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This Day in Arkansas History
May 11, 1941
The husband of Winona Sammon, whose stage and screen name was Peggy Shannon, found her dead. Sammon was born in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) and was thrust into prominence after she met Florenz Ziegfeld’s secretary during a visit to New York and was asked to sit for publicity shots. At one time, she was promoted as the next “It Girl” to replace Clara Bow, who had suffered a nervous breakdown. Her popularity declined after she developed a reputation for being temperamental and hard to work with. She was interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Three weeks after her death, her husband took his own life sitting in the same chair at the table where she had been found.
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About the Encyclopedia
The CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas is a free, authoritative source of information about the rich history, geography, and culture of Arkansas. It is updated regularly to ensure the people of Arkansas have an accurate and accessible resource to explore our heritage. We invite you to browse our text entries and media galleries to learn more about the people, places, events, legends, and lore of the 25th state. We are continually adding new entries, photographs, maps, videos, and audio files, so check back frequently to see what’s new.


Our overview page covers everything you would want to know about our beautiful state, including state symbols, demographics and more!
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