Jessica Pepper Arthur

Broadway actress, model

By VARIETY STAFF

Jessica Pepper Arthur, Broadway actress and cover girl of 1930s mags, died May 16 at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Home in Woodland Hills, Calif., of natural causes. She was 90.

Pittsburgh native appeared in six Broadway shows including "Roberta" and "Red, Hot & Blue" opposite such stars as Bob Hope, Bert Lahr and Fanny Brice. Nabbing the moniker also appeared in Ziegfeld Follies and George White's Scandals.

A top fashion model, she appeared on 19 national magazine covers between 1933 and 1935 and is the image on the famous 1936 Coca-Cola tray entitled "The Hostess."

After moving to Hollywood, she starred in numerous "fashion featurettes" with Van Johnson and served two terms as president of the show business charity Variety Club.

Widow of screenwriter-producer Art Arthur, she is survived by two daughters, executive secretary Pamela Arthur and Hollywood publicist Vicki Arthur, as well as three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Donations can be made to the MPTF.