Terry Moore at Brian's Drive-In Theater

biography

Born Helen Koford in Los Angeles on January 7, 1929, glamorous actress Terry Moore started her career as a child model and did radio work before entering films. By the age of ten, she signed with 20th Century-Fox and was often billed as Judy Ford or Helen Koford in small or supporting roles. One of Moore's first credited roles was in the 20th Century-Fox comedy A-Haunting We Will Go (1942; with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy). Her career continued through her teenage years, getting bigger roles in such films as the Columbia film noir thriller Shadowed (1946; with Lloyd Corrigan and Anita Louise) and PRC's juvenile deliquent drama The Devil on Wheels (1947; with Noreen Nash and Darryl Hickman). When she landed a starring role opposite Glenn Ford in the Columbia comedy The Return of October (1948; with Glenn Ford and James Gleason), she changed her name to Terry Moore.

20th Century-Fox cheesecake photos of Terry Moore from the early 1950s

Afterward, Moore landed the role she's best known for, RKO's Mighty Joe Young (1949; with Ben Johnson and Robert Armstrong), and later earned an Oscar nomination for her outstanding performance in Paramount's tear-jerker Come Back, Little Sheba (1952; with Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth). The bulk of Moore's output in the 1950s consisted of comedies and film noir thrillers. In 1952 she once again signed with 20th Century-Fox, where she starred in such pictures as the adventure flicks Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953; with Robert Wagner and Gilbert Roland) and King of the Khyber Rifles (1953; with Tyrone Power and Michael Rennie). Along with her film career, Moore began making appearances on dramatic anthology television series, such as Playhouse 90 and Climax!.

Following her supporting role in the big-budget potboiler Peyton Place (1957; with Lana Turner and Hope Lange), she parted ways with Fox and freelanced in such films as the western Cast a Long Shadow (1959; with Audie Murphy and James Best) and American International's crime drama Why Must I Die? (1960; with Debra Paget). Moore cooled her film career after her fourth marriage in 1959 and the births of her sons, actors Stuart Cramer and Grant Cramer, in 1960 and 1961. However, she worked frequently in television, doing guest spots on such programs as The Rebel and Burke's Law, and in 1962 Moore was cast as a regular on the NBC western Empire with Richard Egan.

the films of terry moore

The Return of October (1948)

Terry Moore, James Gleason, and Glenn Ford

From the Columbia comedy The Return of October with James Gleason and Glenn Ford

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

With a young Ben Johnson in RKO's classic adventure Mighty Joe Young

The Barefoot Mailman (1951)

Robert Cummings, Terry Moore, and Jerome Courtland

From the Columbia romance The Barefoot Mailman. LEFT: With Mary Field. RIGHT: With Robert Cummings and Jerome Courtland

Two of a Kind (1951)

With Edmond O'Brien in the Columbia film noir thriller Two of a Kind

Gambling House (1951)

Moore as Lynn Warren in the RKO film noir entry Gambling House

Sunny Side of the Street (1951)

With singer Frankie Laine in the Columbia musical Sunny Side of the Street

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)

Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, and Peter Graves

With Robert Wagner and Peter Graves in the 20th Century-Fox underwater adventure Beneath the 12-Mile Reef

Between Heaven and Hell (1956)

With Robert Wagner in the 20th Century-Fox war drama Between Heaven and Hell

Bernardine (1957)

From the 20th Century-Fox comedy Bernardine. LEFT: With Dick Sargent. RIGHT: Moore as Jean Cantrick

Peyton Place (1957)

From the then-scandalous 20th Century Fox potboiler Peyton Place with Barry Coe

Cast a Long Shadow (1959)

From the Audie Murphy western Cast a Long Shadow, released by United Artists

Why Must I Die? (1960)

As nightclub singer Lois King in the film noir Why Must I Die?, released by American International Pictures

Platinum High School (1960)

With Dan Duryea in the low-budget MGM drama Platinum High School, produced by Albert Zugsmith

City of Fear (1965)

With Marisa Mell in the Cold War drama City of Fear

A Man Called Dagger (1967)

Moore puts the moves on Paul Mantee in the low-budget MGM secret agent thriller A Man Called Dagger

terry moore today

Terry Moore worked little in the 1970s, taking only an occasional role in films such as Al Adamson's cult classic Death Dimension (1978; with Jim Kelly and Aldo Ray). She renewed her career in the 1980s with roles on the television series Fantasy Island, Love Boat, and Wiseguy, as well as the films Hellhole (1985; with Ray Sharkey and Mary Woronov) and Beverly Hills Brats (1989; with Martin Sheen). On another front, Moore made headlines in the late 1970s with proof that she had married millionaire Howard Hughes in 1949 and that the couple had never divorced. Today, at 93 Moore accepts an occasional acting job and is still every bit the gorgeous and shapely star.

