Women's Activism NYC

Agnes Moorehead

1900 - 1974

By: St | Date Added:

There’s a lot to be said about Agnes Moorehead. She was born December 6, 1900, in Clinton, Massachusetts. She had an early introduction to the entertainment industry because her mother was a singer named Mary between the years of 1883–1990. Although her mother was only seventeen when she had her, Moorehead joined the chorus of the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company, known as "The Muny" and began a productive childhood and eventually graduated from Central High School in St. Louis in 1918. Moorehead's early career was unsteady. She had many gigs but none with a steady stream of income. Moorehead met actress Helen Hayes, who encouraged her to enter film and by 1937, Moorehead had joined Orson Welles' Mercury Players, as one of his principal performers along with Joseph Cotten. In her first radio role, Moorehead appeared as a replacement for Dorothy Denvir's role as Min Gump in “The Gumps”. Due to the show, Moorehead became one of the highest demand radio actresses for radio dramas. Moorehead was cast in more episodes than any other actor or actress during their 946-episode run of Suspense which in turn put her face in public a lot. Moorehead played Maggie in the short-lived Bringing Up Father program on the “Blue Network” from 1942 to 1949 and also played the role of the mayor's housekeeper in the radio version of Mayor of the Town. One of Agnes last roles was playing Mrs. Ada Canby in the ironically titled "The Old Ones Are Hard to Kill", the inaugural episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theater on January 6, 1974. In January 1974, three months before her death, Moorehead performed in two episodes on CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Agnes Moorehead passed away on April 30, 1974 at the age of 73. She had a productive life and her contributions will forever be remembered.

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