Constance Moore

Constance Moore
Moore in 1941
Born
Mary Constance Moore

(1920-01-18)January 18, 1920 or (1921-01-18)January 18, 1921 (sources differ)
Sioux City, Iowa, US
Died(2005-09-16)September 16, 2005 (age 84 or 85)
Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
Years active1937–1967
SpouseJohn Maschio (1939–1998)
Children2

Mary Constance Moore (January 18, 1920[1][2] or January 18, 1921[3][4][5] – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. She appeared in wartime musicals such as Show Business and Atlantic City and the classic 1939 movie serial Buck Rogers,[6] in which she played Wilma Deering, its only female character.

Life and career

Moore was born in Sioux City, Iowa, but her family moved away before she was a year old.[7] She spent most of her formative years in Dallas. She had two sisters, who both survived her.[4] She got a job as a singer in the 1930s with CBS radio. Her work impressed a scout from Universal Studios and she signed a contract with the company. Among the stars she worked with was W. C. Fields in You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939). She appeared on Broadway in the musical By Jupiter.[7]

Beginning in mid-1945, Moore starred with Dennis O'Keefe on Hollywood Mystery Time on ABC radio.[8] She retired from films in 1947 but made sporadic appearances over the next few decades. She appeared on a USO tour with Bob Hope and the Nicholas Brothers in 1951.[citation needed] She painted still lifes and in 1976 was the chairwoman for the Braille Institute Auxiliary in Beverly Hills, California.[citation needed]

Moore guest starred as Doris in the episode "Just a Housewife" (1960) on the ABC sitcom, The Donna Reed Show. In the 1961–1962 season, Moore co-starred in ten episodes on CBS as Robert Young's romantic interest in his short-lived nostalgia series, Window on Main Street.[9]

Personal life

At age 18, Moore married her agent, John Maschio, who died in 1998. The couple had two children, son Michael and daughter Gina, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.[4] She was a Republican who campaigned for Thomas Dewey in 1944.[10]

Moore died September 16, 2005, of heart failure following a long illness.[4] She was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles.[11]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Bergan, Ronald (October 2, 2005). "Constance Moore". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Constance Moore at the Internet Broadway Database Edit this at Wikidata (The Broadway League) Archived from the original on September 10, 2016
  3. ^ MASCHIO, CONSTANCE M. was born 18 January 1921, received Social Security number 462-03-1579 (indicating Texas) and, Death Master File says, died 16 September 2005. Source: Social Security Death Master File (public domain)
  4. ^ a b c d "Constance Moore, Film Actress, Is Dead at 84". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 26, 2005. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017. She was 84.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ McLellan, Dennis (September 22, 2005). "Obituaries: Constance Moore, 84; Film, Stage, TV Actress, Singer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Lentz, Harris M. III (2006). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 264. ISBN 9780786452101. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Lamparski, Richard (1982). Whatever Became Of ...? Eighth Series. New York: Crown Publishers. pp. 210–11. ISBN 0-517-54855-0.
  8. ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
  9. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. p. 1182.
  10. ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. ISBN 9781107650282.
  11. ^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. pp. 526–527. ISBN 9781476625997. Retrieved June 2, 2017.