The daughter of a wildcat oil driller, Peggy Webber began her acting career at age 2½, performing during intermissions in silent movie theaters. She started working in radio at age 11. By age 18, she was writing, producing and directing early television shows; at 21, she won the award that was later known as the Emmy for her drama anthology series Treasures of Literature. Among her many thousands of radio credits, workhorse Webber appeared in over 100 Dragnet programs, playing Ma Friday and many other characters.