Peaches Browning

Who was Peaches Browning?

Peaches Browning, born Frances Belle Heenan, was an American actress, most famous for her failed marriage to New York real estate mogul, Edward West "Daddy" Browning. The story became one of the most sensational "scandals" of the Roaring Twenties. It is often cited in journalism history texts as a sign of the excesses of some newspapers during the era.

On June 23, 1926, mere weeks after she met the 51-year-old Edward Browning, Peaches and "Daddy" were wed. Later that same year, Peaches tried to obtain a divorce, and the White Plains, New York trial drew intense coverage by New York City tabloid newspapers such as the New York Daily News, the rival New York Daily Mirror and the more louche New York Graphic, which published a notorious composograph of the couple.

The story was soon picked up by the national newspapers, and the couple became well known in U.S. popular culture of the time. Among the notable aspects of the case were Peaches' allegations of odd behavior by her husband, including the fact that he kept a honking African goose in their bedroom. The phrase "Don't be a goof," which Daddy allegedly used as an insult to Peaches, came into national vogue, and later turned up in the lyrics of the song "On Your Toes," by Rodgers and Hart.