Academy Awards in 1950 for dress designing and three of the movies she performed in 1950-1951 were nominated for Academy Awards. She was listed among the top four cast members each time.
On a trip back to Athens for Christmas she agreed to meet Walt Helmerich at the airport in Tulsa for a 30-minute layover for a Coca-Cola. When the aircraft had to be repaired for a delay of four-five hours he gave Peggy a tour of Tulsa which was more of a cosmopolitan community than she realized.
He eventually talked her into marrying him when he escorted her to Washington to receive an award for the film Bright Victory from President Harry Truman on the condition that she would marry him.
They were married on November 23, 1951, in Athens and were leaders and philanthropists in the Tulsa area until his death in 2012. Her last invitation to perform in the movies was from renowned actor William Holden after the birth of her first son to be the leading actress in the Bridges of Toko-Ri which ironically was played by Grace Kelly.
Although very little is written in the news media about her life in Athens she is another Hollywood movie star with contacts to the Volunteer State. She still resides in Tulsa and remains active at the age of 93 as a strong supporter of the arts and libraries.
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Jerry Summers
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