Cat. #00199161: BARBARA PEPPER

Rare and fantastic 9.5 x 7.5-inch black and white portrait-- casting a smoldering come-hither look in what believe is an image from Our Daily Bread (1934)-- boldly signed and inscribed in black fountain pen around the time of the film. A long crease running down the left side; another on the right side, passing through the writing; and a few minor surface chips; otherwise, in fine condition for its age. A specialist in hard-boiled dame roles, fetching Barbara Pepper's one shot at stardom came with her portrayal of the man-eating vamp who led Tom Keene astray in King Vidor's Our Daily Bread (1934). Alas, the film flopped and she spent the next 30 years in supporting roles and bits, usually cast as brassy goodtime gals. Following a period of radical weight gain in the 1950s, she altered her screen image, playing obnoxious middle-aged tourists, snoopy next-door neighbors, belligerent landladies, and the like. She was especially funny as Doris Ziffel on the T.V. sitcom "Green Acres" (1965-1968) before her untimely death of coronary thrombosis at the age of 54.