Spouse
Robert Gist (1953 - 12 March 1958) (divorced)
Jack G. Lee (5 June 1930 - 11 June 1952) (divorced)
 

Probably best recognized as "Endora", Elizabeth Montgomery's overbearing mother on the 1960s TV sitcom Bewitched, Agnes Moorehead was already a veteran actor of stage, screen, radio, and television long before the series debuted.

Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, the daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. John R. Moorehead of the Presbyterian Church. The family relocated to St. Louis, and Moorehead, interested in acting from a young age, spent her summers doing community theatre and working at the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company.

A graduate of Muskingum College in Ohio, she went on to earn a master's degree in English and public speaking at the university of Wisconsin. She continued her studies in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began appearing on Broadway and radio. Her radio career was prolific and she appeared with all the top performers including Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and Bob Hope. In addition, she was a founding member of Orsen Welles world famous Mercury Theater Players.


She followed Welles on to the silver screen, appearing as Kane's mother in the landmark Citizen Kane. She later received an Academy Award nomination for her role as "Fanny Minafer" in Welles The Magnificent Ambersons. That was just the first of five nominations, and Moorehead went on to be nominated for her performances in Johnny Belinda, Mrs. Parkington, All That Heaven Allows, and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.


Her numerous TV guest appearances included a memorable turn as the silent woman that finds a flying saucer in her attic in the Twilight Zone episode: "The Invaders;" and she won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Wild, Wild West episode "Night of the Vicious Valentine."

Filmography

Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love (1974) (TV)
Charlotte's Web (1973) (voice) .... The Goose
Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) (TV) .... Mrs. Blair
Dear Dead Delilah (1972) .... Delilah Charles
Night of Terror (1972) (TV) .... Bronsky
Rolling Man (1972) (TV) .... Grandmother
Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove, The (1971) (TV) .... Mrs. Pringle
What's the Matter with Helen? (1971) .... Sister Alma
Suddenly Single (1971) (TV) .... Marlene
Marriage: Year One (1971) (TV) .... Grandma Duden
Ballad of Andy Crocker, The (1969) (TV) .... Lisa's mother
Mr. Blackwell Presents (1968) (TV) .... Guest
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966) (TV) .... The Red Queen
Singing Nun, The (1966) .... Sister Cluny
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) .... Velma Cruther
"Bewitched" (1964) TV Series .... Endora
Who's Minding the Store? (1963) .... Mrs. Phoebe Tuttle
How the West Was Won (1962) .... Rebecca Prescott
Jessica (1962) .... Maria Lombardo
Bachelor in Paradise (1961) .... Judge Peterson
Twenty Plus Two (1961) .... Mrs. Delaney
Land of Oz, The (1960) (TV) .... Mombi the Witch
Pollyanna (1960) .... Mrs. Snow
Night of the Quarter Moon (1959) .... Cornrlia Nelson
Bat, The (1959) .... Cornelia van Gorder
Tempesta, La (1958) .... Vassilissa
Tale of Two Cities, A (1958/II) (TV) .... Madame Defarge
Operation Raintree (1957) (uncredited) .... Herself
True Story of Jesse James, The (1957) .... Mrs. Samuel
Story of Mankind, The (1957) .... Queen Elizabeth
Raintree County (1957) .... Ellen Shawnessy
Jeanne Eagels (1957) .... Mme. Neilson
Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) .... Miss Hattie
Opposite Sex, The (1956) .... Countess
Pardners (1956) .... Matilda Kingsley
Revolt of Mamie Stover, The (1956) .... Bertha Parchman
Swan, The (1956) .... Queen Maria Dominika
Conqueror, The (1956) .... Hunlun
All That Heaven Allows (1955) .... Sara Warren
Left Hand of God, The (1955) .... Beryl Sigman
Untamed (1955) .... Aggie, Kildare's Governess
Magnificent Obsession (1954) .... Nancy Ashford
Story of Three Loves, The (1953) .... Aunt Lydia (segment "The Jealous Lover")
Those Redheads from Seattle (1953) .... Mrs. Edmonds
Main Street to Broadway (1953) .... Mildred Waterbury
Scandal at Scourie (1953) .... Sister Josephine
Blazing Forest, The (1952) .... Jessie Crain
Blue Veil, The (1951) .... Mrs. Palfrey
Fourteen Hours (1951) .... Christine Hill Cosick
Show Boat (1951) .... Parthy Hawks
Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951) .... Aunt Jezebel
Black Jack (1950) .... Mrs. Birk
Without Honor (1950) .... Katherine Williams
Great Sinner, The (1949) .... Emma Getzel
Stratton Story, The (1949) .... Ma Stratton
Station West (1948) .... Mrs. Caslon, Goldmine owner
Johnny Belinda (1948) .... Aggie McDonald
Woman in White, The (1948) .... Countess Fosco
Summer Holiday (1948) .... Cousin Lily
Lost Moment, The (1947) .... Juliana Borderau
Dark Passage (1947) .... Madge Rapf
Beginning or the End, The (1947) (scenes deleted) .... German Scientist
Keep Your Powder Dry (1945) .... Lt. Col. Spottiswoode
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) .... Bruna Jacobson
Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) .... Countess Zoe
Dragon Seed (1944) .... Third Cousin's Wife
Tomorrow, the World! (1944) .... Jessie
Mrs. Parkington (1944) .... 'Baroness' Aspasia Conti
Seventh Cross, The (1944) .... Madame Marelli
Since You Went Away (1944) .... Emily Hawkins
Jane Eyre (1944) .... Mrs. Reed
Government Girl (1943) .... Mrs. Wright
Youngest Profession, The (1943) .... Miss Featherstone
Journey Into Fear (1942) .... Mrs. Mathews
Big Street, The (1942) .... Violette
Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942) .... Fanny
Woman of the Year (1942) (uncredited) .... Lady at the Greek refugee shelter
Citizen Kane (1941) .... Mrs. Mary Kane



