Terry Moore (actress)

Born January 7, 1929, in Glendale, California, as Helen Luella Koford, Moore grew up in a Mormon family in Los Angeles, California. She worked as a child model before making her film debut in Maryland (1940). Moore was billed as Judy Ford, Jan Ford, and January Ford before taking Terry Moore as her name in 1948.

She could be glimpsed in 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 as a child), Since You Went Away (1944), Sweet and Low-Down (1944), and The Clock (1945).[1]

As Helen Koford, she had a supporting role in Son of Lassie (1945) and Shadowed (1946).[2]

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).[1]

Moore worked in radio in the 1940s, most memorably as Bumps Smith on The Smiths of Hollywood.

Moore in 2015

Her career received a boost when Columbia Pictures signed her to a long term contract. She had the lead in The Return of October (1948) with Glenn Ford, playing a character called Terry Moore and that became her stage name.[1] (Except, the character's name was Terry Ramsey, so this is false.)

Moore was borrowed by RKO to star in Mighty Joe Young (1949). George Pal cast her in The Great Rupert (1949) with Jimmy Durante.[3]

At Columbia she co starred with Mickey Rooney in He's a Cockeyed Wonder (1950) then she did Gambling House (1950) with Victor Mature at RKO.

At Columbia Moore did Two of a Kind (1951), Sunny Side of the Street (1951), and The Barefoot Mailman (1951).

She had an excellent part in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952), produced by Hal Wallis, with Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth. Moore was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She began appearing on television shows like The Ford Television Theatre and appeared on the cover of Life magazine for July 6, 1953, as "Hollywood's sexy tomboy". Moore's photo was used on the cover of the second issue of the My Diary romance comic book (cover dated March 1950).[4][5]

Elia Kazan cast Moore in the female lead for Man on a Tightrope (1953). That was made by 20th Century Fox who signed Moore to a long-term contract. They 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.[6][7]

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 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.[8]

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).

Moore had the lead in Platinum High School (1960) and Why Must I Die? (1960), producing the latter.

She 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.

Moore's 1970s appearances included Quarantined (1970), Bonanza, The Daredevil (1972), Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976), and Death Dimension (1978).

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.[9]

She appeared in and did the story for Beverly Hills Brats (1989).

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).

She 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 (2006), 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 (2019).