Peg Murray

Margaret L. Murray was born on February 14, 1924, in Denver, Colorado, the only daughter among three children born to John and Helen Murray. She earned a degree from Western Reserve College in Cleveland — later known as Case Western Reserve University — in 1945. Murray went on to build a career spanning stage, television, and film, and remained active in performance for decades before her death on November 29, 2020, at the age of 96. She lived primarily in New York City and Southold, New York, and was affiliated with the Herstory Writers Group.

Murray's Broadway career extended from 1956 to 1987, beginning with The Great Sebastians in 1956. Subsequent stage credits included Gypsy (1959), Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole (1961), She Loves Me (1963), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Something More! (1964), and The Subject Was Roses (1964). Her most celebrated stage work came with the original Broadway production of Cabaret in 1966, in which she played Fräulein Kost. She also understudied the role of Fräulein Schneider, originally performed by Lotte Lenya, and assumed that role on a full-time basis after Lenya departed the production. Her performance in Cabaret earned her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1967. Murray returned to Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof in 1969, appeared in The Royal Family in 1976, and reprised her association with Cabaret in a 1987 production.

Beyond the stage, Murray had an extensive presence in daytime television. She portrayed Carrie Johnson Lovett on Love of Life and modeling agent Olga Swenson on All My Children. She also filled in for Constance Ford in the role of Ada Hobson on Another World for several weeks, and starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Me & Mrs. C. Her film work included roles in Some of My Best Friends Are... (1971), W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and Act of Vengeance (1986). Murray never married.