PEGGY REA

March 31, 1921

Margaret ‘Peggy’ Jane Rea was born in Los Angeles in 1921. Before she became an actress, Rea left UCLA to attend business school. She landed a job as a production secretary at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s.

After stage appearance as Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire starring Uta Hagen and Anthony Quinn, she made her screen debut as one of the original members of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League on “I Love Lucy.”  She appeared in five episodes in 1953. 

Before joining the League, she played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16), filmed on November 14, 1952, and first aired on January 19, 1953. It was one of the most-watched episodes of television in history. 

Just three episodes later, Rea was back to play Pauline Lopus (the name of one of Lucille Ball’s childhood friends), member-at-large of The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19), filmed on September 12, 1952, and first aired on February 16, 1953.

She was one of the bridge players in “No Children Allowed” (ILL S2;E22) filmed on March 20, 1953, and first aired on April 20, 1953.

In “Lucy is Matchmaker” (ILL S2;E27), filmed on April 25, 1953, and first aired on May 25, 1953, Rea made up a foursome consisting of Lucy, Ethel, and Carolyn Appleby. 

This is the first time she is not in a crowd of other performers. For this episode, she is once again referred to as Pauline Lopus. This is her final appearance on the series. 

Although “The Lucy Show” often featured groups of female day players (the Danfield Fire Brigade, for example), Rea never appeared on the series. She made one more appearance with Lucille Ball, on “Here’s Lucy.” 

In “Lucy and Eva Gabor” (HL S1;E7) on November 11, 1968, Rea played Maude, a member of Lucy Carter’s Bridge Club, alongside Kay Elliott and Gail Bonney. The characters don’t play bridge, but come to fawn over Lucy’s houseguest, romance novelist Eva Von Graunitz. 

Rea introduced this episode on the “Here’s Lucy” DVD collection. 

Rea was a recurring character on “The Waltons” (38 episodes), “The Dukes of Hazzard” (19 episodes), and “Grace Under Fire” (51 episodes), her last series before her death on February 5, 2011. She was 89 years old.