Peggy Webber, the celebrated radio performer whose voice reached millions of listeners, has died at age 100. She passed away on August 15 at an independent-living residence in Napa, California. Her son, Rob Sinskey, told The Hollywood Reporter that her death resulted from natural causes.
Webber may not have enjoyed the same household-name status as some of the famous entertainers beside whom she worked, but the career she built was exceptional. She was born in Laredo, Texas, on September 15, 1925, and later studied at Tucson High School in Tucson, Arizona.
Long before reaching her teenage years, Webber had discovered what would become her lifelong calling: radio. She first appeared on the air at 12, and by the 1940s, audiences throughout the United States readily recognized her voice.
Time Magazine highlighted the astonishing range of her early work. The publication reported that during a three-year span her flexible voice had created 150 distinct characters across approximately 2,500 broadcasts. That profile appeared in August 1946.
Among Webber’s many radio appearances was the popular program The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, where she acted with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. In 1944, she also performed the famous part of Ilsa—first portrayed on screen by Ingrid Bergman—for a radio version of Casablanca.
Peggy Webber, radio legend who collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock, dies at 100
Webber’s work was not confined to a radio studio. She moved into television and film as well, collaborating with some of Hollywood’s most prominent figures, including Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.
In 1948, Welles selected her to play Lady Macduff in his adaptation of Macbeth. She later appeared in Hitchcock’s 1956 film The Wrong Man. Horror fans also remember her as an early scream queen because of her role in the 1958 movie The Screaming Skull.
Despite her screen work, radio always remained Webber’s deepest passion. In 1984, she established California Artists Radio Theatre, an organization that helped preserve the tradition of dramatic storytelling created specifically for radio. She continued performing in the medium well into her 90s.
Speaking with L.A. Weekly in 2015 about why she was still working in radio, Webber said the dedication she had developed when she was young continued to sustain her. She compared professional opportunities to being entrusted with a child: once something precious has been placed in your care, looking after it becomes a responsibility. That, she explained, was how she had always regarded the chances she received throughout her life.
Following a career that extended for almost seven decades, Peggy Webber leaves an extraordinary body of work and an unmistakable voice that audiences will not quickly forget. May she rest in peace.
