Agnes Moorehead ~ Hollywood’s Favorite Witch

October 2, 2024

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Agnes Moorehead had a career that spanned forty years but she will always be remembered for her role as Endora on Bewitched

She was born Agnes Robertson Moorehead on December 6, 1900 in Clinton, Massachusetts. Her mother, Mary Moorehead, was a singer and her father, John Moorehead, was a Presbyterian clergyman. After high school she earned a Bachelor’s degree from Muskingum College in Ohio. Agnes moved to Reedsburg, Wisconsin where she spent a few years teaching. Tragically her younger sister Margaret committed suicide in 1929. She had always dreamed of becoming an actress so she enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Her professional career began in the theater. Then she starred in several successful radio series including Sherlock Holmes and Evenings In Paris. On June 5, 1930 she married John Griffith Lee, an actor. Orson Welles invited her to join his Mercury Theater troupe of actors in 1937. Agnes was part of his legendary 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast. At the age of forty she made her film debut in the critically acclaimed Citizen Kane. MGM signed her to a contract for six thousand dollars a week. In 1943 she was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in The Magnificent Ambersons. She also received Oscar nominations for her performances in Mrs. Parkington and Johnny Belinda.

Agnes made her Broadway debut in the 1951 play Don Juan In Hell. After twenty-two years of marriage she and her husband divorced in 1952. Her second marriage, to actor Robert Gist, only lasted a year. She was bi-sexual and enjoyed many discreet love affairs with women. During the 1950s she had supporting roles in numerous films including The Blue Veil, Magnificent Obsession, and The Opposite Sex. Agnes also appeared on the television shows The Twilight Zine and Rawhide. She was devoutly religious and often brought her bible to the set. In 1964 she received her fourth Oscar nomination for her role in Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Then she starred alongside Elizabeth Montgomery in the television comedy Bewitched. Her role as Endora the witch made her a television icon and earned her six Emmy nominations. Despite the success of the show she often complained about the quality of the scripts. By the time Bewitched ended in 1972 she was suffering from uterine cancer. One of her final acting roles was in the 1973 animated film Charlotte’s Web. On April 30, 1974 she died from cancer at the age of seventy-three. Agnes was buried next to her sister at Dayton Memorial Park Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

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