Peg Entwistle’s Final Act

Why would a beautiful young actress jump from the Hollywood sign back in 1932? Who was this actress? If you’ve ever seen the movie “Thirteen Women,” (1932) you may have spotted her in some short scenes. The movie, a thriller revolving around Astrology, revenge, and with a mostly women cast was a total flop. It is what happened after this movie that caused a 24-year-old Peg Entwistle to leap from this sign which at the time still read “Hollywoodland.”

This actress had a series of tragedies early in life, which in my opinion, led to her eventual suicide. She lost her father shortly after immigrating to the US from Wales and was left destitute. She managed to star in a few Broadway shows to support herself. The depression came and people did not go to Broadway to watch shows. She decides to head West to Hollywood to try the movies. She landed a role in the movie “Thirteen Women.”

Around this time Peg began to drink heavily. The movie got horrible reviews and negative feedbacks from test screenings. RKO did not renew her contract and in fact, it is rumored, that they didn’t even invite her to the premier of the movie!

Peg Entwistle told her uncle on the night of the premier that she needed to go for a walk. It would be her last walk. She headed to the 50-foot Hollywood sign. She neatly folded her coat, shoes, and handbag and placed them on the ground; she then climbed a ladder of the “H” and jumped to her death. Her body was found 2 days later. The ironic thing about this is that on the day she was found, a letter arrived offering Peg a lead role in a stage production. Her character in the play would have committed suicide in the final act!

Her suicide note read “I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.” She had expressed to her uncle her disappointment at not being able to impress the studios days before her death. Hollywood is a hard place to stand out in the crowd, then and now. I love classic film and film stars, but I got to say it looks all glitzy, but “all that glitters isn’t gold.” Can you imagine what it was for these stars? The competition, the constant striving to be the best, and the fight against aging just to name a few, must be a living nightmare. Some people in Hollywood can take the letdown, while others are completely destroyed. It’s self-worship in my eyes and that is a sad place to be in.

Hollywood real life is a series of tragic movies being played out 3-D to the amazement of the world. It’s a movie within a movie, but the actors and stories are all too real. I guess the life in Hollywood is really different than living a regular life, an ordinary life like ours. But I take my ordinary life over the tinsel town’s life any day.