Old Time Radio Trivia for Today: December 6, 2007
On this day in 1900, Agnes Moorehead was born in Clinton Massachusetts. Most people on Gather will remember her as Endora, the mother-in-law on the television classic Bewitched. But, long before she was needling poor Darrin Stephens on this fanciful sitcom, she was one of radio's most respected dramatic actresses.
In 1937, Moorehead starred opposite the legendary Orson Welles in the radio version of The Shadow. Welles played the title character, while she played his "friend and companion, the lovely Margot Lane."
A year later, when Welles brought his celebrated Mercury Theater to radio (the same program that delivered us a terrifying War of the Worlds), he brought Moorehead with him. And, in 1941, he entrusted her with a starring role (that of Mary Kane) in his ilm classic Citizen Kane.
Agnes Moorehead was also a reglar on the acclaimed Suspense series. I think that it can be safely said that it was on this series that she delivered her most notable radio performance ever. On May 23, 1943, Moorehead starred in Lucille Fletcher's Sorry, Wrong Number to stunning effect. The radio audience responded so overwhelmingly that she was asked to reprise her performance on the show seven times. Orson Welles described it as "the greatest show of all time." Sorry, Wrong Number was made in to a movie (with Barbara Stanwyck in Moorehead's role) in 1948.
Moorehead was one of the few radio performers to make a successful transition to a career in television. In addition to her role on Bewitched, she appeared on shows from Wagon Train to Marcus Welby, MD. She passed away after a battle with cancer on April 30, 1974.
If anyone is interested in hearing some of her work, you can pick up CDs or Cassettes of her old time radio broadcasts at www.RadioSpirits.com. Or, if you're interested in learning more about Agnes Moorehead and her career, you can pick up a copy of her biography, I Love the Illusion, at www.bearmanormedia.com
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