Peggy Hewett, 56; Broadway Actress Who Played ‘Old Broads’
Peggy Hewett, 56, a Broadway actress who jokingly said she played “ugly old broads,” died March 1 at her home in Southampton, N.Y., of leukemia.
She had a small role as a chorine in the 1969 musical “Jimmy,” but was still considered a newcomer when Tommy Tune cast her in the starring role in “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine” in 1980. She played Madame Pavlenko, a dowager in the mode of the Marx Brothers’ high-society nemesis Margaret Dumont.
That role opened the way for Hewett to win similar parts, including the nagging wife Charis in “Olympus on My Mind” in 1986.
Hewett spent much of the past decade in Southern California, performing with small theaters and working as a real estate agent.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
