Diana Serra Cary was born Peggy-Jean Montgomery on October 29 1918 in San Diego, California. Her father, Jack Montgomery, was a former cowboy who moved the family from San Diego to Los Angeles after hearing the film industry needed stuntmen. One day her mother took her two daughters to visit the Century Film Co. lot in Hollywood. Director Fred Fishback took notice of the 19 month old Peggy-Jean and hired her to appear in a series of short films with the canine star Brownie the Wonder Dog. Their first short together, "Playmates," proved to be a hit and Baby Peggy's film career took off.
From the years 1921 to 1924 Baby Peggy appeared in 150 short subjects for Century Film Co. It was in 1923 that she began working in feature films for Universal. At Universal she appeared in such films as The Darling of New York (1923) and Captain January (1924). Baby Peggy proved to be phenomenally successful. She would be sent on extensive personal appearance tours throughout the United States. Baby Peggy also performed on stage in Los Angeles and New York City at such venues as Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre and the Hippodrome. Baby Peggy would be among the first movie stars to generate a good deal of merchandise associated with her, including dolls, cut-outs, books, sheet music, jewellery, and even milk. Baby Peggy also earned a good deal of money. Her contract with Universal was worth $1.5 million a year, while she made $300 a day on her vaudeville tours. Unfortunately, none of this money was set aside for Baby Peggy's future.
To make matters worse, Baby Peggy worked under conditions would that would be rough even on an adult. Even as a toddler she worked eight hours a day, six days a week, and was often required to perform her own stunts. During her film career she also received very little in the way of an education.
Baby Peggy's career would end rather abruptly when her father had a quarrel with producer Sol Lesser. Baby Peggy then found herself effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. Afterwards she launched a successful career on vaudeville that lasted from 1925 to 1929. Unfortunately, her family would lose their money with the stock market crash in 1929. In the Thirties Peggy-Jean Montgomery attempted to make a comeback as an actress, but she found herself in bit parts and working as an extra. Her last feature film was Having a Wonderful Time (1938), in which she had an uncredited role as a camp guest.
In 1938 she married actor Gordon Ayres and took the name "Diana Ayres" to separate herself from her past as Baby Peggy. She worked as a writer for radio shows. She divorced Gordon Ayres and would later marry Bob Cary. She took the name Diana Serra Cary, "Serra" being her Catholic confirmation name. She would work as a switchboard operator, a bookstore clerk, and a gift shop manager.
Having always been interested in history and writing, Diana Serra Cary then became a freelance writer. In addition to her autobiography, What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star, she also wrote the books The Hollywood Posse: The Story of a Gallant Band of Horsemen Who Made Movie History, Hollywood's Children: An Inside Account of the Child Star Era, and Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King: A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star. She also wrote the historical novel The Drowning of the Moon.
Over the years Diana Serra Cary would attend various silent film festivals, as well as the TCM Classic Film Festival. She also appeared in various documentaries about her film career and the Silent Era, as well as various interviews. She was not only well respected for her knowledge of film history, but for her warmth and friendliness as well.
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