It’s Always The Quiet One 1946
“I think there are people with the genes for being natural performers. Sometimes, they go haywire and destroy themselves because of it and because they have no order in their lives.”
Wait, What?
“In 1930, I married Jack G Lee, a stage and radio actor. We lived in a recently purchased house in Cheviot Hills, a short distance from the MGM studios.” Yes, I bought the house with Jack after he beat the crap out of me and threatened to burn the house down around me. Seems legit. No, not from any vantage point does this seem sane. I tied myself to a home with a man who was a violent drunk and who regularly slapped the bejesus out of me. My lawyer nearl pulled his hair out, he should have looking back on it.
The Gravy Train Gets Back On Track
So I took Jack back, and suddenly, I was flooded with work. I was offered the role of a European Countess, was being considered for the musical “Ah Wilderness, went back on the air in “Cavalcade of America,” and did “On Borrowed Time” with Lionel. I continued my work on “Suspense,” participated in The West Cost Finale of the Radio Hall of Fame, and did “The Beginning or The End.” Jack quieted down substantially as well. There weren't any more articles about the separation, but I cut Jack out of publicity surrounding me. I attended a party given by Atwater Kent and participated in a solo visit to the Geller Theatre, where I gave a speech on acting and actors. I cut out an April article that says, "Agnes Moorehead Captures Everyone Who Talks to Her.” This was something I managed to do for the rest of my life.
Author's Observations: Degrees and Other Things
If you spoke to her, you loved her. Agnes is awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from her Alma Mater. On June 2nd, she was outed as a singer after she and Ralph Blaine did some fancy duets at Barbara Whiting’s fifteenth birthday party. Finally, in June, Agnes gets to do “The Agnes Moorehead Show” on the radio. On August 9th, she is reunited with Orson Welles to do “The Mercury Summer Theatre On The American Cavalcade.” She again runs for the Board of Directors for the Screen Actors Guild. At the end of August, she announced that she would record “Sorry Wrong Number” in September for the phonograph. This move would come back to haunt her once radio stations got it and started playing it without Agnes getting a cent for it.
Author's Observation Satin Covered Hammer
Being Blunt
In September, Agnes went on vacation to Arrowhead Springs and returned to “Mayor of the Town “ after an absence of eight weeks. Meanwhile, Agnes recklessly announces that studio audiences should be banned because “They’re potential program wreckers.” It doesn’t affect her popularity, but it is a huge risk. Right on cue, the PR Department churns articles questioning why Agnes has not been made a costar of “Mayor of the Town.”Agnes pays the damage control back by disparaging remarks about live audiences and their lack of control over them again. She was cast in “The Woman In White” and reelected to the Screen Actors Guild during this period. On September 27th, Agnes will be honored at the annual Phi Beta luncheon. Then, the shock of all shocks, on October 5th, the papers announce that Agnes has reconciled with Jack. But wait, she bought a house with him, didn’t she? This unexpected development is mind-boggling.
The Move To Warner Brothers
On October 9th, Agnes signs a new contract with Warner Brothers in a multiple-picture deal. She was scheduled to work with Bette Davis in “Ethan Frome.” Time is spent by PR espousing Agnes' return to radio as a trained radio actress. The truth is she never left radio; she just changed broadcasting companies. On NBC, “Parade of Stars” begins, and Agnes is in it. Then, on the 16th, Agnes travels to New York for two weeks. On October 19th, “Theatre of Today” presents Agnes in “The Great Burden.” Once she returns, her participation in “Mayor of the Town” continues. The newspapers track Agnes and Jack to San Francisco on a pleasure trip, and once they return to Hollywood, Agnes, on her own, attends a party at Ralph Blaine's home. The papers are again silent about Jack other than the San Francisco trip and their reconciliation until December 11th. On that day, a small article appears announcing a party that Agnes and Jack are throwing. On December 21st, Agnes continues the tradition with Lionel Barrymore by doing “Scrooge.” By the 29th of December, Agnes is attending a surprise party for Lionel Barrymore’s birthday. After the uproar of 1945 and the beginning of 1946, the year ends quietly for Agnes and Jack, at least according to the newspapers.
Sorry, Wrong Person 1947
The clock is ticking.
The clock was ticking on my marriage to Jack. The outside world knew, and some of the inside were also aware of the problems. Mother had a front-row seat to my marital woes when I headed home after Jack went berserk in 1945. The audience had no idea what was happening behind closed doors at my home. It wouldn’t become evident until I proceeded with her divorce in 1949. Jack managed two uncredited film appearances in 1947 in “The Web” and “Unconquered.” It was announced on January 1st that I would be doing two pictures for Warner Brothers. The first one has become a film noir classic called “Dark Passage.” Can I just say Bogie and Lauren were the most amazing people to work with. In addition, The Listening Post Radio highlighted Gene Lockhart and me as the best players in “Suspense.” Listening Post names my performance in “Sorry Wrong Number” as a standout hit.
