Actress Peggy Steffans died of respiratory failure at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on Friday February 13. Her son, film editor Matthew Sarno confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter. The star was married to sexploitation filmmaker Joseph W. Sarno from 1970 until his death in 2010 at the age of 89. She had often appeared in his movies but quit acting after they were wed. However she continued to work on films with him behind the scenes as an assistant director, costume designer, set decorator, script supervisor and production designer.
Their love story was recorded by Swedish filmmaker Wiktor Ericsson in the 2013 documentary, The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies. Speaking to The Telegraph that year Peggy said: "What a testimony to Joe’s life and to mine, that the documentary about us and our work and our life together should be appreciated and loved as a film."
Born Peggy Silverman she left her New York home after high school and studied acting at RADA in London.
On returning to the US she appeared in filsm such as 1963's Hallelujah the Hills, which took her all the way to the Cannes Film Festival. She also appeared on Broadway in 1964 in The Passion of Josef D., which was written and directed by Paddy Chayefsky.
However, despite this early success she was working as a waitress when a producer asked her to audition for Sarno. She later told the Telegraph she was unbothered by the fact he made sex films.
"I had this feeling that sex and love did not have anything to do with each other. You could have sex without love, and there are many different kinds of sex," she said.
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She went on to appear in several of his films including The Swap and How They Make it (1966), The Love Merchant (1966), The Bed and How to Make It! (1966) and Anything for Money (1967).
Fans and friends paid tribute to the star as news of her death broke. Writing on Facebook one penned: "The world lost the loving, amazing person that was Peggy Steffans Sarno last night. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her."
Another added: "It is with great regret that we share the passing of Peggy Steffans Sarno, actress and widow of acclaimed director Joseph W. Sarno....Those of us who were privileged to know Peggy remember her as a highly creative and endlessly curious artist, with a compassionate yet fierce intelligence.
A third simply chimed in: "A legend. Bless her." Meanwhile a fourth shared: "She was so nice. I got to meet her years ago when Anthology Film Archives did a Sarno series."
