AGNES MOOREHEAD – #78 OCT/2024 BHC

Intense. Dramatic. And Very Difficult to Define.

Oct 02, 2024

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Hello Body House Members;

Well, it's been quite a campaign season so far hasn't it?

To celebrate, I thought it would be appropriate to feature an actress who was known to be intense, chameleon-like, hard to define… much like what is happening in our American culture these days.

Not to worry though —→ I won't get too political.

This publication - the BHC - is all about celebrating vintage sensuality.

However, I want to share just one thing that has stood out for me this campaign season - a favorite quote (to date) from Kamala Harris;

"The children of the community are the children of the community..."

Wow. Deep. Just… deep.

Now! On to this month's beauty!

We’re featuring the incredibly versatile, award-winning talent and unusual beauty of Agnes Moorehead.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS...

Agnes Moorehead is most widely known to audiences for her role as the witch 'Endora' in the 1960s TV series Bewitched.

She was also the star of The Twilight Zone: The Invaders.

Her first big feature film was Citizen Kane which was directed by Orson Welles.

Although, Moorehead started her career in Mercury Theater which was also Orson Welles' project, she went on to have a stellar movie and television career.

She was one of the principal Mercury Players, providing the voice of Margot Lane on the '30s radio serial "The Shadow" and participating in Orson Welles' infamous "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast in 1938.

She went on to appear in over 70 films and dozens of TV shows in a career spanning more than 30 years.

In The Beginning...

Agnes Moorehead was born Agnes Robertson Moorehead on December 6, 1900, in Clinton, Massachusetts and passed away on April 30, 1974, in Rochester, Minn. of uterine cancer.

Moorehead had acting in her blood from an early age. Her father was a Presbyterian minister, John Henderson Moorehead, and her mother was Mildred McCauley, a former singer, both of whom encouraged her acting interest.

However, they also insisted she get an education which she did. Moorehead earned a bachelor’s in biology from Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, in 1923.

Of course, while she was taking biology she also appeared in college stage plays. Moorehead later received an honorary doctorate in literature from Muskingum, and served for a year on its board of trustees.

Not long after graduation, Moorehead was pursuing acting full-time. She soon landed a variety of stage roles, but she also went through extended dry spells where she had trouble keeping food on the table.

In fact, it would be a full decade before she would become a working actress. However, when her career took off, it really took off.

Moorehead was not often cast as the leading lady she gained tremendous skill as a character actress. Moorehead became known for both her dramatic and comedic abilities. This range earned her one Emmy Award and two Golden Globe awards, as well as, four Academy Award nods and six Emmy Award nominations.

The Acting Bug Caught Early and Strong

The Moorehead family moved to St. Louis, Missouri sometime between 1905 and 1908. This is when Moorehead’s ambition to become an actress grew “very strong”.

Both her mother and father found her entertaining. Her mother often ask “Who are you today, Agnes?”

Her sister would join in too and the two of them would mimic some of their father's parishioners. Apparently, Pastor Moorehead was quite amused and entertained by it all. This of course, encourage Agnes immensely.

She also joined the chorus of the " St. Louis Municipal Opera Company, known as “The Muny”.

Moorehead also developed a lifelong appreciation of religion.

In later years, actors such as Dick Sargent (who played the second Darrin on 'Bewitched') would recall Moorehead arriving on the set with “the Bible in one hand and the script in the other”.

An Interesting Path To Show Biz Success

Through the mid 1920s, the Moorehead family moved to Reedsburg, Wisconsin. There, she taught public school for five years in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.

Moorehead even snuck in some time during her teaching career to jet off to Paris where she studied pantomime with legendary Marcel Marceau.

Additionally, Moorehead earned a master’s degree in English and public speaking at the University of Wisconsin.

She then pursued post-graduate studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which she graduated with honors in 1929.

She was a versatile American actress whose career extended to radio, the stage, film and television.

AGNES MOOREHEAD'S LOVE LIFE

In 1930, Moorehead married actor John Griffith Lee. They were married 20 years before deciding to bring in a foster child who they named Sean Lee.

When they did, Moorehead and Griffith Lee divorced JUST one year after fostering the boy. The divorced was finalized in 1952.

She married actor Robert Gist in 1954, and then they divorced in 1958. Sadly, this looks like it was a nasty divorce. Gist was 12 years Moorehead's junior when they married. Perhaps he thought it might be a quicker road to bigger success in the industry because it seems he did not marry for love.

There are newspaper clippings where it's sited that Moorehead filed a complaint of cruelty toward Gist and then for divorce. Read more here...

Additionally.....

**FOR MANY YEARS MOOREHEAD'S SEXUALITY WAS CALLED INTO QUESTION WITH MANY BELIEVING SHE COULD BE GAY.**

Below Agnes Moorehead dances with her first husband John Griffith Lee.

Agnes Moorehead with her second husband Robert Gist

SCENE FROM 'CITIZEN KANE' (1941)

Agnes Moorehead STEALS this scene. Orson Welles had a fantastic eye for talent. She is remarkable.

INTERVIEW WITH MOOREHEAD ON THE SET OF 'BEWITCHED' (1965-70)

Celebrate vintage sensuality with us on Substack here…

**Find more NORMA SHEARER in the Body House POD Shop**

Quotes By AGNES MOOREHEAD

"The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them."
Agnes Moorehead
"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do."
Agnes Moorehead
"I never did anything that I thought was scandalous."
Agnes Moorehead
"Acting must be a selfless art form."
Agnes Moorehead
"Agnes Moorehead will never be an ancient relic because she will never be an old lady."
Agnes Moorehead
"Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is timing."
Agnes Moorehead
"In looking for love, do not settle for anything less than cosmic love."
Agnes Moorehead
"Don't waste time regretting things you cannot change. Focus on what you can do now."
Agnes Moorehead
"Believe in yourself, even when others doubt you."
Agnes Moorehead