Peggy Cass, the gravel-voiced character actress who won a 1957 Tony Award for playing the frumpy Agnes Gooch in Auntie Mame, died in Manhattan March 8 at the age of 74. Peggy Cass, the gravel-voiced character actress who won a 1957 Tony Award for playing the frumpy Agnes Gooch in Auntie Mame, died in Manhattan March 8 at the age of 74. The cause was heart failure. Peggy Cass, the gravel-voiced character actress who won a 1957 Tony Award for playing the frumpy Agnes Gooch in Auntie Mame, died in Manhattan March 8 at the age of 74. 