filmography

FILM
Aimy in a Cage (2016) with Crispin Glover and Paz de la Huerta
Mansion of Blood (2015) with Gary Busey
Margarine Wars (2012) with Doris Roberts, Robert Loggia, Dee Wallace, and Grant Cramer
Dewitt & Maria (2010) with Jeremie Loncka
The Still Life (2007) with Jason Barry, Rachel Miner, Michael Callan, and Grant Cramer
Kill Your Darlings (2006) with Julie Benz, Lolita Davidovich, John Larroquette, and John Savage
Sweet Deadly Dreams (2002) with Quinn Redeker and Roscoe Lee Browne
Stage Ghost (2000) with Christopher Atkins and Edward Albert
Final Voyage (1999) with Dylan Walsh and Ice-T
Mighty Joe Young (1998) with Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, Lawrence Pressman, and Linda Purl
Second Chances (1998) with Kelsey Mulrooney, Theodore Bikel, Charles Napier, Charles Shaughnessy, and Stuart Whitman
American Southern (1995)
Marilyn and Me (1991) with Susan Griffiths and Joel Grey
Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989) with Robert Mitchum, Ernest Borgnine, Stella Stevens, James Mitchum, Dick Van Patten, Sheree North, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Edie Adams, Nita Talbot, and Edy Williams
American Boyfriends (1989)
Going Overboard (1989) with Burt Young, Adam Sandler, Peter Berg, Ricky Paull Goldin, and Billy Zane
Beverly Hills Brats (1989) with Burt Young, Martin Sheen, Peter Billingsley, Ramon Estevez, Grant Cramer, Ruby Keeler, George Kirby, Anna Lee, and Natalie Schafer
Father's Day (1988) with Grant Cramer
I Will Dance On Your Grave: Lethal Victims (1987) with Wally Berns, Jack Carter, Donna Denton, George 'Buck' Flower, Martin Landau, Frank Stallone, and Jerry Van Dyke
Hellhole (1985) with Ray Sharkey, Judy Landers, Marjoe Gortner, Richard Cox, Edy Williams, Mary Woronov, Robert Z'Dar, and Lynn Borden
Double Exposure (1983) with Michael Callan, Joanna Pettet, James Stacy, Pamela Hensley, Cleavon Little, Seymour Cassel, Misty Rowe, and Sally Kirkland
Death Dimension, aka The Kill Factor (1978) with Jim Kelly, Harold Sakata, George Lazenby, Aldo Ray, and Bob Minor
Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976) with Robert Conrad, Buddy Ebsen, Herb Edelman, David Groh, Harriet Nelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Sue Lyon, Vera Miles, Donna Mills, David Nelson, and George O'Hanlon
The Daredevil (1972) with George Montgomery
Quarantined (1970) with Gary Collins, John Dehner, Susan Howard, Gordon Pinsent, Sharon Farrell, Wally Cox, Sam Jaffe, Virginia Gregg, and Greg Mullavy
A Man Called Dagger (1967) with Paul Mantee, Jan Murray, Sue Ane Langdon, Richard Kiel, and Bruno VeSota
Waco (1966) with Howard Keel, Jane Russell, Brian Donlevy, Wendell Corey, John Smith, John Agar, Richard Arlen, Ben Cooper, and Jeff Richards
City of Fear (1965) with Marisa Mell and Paul Maxwell
Town Tamer (1965) with Dana Andrews, Lon Chaney Jr., Bruce Cabot, Lyle Bettger, Richard Arlen, Philip Carey, Sonny Tufts, Coleen Gray, DeForest Kelley, and Don 'Red' Barry
Black Spurs (1965) with Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney Jr., Bruce Cabot, Richard Arlen, Patricia Owens, James Best, Jerome Courtland, and DeForest Kelley
She Should Have Stayed in Bed (1963) with Davee Decker and Gigi Darlene
Why Must I Die? (1960) with Debra Paget, Bert Freed, Juli Reding, and Robert Shayne
Platinum High School (1960) with Mickey Rooney, Dan Duryea, Conway Twitty, Warren Berlinger, Yvette Mimieux, Jimmy Boyd, Richard Jaeckel, and Elisha Cook Jr.
Cast a Long Shadow (1959) with Audie Murphy, John Dehner, James Best, Denver Pyle, Ann Doran, and Stacy Harris
A Private's Affair (1959) with Sal Mineo, Barry Coe, Barbara Eden, Gary Crosby, Jim Backus, Jessie Royce Landis, and Bob Denver
Peyton Place (1957) with Lana Turner, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Hope Lange, Diane Varsi, David Nelson, Barry Coe, and Lorne Greene
Bernardine (1957) with Pat Boone, Janet Gaynor, Dean Jagger, Dick Sargent, Ronnie Burns, and Natalie Schafer
Between Heaven and Hell (1956) with Robert Wagner, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Keith, Brad Dexter, Mark Damon, Ken Clark, Harvey Lembeck, Skip Homeier, L.Q. Jones, and Tod Andrews
Shack Out on 101 (1955) with Frank Lovejoy, Keenan Wynn, Lee Marvin, and Whit Bissell
Daddy Long Legs (1955) with Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, and Larry Keating
Postmark for Danger (1955) with William Sylvester
King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) with Tyrone Power, Michael Rennie, and Guy Rolfe
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953) with Robert Wagner, Gilbert Roland, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Boone, Angela Clarke, and Peter Graves
Man on a Tightrope (1953) with Fredric March, Gloria Grahame, Cameron Mitchell, Adolphe Menjou, Alexander D'Arcy, Richard Boone, and John Dehner
Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) with Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Richard Jaeckel, and Philip Ober
The Barefoot Mailman (1951) with Robert Cummings, Jerome Courtland, John Russell, Will Geer, Trevor Bardette, and Frank Ferguson
Sunny Side of the Street (1951) with Frankie Laine, Jerome Courtland, Lynn Bari, and Amanda Blake
Two of a Kind (1951) with Edmond O'Brien and Lizabeth Scott
Gambling House (1951) with Victor Mature, William Bendix, Cleo Moore, and Ann Doran
He's a Cockeyed Wonder (1950) with Mickey Rooney, William Demarest, and Mike Mazurki
The Great Rupert (1950) with Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake, Queenie Smith, Chick Chandler, and Jimmy Conlin
Mighty Joe Young (1949) with Ben Johnson and Robert Armstrong
The Return of October (1948) with Glenn Ford and James Gleason
The Devil on Wheels (1947) with Noreen Nash and Darryl Hickman
Shadowed (1946) with Lloyd Corrigan and Anita Louise
Son of Lassie (1945) with Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart, and Nigel Bruce
Sweet and Low-Down (1944) with Benny Goodman, Linda Darnell, Lynn Bari, Jack Oakie, Allyn Joslyn, and Dickie Moore
Gaslight (1944) with Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty, and Angela Lansbury
A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) with Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sheila Ryan, Elisha Cook Jr., Willie Best, Frank Faylen, and Mantan Moreland
My Gal Sal (1942) with Rita Hayworth, Victor Mature, John Sutton, Carole Landis, James Gleason, and Phil Silvers
Maryland (1940) with Walter Brennan, Fay Bainter, Brenda Joyce, John Payne, Charlie Ruggles, Hattie McDaniel, Dickie Jones, Robert Lowery, and Mantan Moreland

