Diana Serra Cary: The million dollar baby

There is an article in today's London Independent newspaper about Baby Peggy. Its worth reading. According to the article, "Baby Peggy was able to reinvent herself. As Diana Serra Cary, she has become a respected journalist and film historian, often mining her own past in her work. She is not the last living silent movie star (fellow child actor Frank "Junior" Coghlan is still alive, as is the silent actress Barbara Kent) but she is the only one still seen regularly in public."

Cary's memoir What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy? is quite good. I read it and "fell in love" with this adorable and talented child star. Her life, however, was something of a tragedy. Cary is very nice in person. I had a chance to meet her a few times, and even hosted her for an event at the bookstore where I work. She was also a guest at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival a few years back, where her four books set a record for most sold during her booksigning. Cary's groundbreaking book on fellow child star Jackie Coogan is also recommended . . . . Somewhere I have some snapshots of Cary and I . . . . (And of course, I asked her about Louise Brooks. Cary never met her, but knew of her. Cary starred in a film with Clara Bow, Helen's Babies, and had much to say about the IT girl.)