Terry Moore

Biography

Terry Moore (born Helen Luella Koford; January 7, 1929) is an American actress whose career has spanned more than eight decades. She began her career as a child performer in bit parts, notably appearing uncredited as the 14-year-old version of Ingrid Bergman’s character in Gaslight (1944). After signing with Columbia Pictures, Moore was loaned to RKO for Mighty Joe Young (1949), which brought her widespread recognition. She subsequently received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952). Beginning with Elia Kazan’s Man on a Tightrope (1953), Moore worked extensively at 20th Century-Fox throughout the 1950s, appearing in such films as Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), King of the Khyber Rifles (1953), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Between Heaven and Hell (1956), and Peyton Place (1957). Moore also worked extensively in television, including a regular role in the Western series Empire (1962–1963) and guest appearances on such programs as Bonanza, Batman, Burke’s Law, True Detective, and Ray Donovan. Moore gained notoriety when she claimed that she and billionaire Howard Hughes had been secretly married aboard a ship in 1949. The claim was disputed, and the marriage was never legally recognized, though she received a financial settlement from Hughes’s estate. Moore is one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

== Biography ==

=== Child actress === Moore was born January 7, 1929, in Glendale, California, and grew up in a Mormon family in Los Angeles. Moore's early appearances include The Howards of Virginia (1940), On the Sunny Side (1942), My Gal Sal (1942), A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), True to Life (1943), Gaslight (1944) (playing Ingrid Bergman's character as a child), Since You Went Away (1944), Sweet and Low-Down (1944), and The Clock (1945). As Helen Koford, she had a supporting role in Son of Lassie (1945) and Shadowed (1946). As "Jan Ford" she was billed third in The Devil on Wheels (1947) at Monogram. She was uncredited in Heartaches (1948) and Summer Holiday (1948). Moore worked in radio in the 1940s, most memorably as Bumps Smith on The Smiths of Hollywood.

=== Columbia === Moore's career received a boost when Columbia Pictures signed her to a long-term contract. She had the lead in The Return of October (1948) with Glenn Ford, playing a character called Terry Ramsey, after which Terry became her stage name. Moore was borrowed by RKO to star in Mighty Joe Young (1949), a film about a giant gorilla that won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. George Pal cast her in The Great Rupert (1950) with Jimmy Durante.

At Columbia, Moore co-starred with Mickey Rooney in He's a Cockeyed Wonder (1950). She also did Gambling House (1950) with Victor Mature at RKO, Two of a Kind (1951), Sunny Side of the Street (1951), and The Barefoot Mailman (1951). Moore played Marie Buckholder in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952), produced by Hal Wallis, with Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth as co-stars. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Moore began appearing in television shows like The Ford Television Theatre and appeared on the cover of Life magazine on July 6, 1953, as "Hollywood's sexy tomboy". Her photo was used on the cover of the second issue of the My Diary romance comic book (cover dated March 1950).

=== 20th Century Fox === Elia Kazan cast Moore in the female lead in the 20th Century Fox drama Man on a Tightrope (1953). Fox then signed Moore to a long-term contract. It gave her the female lead in Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), the second film in CinemaScope and a big hit. Also popular was King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) with Tyrone Power. Moore supported Fred Astaire in Daddy Long Legs (1955) and had the lead in some thrillers: Shack Out on 101 (1955) and Portrait of Alison (1955). Between Heaven and Hell (1956) reunited her with Robert Wagner, the leading man in Beneath the 12-Mile Reef. She guest-starred on TV shows like The 20th Century-Fox Hour, General Electric Theater, Playhouse 90, Climax!, Studio One in Hollywood, and Rawhide. Fox used her in Bernardine (1957) with Pat Boone and Peyton Place (1957) with Lana Turner. They then put her in the less popular A Private's Affair (1959). She was Audie Murphy's leading lady in Cast a Long Shadow (1959).

=== 1960s === Moore had the lead in Platinum High School (1960) and Why Must I Die? (1960), producing the latter. Moore guest starred on Checkmate and The Rebel and had a regular role as a rancher's daughter in the NBC Western Empire. She also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood. Other appearances during this period include Black Spurs (1965), Town Tamer (1965), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Waco (1966), and A Man Called Dagger (1968) as well as episodes of The Virginian, and Batman.

=== 1970s === Moore's 1970s appearances included Quarantined (1970), Bonanza, The Daredevil (1972), Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976), and Death Dimension (1978).