Terry Moore

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. 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 "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 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).

1980s In the 1980s Moore's roles included appearances in Double Exposure (1982), Hellhole (1985), Going Overboard (1989), American Boyfriends (1989), and Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989) and episodes of Matt Houston, Knight Rider, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, True Confessions, and Wiseguy.

At age 55, Moore posed nude in the August 1984 issue of Playboy magazine, photographed by Ken Marcus. She also appeared in theatre.

Moore appeared in Beverly Hills Brats (1989).

Later career Moore was in Murder, She Wrote; Marilyn and Me (both in 1991); American Southern (1995); Second Chances (1998) (which she also produced); Mighty Joe Young (1998); and Final Voyage (1999).

Moore produced but did not appear in America's Funniest Home Videos and Nandi (1998).

In the 2000s, Moore's appearances include roles in Stageghost (2000), Kill Your Darlings (2006), The Still Life (2007), Dewitt & Maria (2010), a guest-starring role as Lilly Hill on the crime series True Detective (2014), Aimy in a Cage (2015), Ray Donovan, and Silent Life: The Story of the Lady in Black (2019).

Honors For her contribution to motion pictures, Moore received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 1 February 1994, at 7076 Hollywood Blvd.

Personal life Moore married American football star and Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis (known as Mr. Outside when he played at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point) in 1951. They were divorced the following year. A subsequent marriage to in 1956 lasted three years. One year after this marriage ended, Moore married Stuart Cramer after his divorce from Jean Peters; they had two children together, Stuart Cramer IV and actor Grant Cramer, before divorcing in 1972. In 1979, Moore claimed to have married Richard F. Carey, in Mexico; he disappeared a few days later, having swindled her and others out of their money. Her 1992 marriage to Jerry Rivers lasted until his death in 2001.

Moore dated actor Glenn Ford in the early 1970s.

Relationship with Howard Hughes Moore became the subject of public attention as a result of her relationship with Howard Hughes. According to Moore, she and Hughes were married in 1949 in a ceremony performed by a ship captain in international waters. Moore has said that Hughes destroyed the ship's log that recorded the marriage, and they separated from each other by 1956, but she and Hughes were never divorced. Nevertheless, the Hughes heirs agreed that Moore had had a long-term relationship with Hughes and agreed to a financial settlement with her. Moore described the settlement as "not more than eight figures"; a biography of Hughes implies that the settlement was $350,000.