Peg LaCentra, born in 1910, began her journey in Boston, where she grew up surrounded by music and the arts. Her early aspirations led her to briefly attend the New England Conservatory of Music, focusing on piano, as well as the Katharine Gibbs Finishing School and the Fenway Academy of Dramatic Art, with the goal of becoming an actress. Prior to relocating to New York in 1931, she worked as an announcer at Boston radio station WNAC.
Once in New York, Peg joined NBC as a singer and actress, soon becoming a part of Dick McDonough's Orchestra on "The Mell-O-Roll Ice Cream Show." It was during this time that she met Artie Shaw, then a sideman with McDonough, who would play a significant role in her career. Shaw informed her that he was organizing his own orchestra and needed a singer, which led to her joining him in the summer of 1936. Together, they performed at the Lexington Hotel, the Paramount Theater in New York, and on recordings.
After Shaw's band disbanded about a year later, Peg sang on radio with Benny Goodman, although their collaboration did not last long due to personal differences. She soon rejoined Artie Shaw when he formed another orchestra. Despite being a talented singer, Peg's recording output was limited to the 1930s, with releases under her own name as well as with the orchestras of Victor Young and Johnny Green.
In 1939, Peg was given her own program on NBC, "The Peg LaCentra Show." She continued to appear in various films and episodic TV, often providing voiceovers for non-singing actresses. Her most notable dubbing roles include Susan Hayward in "Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman" (1947),Ida Lupino in "The Man I Love" (1946) and "Escape Me Never" (1947),and Joan Crawford in "Humoresque" (1946),where she appeared as herself singing in the background.
Peg married radio actor Paul Stewart, an original member of Orson Welles' "Mercury Theater of the Air," in 1939. They remained together until his death in 1986. Peg passed away on June 1, 1996, at the age of 86, due to a heart attack at her home in Los Angeles.
