Peter MacGregor Pagan (24 July 1921 – 2 June 1999)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''.

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

. was an Australian-American actor from Sydney best known for his role in '' The Overlanders'' (1946). Following the success of that film, he left Australia for Britain, then moved to the U.S. where he worked extensively in theatre and TV. He became a U.S. citizen in 1954. He died in New York City, age 77.

Career

Pagan was born in Sydney, one of three sons. His family moved to Hay, where his father was the town surveyor. He boarded at Scots College, Bellevue Hill. His brother was Brigadier Sir John (Jock) Ernest Pagan, CMG MBE (1914–1986), federal president of the Liberal Party of Australia and NSW agent-general for New South Wales in London. When 16 he joined an amateur group at Bryant's Playhouse, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst, and studied drama there for four years. Pagan joined the AIF at 21, and served over three years with an armoured division in Western Australia and was discharged on medical grounds in 1945. He was cast in ''The Overlanders''. He went to London and then New York. When he was 27, Pagan joined the Barter Theatre Company in Virginia. He was awarded the Drama Critics' Award for best supporting actor in 1971 for his role in ''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'' opposite

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

. In the mid 70s Pagan said, "I'm not interested in Broadway anymore - the critics are killing it." In the late '70s and '80s, Pagan divided his time between New York and Sydney.

Select film & TV credits

*'' The Overlanders'' (1946) – film *''

Academy Theatre ''Academy Theatre'' is an American drama anthology series that aired on NBC in 1949. It ran for eight weeks as the summer replacement for '' Chevrolet on Broadway''. Format The series utilized a different cast each week who appeared in short w ...

'' – episode "Drums of Oude" (1949) *''

The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...

'' – episode "The Lonely" (1949) *''

The Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

'' – episode "Wanted, Someone Innocent" (1951) *''

Studio One in Hollywood ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948 and ended on Septem ...

'' (1951) – episode "Mr Mummery's Suspicion" *''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

'' – episode "The Sheffield Story" (1952) *''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' (1952) *'' The Legend of Josiah Blow'' (1952) *'' Home Is the Sailor'' (1953) *''

'' – episode "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay" (1954) *''

I Spy I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players a ...

'' – episode "The Green Coat" (1955) *''

Kraft Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...

'' – episode "A Night to Remember" (1956) *''

Playwrights '56 ''Playwrights '56'', a.k.a. ''The Playwright Hour'', is a 60-minute live American dramatic anthology series produced by Fred Coe for Showtime Productions. Twenty episodes aired on NBC from October 4, 1955, to June 19, 1956. It shared a Thursday ti ...

'' – episode "Keyhole" (1956) *''

9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wall St ...

'' (1986)

Theatre Credits

*''Another Language'', Criterion Theatre, North Sydney, NSW, 18 March 1939 *''

The Truth About Blayds ''The Truth About Blayds'' is a three-act comedy by A. A. Milne, first performed in London in December 1921. It depicts the turmoil into which the family of a revered poet, Oliver Blayds, is plunged when it emerges immediately after his death tha ...

'', St James' Hall , Sydney, NSW, 3 May 1939 *''The Family Dictator'', Criterion Theatre, North Sydney, NSW, June–July 1939 *''Spring Tide'', Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, NSW, 19 June 1941 *''It's a Wise Child'', Theatre Royal , Sydney, NSW, 1944 *''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot inc ...

'', Victoria Theatre, Newcastle, NSW, 1946 *''Dangerous Corner'' by J Priestley - Virginia (1950) *''Escapade'' by Roger MacDougall - 48th Street Theatre New York - with

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...

Brian Aherne William Brian de Lacy Aherne (2 May 190210 February 1986) was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the United States. His first Broadway appearance in ''The Barretts of W ...

and

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

- (Nov 18, 1953 - Nov 28, 1953) *''

Portrait of a Lady ''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial (literature), serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and ''Macmillan's Magazine'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels an ...

'' by William Archibald directed by Jose Quintero - ANTA Playhouse New York - with

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...

- Dec 21, 1954 - Dec 25, 1954 *''Child of Fortune'' by

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred w ...

based on '' Wings of a Dove'' - directed by

Jed Harris Jed Harris (born Jacob Hirsch Horowitz; February 25, 1900 – November 15, 1979) was an Austrian-born American theatrical producer and director. His many successful Broadway productions in the 1920s and 1930s include ''Broadway'' (1926), ''Coque ...

with Edmond Purdom - Royale Theatre, New York - (Nov 13, 1956 - Dec 01, 1956) *''13 Daughters'' - musical with

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...

- 54th Street Theatre, New York (Mar 02, 1961 - Mar 25, 1961) *'' The Vinegar Tree'' - Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts with

Faye Emerson Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show ...

(1962) *''

The Girl Who Came to Supper ''The Girl Who Came to Supper'' is a musical with a book by Harry Kurnitz and music and lyrics by Noël Coward, based on Terence Rattigan's 1953 play '' The Sleeping Prince''. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1963. Plot The story is set i ...

'' by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

- Broadway Theatre, New York - with

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...

and

Jose Ferrer Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

- (Dec 08, 1963 - Mar 14, 1964_ *''Hostile Witness'' by Jack Roffey - Music Box Theatre, New York - with

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

- (Feb 17, 1966 - Jul 02, 1966 *'' Boeing Boeing'' at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts with

(1970) *''You Never Can Tell'' by George Bernard Shaw - Philadelphia (1980) *''Aren't We All?'' by Fredrick Lonsdale - Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York - with

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...

and

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...

- (Apr 29, 1985 - Jul 21, 1985)

References

External links

*
Peter Pagan
at

Ausstage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Peter Pagan
at

IBDB The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagan, Peter Australian male film actors 1921 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Australian male actors Male actors from Sydney Australian emigrants to the United States Male actors from New York City