Off To Ohio With A Chaperone
We all know the name Kathy Ellis. We all know that Kathy worked as a stand-in for me, and if we believe what the news media printed, Kathy started as a stand-in for me in 1939 during the filming of "Citizen Kane," which was incorrect. Unfortunately for the press, specifically the June 12, 1955 edition of "The Spokesman-Review," It was well-documented that filming for "Citizen Kane" took place between June 29, 1940, and October 23, 1940, in what is now Stage 19 on the Paramount lot. There's a lovely piece about how Kathy met me on the lot in 1939, and she acted as my stand-in because we had the same color hair and looked like twins. "The glowing red hair is no chemical lab creation, and both have the freckles to prove it. It may have been a coincidence of coloration that brought them together in 1939 when Miss Ellis stood in for Miss Moorehead in the controversial film, "Citizen Kane," but a mutual loyalty has held them together since, and like Naomi and Ruth, whither Miss Moorehead goes, there goes Miss Ellis also." Ummm, really? Not so much, nope, not so much at all. Kath's hair was much brighter than mine. Kath and I became extremely close friends, but she wasn't the only stand-in that I had. I had several and was fond of them all. One such person is Alice MacKenzie. Kath traveled with me, and Alice did, too. Alice traveled with me in the 1940's. Alice is my stand-in in a June 8, 1947 article in The Zanesville Signal. Alice drove across the country with Jack and me so that I could receive an honorary degree from her Alma Mater.
Alice was in "Johnny Belinda" and "Summer Holiday." She acted as a stand-in for me but had parts of her own. She played an uncredited "farm woman" in "Johnny Belinda." In "Summer Holiday," she played Mrs. McComber. After these two films, she promptly disappeared from Hollywood. Odd, isn't it, though? I found it intriguing, so I turned to genealogy to figure out who she was and what became of her. I didn't have much
success. Alice was sweet and kind. I loved her, but she was not "the Hollywood" type.
Author's Observations: Alice Oh Alice, Where Can You Be
Alice Cecelia MacKenzie was born July 16, 1917, in Minnesota. Her life was unremarkable. Her father died in 1929, and her mother was left to rear Alice and her three siblings alone. She did a good job, mainly working as a hospital administrator or accountant. There were five children: three girls, one who passed in infancy, and two boys. Alice may have gone to Stanford for at least one year. I'm having trouble tracking her there. Alice had a sister named Helen Elizabeth MacKenzie, who was quite the woman. Helen attended the University of California at Berkeley. Helen participated in theatre, which also led me to believe her sister did. The 1937 UC Berkeley yearbook picture strongly resembles a young Agnes, so Alice also resembled her. Helen joined the Women's Army Corp on January 6, 1944. I can find no record of Alice having done so. I discovered that neither sister married and is mentioned in stories posted to their brother Robert's family tree. Alice died in 1981, and Helen in 1986.
It seemed odd that Alice traveled with Agnes and Jack to Ohio in 1947. I can only assume that Agnes didn't want to be on her own with Jack and/or that she wanted to be on her own with Alice. Whatever the case, for those interested in Alice and what she looked like, break out your copy of "Summer Holiday" and watch for Mrs. McComber. She is Gloria De Haven's mom in the film. One more piece of the gorgeous puzzle that is Agnes Moorehead.
On and On and On
January offered the PR Department a respite. Jack and I played nice in the coming weeks and did things like a double piano recital for their friends. The papers were filled once again with little tidbits from my life, like the one that happened on February 5th:
“Jack Kapp, head of Decca Records, had to apologize to Agnes for missing a party the day before that he hadn’t realized he was invited to. He had his secretary call Agnes and discover the time change's mystery. It was 9:30 in New York and 6:30 in Los Angeles. Kapp didn’t know the party was in Hollywood.”
The Thirteenth Sound
Another opportunity presented itself when Little-Brown and Company was set to publish my memoirs. It was never to be, though, as you well know. I had no intention of putting my life on paper for public consumption, but the press was good, so I took it. I did what I consider to be one of my most excellent Suspense productions called “The Thirteenth Sound.” It is about a woman who kills her husband; I understand entirely her wanting to have at him because he wants to sell their beautiful home. As a narrative aside, we learn that this woman's husband snored so loudly that she hadn’t had a sound night's sleep in ten years, just like Jack. The anger in my voice struck me as I performed those lines. It is one of the few times art and life were in lockstep. You could hear it. It also occurred in “Dark Passage,” when my character lays into Humphrey Bogart. The change on my face and voice indicates how deeply rooted in my feelings I was when I belittled Bogart before jumping or falling from a window.