TELEVISION SERIES
Empire, 1962-1963 NBC TV series. Moore portrayed Connie Garrett

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
The Love Boat, episode Country Blues/A Matter of Taste/Frat Brothers Forever, originally aired December 8, 1984
Fantasy Island, episode Roarke's Sacrifice/The Butler's Affair, originally aired November 12, 1983
Knight Rider, episode K.I.T.T. the Cat, originally aired November 6, 1983
Matt Houston, episode A Novel Way to Die, originally aired April 17, 1983
The Love Boat, episode The Baby Alarm/Tell Her She's Great/Matchmaker, Matchmaker Times Two, originally aired November 29, 1980
Bonanza, episode Gideon the Good, originally aired October 18, 1970
Batman, episode The Penguin Declines, originally aired January 18, 1967
Batman, episode The Joker's Hard Times, originally aired January 12, 1967
Batman, episode The Zodiac Crimes, originally aired January 11, 1967
The Virginian, episode High Stakes, originally aired November 16, 1966
My Three Sons, episode Steve and the Huntress, originally aired January 27, 1966
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, episode Highest Fall of All, originally aired December 1, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed Cop Robin?, originally aired March 24, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed the Horne of Plenty?, originally aired October 7, 1964
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed Eleanora Davis?, originally aired December 20, 1963
The Rebel, episode The Executioner, originally aired June 18, 1961
Checkmate, episode The Princess in the Tower, originally aired December 31, 1960
The Red Skelton Hour, episode Clem, the Animal Psychiatrist, originally aired November 29, 1960
The Red Skelton Hour, episodeDeadeye Turns in His Badge, originally aired December 29, 1959
The Red Skelton Hour, episodeSan Fernando Loses the Dixie Queen, originally aired March 10, 1959
Rawhide, episode Incident of the Tumbleweed, originally aired January 9, 1959
Studio One, episode The Man Who Asked for a Funeral, originally aired June 23, 1958
Climax!, episode The Secret Love of Johnny Spain, originally aired February 20, 1958
Playhouse 90, episode The Clouded Image, originally aired November 7, 1957
General Electric Theater, episode The Shadow Outside, originally aired December 30, 1956
Climax!, episode Flight to Tomorrow, originally aired November 8, 1956
The 20th Century-Fox Hour, episode The Moneymaker, originally aired October 31, 1956
Climax!, episode No Right to Kill, originally aired August 9, 1956
The United States Steel Hour, episode Scandal at Peppernut, originally aired March 29, 1955
The Ford Television Theatre, episode It Happened in a Pawn Shop, originally aired January 8, 1953

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Terry Moore

(b. January 7, 1929)