Date of Birth

6 December 1900, Clinton, Massachusetts, USA

Date of Death

30 April 1974, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Of Irish/English ancestry, Agnes Moorehead was born near Boston, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister (her mother was a mezzo-soprano) who encouraged her to perform in church pageants. Aged three, she sang 'The Lord is my Shepherd' on a public stage and seven years later joined the St. Louis Municipal Opera as a dancer and singer for four years. In keeping with her father's dictum of finishing her education first (then doing whatever she wished to do with her career), Agnes attended Muskingum College (Ohio) and, subsequently, the University of Wisconsin, where she graduated with an M.A. in English and public speaking, later adding a doctorate in literature from Bradley University to her resume. When her family moved to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where her father had a pastorate, Agnes taught public school English and drama for five years. In between, she went to Paris to study pantomime with Marcel Marceau. In 1928, she began studies at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts and graduated with honours the following year. In order to supplement her income , Agnes had turned to radio early on. She had her first job in 1923 as a singer for a St. Louis radio station. Her love for that medium remained with her all her life, and, from the 1930's to the 1950's, she appeared on numerous serials, dramas and children's programs. She was Min Gump in 'The Gumps' (1934), the 'dragon lady' in 'Terry and the Pirates' (1937), Margot Lane of classic comic strip fame in 'The Shadow', Mrs.Danvers in 'Rebecca' and the bed-ridden woman about to meet her end in 'Sorry, Wrong Number'. Acting on the airwaves was so important to her that she would insist on its continuation as a precondition of a later contract with MGM. Significantly, through her radio work on 'The Shadow' and 'March of Time' in 1937, she met and befriended fellow actor Orson Welles. Welles soon invited her to join him and Joseph Cotton as charter members of his Mercury Theatre on the Air. Agnes was involved in the famous 'War of the Worlds' broadcast of 1938, which attracted nationwide attention and resulted in a lucrative $100,000 per picture deal with RKO in Hollywood. The Mercury players (the other principals were Ray Collins, Everett Sloane, Paul Stewart and George Coulouris) packed up and went west. In 1941, Agnes appeared in her first film, the iconic 'Citizen Kane' as the titular character's mother. Agnes Moorehead received the greatest critical acclaim of her career for her emotive second screen performance, as Aunt Fanny Minafer, in 'The Magnificent Ambersons' (1942). In addition to being voted the year's best female performer by the New York Film Critics, she was also nominated for an Academy Award. Through the years, Agnes would be nominated three more times: for her touching portrayal of the jaded but sympathetic Baroness Conti in 'Mrs.Parkington' (1944); for her role as the title character's Aunt Aggie in 'Johnny Belinda' (1948); and for playing Velma, the hard-boiled, suspicious housekeeper of Bette Davis in 'Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte' (1964), co-starring her old friend Joseph Cotton. Other notable film appearances included 'Jane Eyre' (1944,with Orson Welles), 'The Woman in White' (1946, as Countess Fusco), 'The Lost Moment' (1947, playing a 105-year old woman) and 'Dark Passage' (1947), a film noir in which she had third billing behind Bogart and Bacall as the treacherous , malevolent Madge Rapf. She had a rare starring role in the campy 1959 horror movie 'The Bat', giving (according to the New York Times of December 17) 'a good, snappy performance'. On Broadway, she appeared in several noted plays, such as 'All the King's Men' and 'Candlelight'. She enjoyed success with 'Don Juan in Hell', touring nationally, the first time (1951-2) with Charles Laughton and Cedric Hardwicke, the second time (receiving fewer critical plaudits) with Ricardo Montalban and Paul Henreid in 1973. She also starred with Joseph Cotton in 'Prescription Murder' (1962), which, while not a great critical success was much liked by audiences and introduced a famous detective named Lieutenant Columbo. Agnes performed numerous times on television before landing the role of Endora on 'Bewitched'. One particularly interesting part came her way through the director Douglas Heyes, who remembered her from 'Sorry, Wrong Number', and cast her in the starring role of 'The Invaders', a 1961 Twilight Zone episode. In this, she never utters a single word, acting her scenes as a pantomime of unspoken terror. Of course, the genial Agnes Moorehead has been immortalized as Elizabeth Montgomery's flamboyant witch-mother, Endora, though that was not a role the actress wished to be remembered for, in spite of several Emmy Award nominations.

She was one of the cast members of the ill fated film The Conqueror (1956), which was filmed in 1954 in the Nevada desert close by to where the government was doing nuclear testing. In later years those tests were suspected to have caused the cancer deaths of several of the films stars including John Wayne, Dick Powell, Susan Hayward and Pedro Armendáriz.

Interred at Dayton Memorial Park in Dayton, Ohio.

Her limousine is on display at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Attended Muskingum College in New Concord, OH, which was also attended by astronaut and later Senator John Glenn.

Entered New York's Academy of Dramatic Arts, studying alongside Rosalind Russell.

Did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin.

Taught high school, directed school plays, and coached oratory in Soldiers Grove, WI. The team won numerous contests.

Daughter of Presbyterian minister Dr. John H. Moorehead of Reedsburg, WI.

Favorite color was purple - she was so fond of the color friends called her the "lavender lady."

She was an alumna of Central High School in St. Louis, MO.

Took in foster son Sean shortly after final separation from first husband Jack G. Lee.

Initially turned down the role of "Endora" in "Bewitched" (1964), but reconsidered when Elizabeth Montgomery asked her in person, when they met in a department store. Moorehead joined the cast not expecting the show to last more than one season, let alone become a long-running hit.

First woman to co-host the Academy Awards (with Dick Powell) in 1948.

On the first season of filming "Bewitched" (1964), she didn't like aspects of the script, but felt she couldn't complain to director William Asher because he was Elizabeth Montgomery's husband (at the time).

She did not enjoy filming "Bewitched" (1964), since it forced her to get up at 4:45 a.m., start makeup at 6:00 a.m. and continue filming often until 8:00 p.m.

In Italy, she was often dubbed by Wanda Tettoni, Giovanna Scotto or Franca Dominici. Occasionally, she was dubbed by Tina Lattanzi, Rina Morelli or by Dhia Cristiani.

Although her death has been reported as being caused by lung cancer, this is not true, because the cancer started in her uterus and spread to her lungs.

Remembered by many as the magical mother-in-law "Endora" on "Bewitched" (1964), though she preferred to be remembered for other roles.

Agnes died of cancer as did almost every actor and crew member of the film, The Conqueror (1956). This included Susan Hayward, John Wayne and director Dick Powell, to name just a few. Some people strongly believe that, unknown by those involved with it at the time, the film was shot on a former nuclear testing site

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