Peggy Rea | TV actress, 89
Peggy Rea, 89, who had supporting roles on popular television series from the 1970s to the 1990s, died Feb. 5 of complications from heart failure at her home in Toluca Lake, Calif.
Peggy Rea, 89, who had supporting roles on popular television series from the 1970s to the 1990s, died Feb. 5 of complications from heart failure at her home in Toluca Lake, Calif.
Ms. Rea played Rose Burton, Olivia Walton's cousin, on The Waltons; Lulu Hogg, Boss Hogg's wife, on The Dukes of Hazzard; and Jean Kelly, the mother-in-law of Brett Butler's character, on Grace Under Fire. Her first role on television was as a nurse on I Love Lucy in 1953. She also appeared on All in the Family and Gunsmoke, among other shows.
In 1947, she moved to New York to act on stage. She appeared on Broadway twice in 1950: as Eunice Hubbell in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire and in the Cole Porter musical Out of This World. She gave up acting for a time and worked as a production secretary on Gunsmoke and other television shows in Los Angeles.
She returned to acting full time in 1962. Her film credits include parts in 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) and In Country (1989).
- N.Y. Times News Service