Author's Observations: At Ease
All the offers
In March, “Mayor of the Town” returns to the air, and Agnes with it. From the beginning of the year into early spring, she attended the theatre in San Francisco, where she experienced Environmental Theatre for the first time. The production was done inside a home in San Francisco. She also attended an open house at Margaret Whiting’s. The two knew each other from their mutual work in radio. She also took time in March to speak about comedy and dramatic acting techniques on station KNX. On April 6th, she reported to Delmer Davies to start filming for “Dark Passage.” It is also said that Robert Cummings wants Agnes for “The Glass Heart.” Agnes continues producing phonograph records with Decca and, like all other media types, masters it in short order. Orson Welles is begging Agnes to come to perform Lady Macbeth with him, but her schedule won’t permit it. In June, she narrated “The Sunnyside of the Atom.” This irony is heartbreaking given that the same sunny atom was responsible for her demised many years after filming at a test site. In July, Agnes will be cast in “Stations West.” When it was released, it was met with a lukewarm reception.
New York With Jack
Agnes and Jack were in New York over the summer of 1947. On July 4th, she began a return trip by car with Jack. On July 5th, she recorded Studio One's “Payment Deferred" for broadcast. By the 18th, they were in Reedsburg visiting Molly. She was in New York to do some radio work. Jack and Agnes spent time at Devil’s Lake, Mirror Lake, and Baraboo.
In August, Agnes returns to her theatrical roots and performs with Robert Walker in “The Shining Hour” at the LaJolla Playhouse. Other good news arrived for Agnes in August when she was cast in “Johnny Belinda.” This film would be another permanently associated with Agnes by her character as Johnny Belinda’s Aunt Aggie. The movie is filmed at a small fishing village north of San Francisco. Agnes doesn’t return to radio until October when she is again on “Mayor of the Town.”
Madge Rapf is a badass.
Agnes is hailed for her stellar performance in Dark Passage. Madge Rapf, the character, was the ultimate bad girl in every respect. She lived in a killer apartment, had amazing clothes, and was ultimate in death by falling multiple stories right into the middle of San Francisco traffic. Agnes was in all her glory as the bad girl, a role she relished. Agnes excelled at those roles that others would shy away from. By November, Agnes had her choice of stage plays to perform. She opted to do none of them instead. She was at a place where she could finally pick and choose her roles. She fought typecasting but relented for roles like Madge because they were her bread and butter.
Madge is a premiere manipulator and my favorite scene is the one when Madge lets Bogie in her apartment and then realizes who he is. She worked that so perfectly and the terror on her face when she realizes who he is. I always chalked that up to Aggie's acting ability and to be sure some of it was but knowing what I know now allows me to look at that scene differently. Agnes drew straight from her own personal experience. She had been brutalized more than once by Jack so she had a well of emotions to pull that scene from. Watch it again and then think about how she lived every single day until 1949.
But I Don't Want To Be Mean Forever!
With the end of the year fast approaching, Agnes found herself a holdover member for the board of The Screen Actors Guild. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was pursuing Agnes for a part in an upcoming production called “The Exile.” She wasn’t interested. She preferred radio at this point and chose to do a radio production of “The Glass Menagerie.” Oddly enough, this was also one of the three-stage plays she had at her feet after “Dark Passage.” Perhaps this radio show pushed her to accept a contract to do the show onstage.
The Big Christmas
The Christmas season would be busy for Jack and Agnes. Agnes sent out invitations for a Christmas bash at Le Pavilion on December 18th, and after that, they were heading to Reedsburg for Christmas with Molly. This trip would evolve into pictures that made their way onto Christmas cards the following year and also turned up in newspapers. So, part Christmas visit, part publicity, part preparation for next year's Christmas cards—I can’t imagine it was an overwhelmingly warm function with everyone, including Grace, dressed to the nines to open presents. You know just like any other ordinary family in America does! Outside of palpable tension in a photograph, it was probably a great Christmas.
O’ Agnes Dear Agnes
Amongst the completely unbelievable piles and piles of paper were scattered gems of updated communications. These come from everywhere around the United States, and in several boxes, there are items in the incorrect date files. The bottom line is that tags are hard to track unless they are dated. What makes this problematic happens when you find something like this particular tag. I placed this tag here in 1947 because we can’t date it, but we know that Agnes and Orson were in touch, and he was still influencing her career decisions well after she finished the three films he directed. Whatever came from the poem on the page was written by the Svengali of Aggie Orson Welles. Here is the poem:
O’ Agnes, dear Agnes
How I wish I could see
Thee on top of the wagon
Playing the Call-i-o-pee
Hoping everything goes Welles
With you.
I am your old colleague.
1943 Agnes played Calliopee Aggie in Orson Welles's The Mercury Wonder Show. This poem, written on a shipping tag, is undated.
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