Cathleen Roxanne Rigby (later Mason,
later McCoy, born December 12, 1952), known as Cathy Rigby,
is an actress, speaker, and former artistic gymnast. Her
performance in the 1968 Summer Olympics helped
to popularize the sport of gymnastics in the United States. After her
retirement from gymnastics, Rigby became a stage and television actress. She is
most noted for the role of Peter Pan, which she played for more than 30 years. She also
became a public speaker on the subject of eating disorders, which she struggled with and overcame. Rigby
is featured in an image included on the Voyager Golden Record. Rigby
was the highest-scoring American gymnast at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, making her a favorite with American television
audiences and helping to popularize gymnastics in America. She was the U.S.
national champion in 1970 and 1972, and became the first American woman to win
a medal at the World
Artistic Gymnastics Championships: the silver medal on the balance beam at the 1970
Championships.[1] International Gymnastics Article Rigby went on to compete at
the 1972 Summer Olympics, but
was hampered by injury. Prior to the Games, she had been working on a balance
beam skill that was quite risky for the time: a front aerial walkover. However,
because she was injured, she did not attempt this move during the competition
and did not win a medal. She retired from gymnastics after the 1972 Olympics. In
1974, the producers of a theater-in-the-round version
of Peter Pan offered
Rigby the title role. Rigby commented that she was "scared to death"
during rehearsals; only 20 and just a year into "retirement," she had
no idea what she would be doing with the rest of her life when the role came
along. To her surprise, she discovered that she enjoyed playing Peter Pan. In
the mid-1970s, Rigby shattered an old taboo by appearing in a series of TV
commercials for Stayfree maxi-pads created by Young & Rubicam copywriter Peter Cornish, thereby
becoming the first celebrity to endorse a feminine hygiene product. She then
worked for 18 years as a commentator for ABC Sports and
appeared in made-for-television movies. In 1976, she guest-starred as a Russian
gymnast on the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
In 1981, she starred as Dorothy in a production of The Wizard of Oz.
Other theatrical appearances included Annie Get Your Gun and Meet Me In St. Louis. In
1990, Rigby again appeared as Peter Pan on Broadway and later took the production on tour. She
received excellent reviews for her performance and was nominated for a Tony Award. She played the role again in 1998–1999. In
2002–2003, she played the lead in the touring production of the musical Seussical, and in 2004–2005, she again toured as Peter
Pan, billing it as her farewell. Yet she returned to the role in 2008 at
the Benedum Center in
Pittsburgh, and in 2009 at the Mansion Theater in Branson, Missouri. In August 2011, Rigby started another Peter
Pan tour at the age of 60, continuing through 2013. In 2012, she
appeared in American Girl's McKenna
Shoots for The Stars, as McKenna's gymnastics coach. Rigby
confirmed that she was leaving the role of Peter Pan for good when her tour
concluded on April 28, 2013.[9] She said, "No, we don't say
goodbye, because saying goodbye means forgetting, and I'm not forgetting, I'm
just going to find another adventure." In late August 2015, Rigby reprised
her role in a limited 15-day run at the Pacific National
Exhibition in Vancouver.