Notable TV guest appearances


"Night Gallery" (1970) playing "Witch" in episode: "Witches Feast, The" (episode # 3.21) 1973
"Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969) playing "Mrs. Ramsey" in episode: "He Could Sell Iceboxes To the Eskimos" (episode # 4.6) 10/17/1972
"Love, American Style" (1969) playing "Nagging Mother" in episode: "Love and the Anxious Mama" (episode # 3.18a) 1/28/1972
"Smith Family, The" (1971) in episode: "Anniversary" (episode # 2.1) 9/15/1971
"Night Gallery" (1970) playing "Emma Brigham" in episode: "Certain Shadows on the Wall" (episode # 1.7) 12/30/1970
"Virginian, The" (1962) playing "Ma Garvey" in episode: "Gun Quest" (episode # 9.6) 10/21/1970
"Lancer" (1968) in episode: "Person Unknown, A" (episode # 2.9) 11/25/1969
"Custer" (1967/I) in episode: "Spirit Woman" (episode # 1.14) 12/13/1967
"Wild Wild West, The" (1965) playing "Emma Valentine" in episode: "Night of the Vicious Valentine, The" (episode # 2.20) 2/10/1967
"Burke's Law" (1963) playing "Pauline Moss" in episode: "Who Killed Hamlet?" (episode # 2.28) 4/7/1965
"Burke's Law" (1963) playing "Dona Ynez" in episode: "Who Killed Don Pablo?" (episode # 1.31) 5/1/1964
"Celebrity Game, The" (1964) playing "Guest Panelist"
"Burke's Law" (1963) playing "Liz Haggerty" in episode: "Who Killed Beau Sparrow?" (episode # 1.14) 12/27/1963
"People Will Talk" (1963) playing "Guest Panelist"
"Twilight Zone, The" (1959) playing "Woman" in episode: "Invaders, The" (episode # 2.15) 1/27/1961
"Rifleman, The" (1958) playing "Alberta "Bertie" Hoakam" in episode: "Miss Bertie" (episode # 3.14) 12/27/1960
"Rawhide" (1959) in episode: "Incident at Poco Tiempo" (episode # 3.8) 12/9/1960
"Adventures in Paradise" (1959) in episode: "Krishmen, The" (episode # 2.5) 10/31/1960
"Chevy Mystery Show, The" (1960) playing "Elizabeth Marshall" in episode: "Trial By Fury" (episode # 1.11) 8/7/1960
"Rebel, The" (1959) in episode: "In Memoriam" (episode # 1.10) 12/6/1959
"Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1958) in episode: "Rapunzel" 10/27/1958
"Playhouse 90" (1956) in episode: "Dungeon, The" 4/10/1958
"Wagon Train" (1957) playing "Mary Halstead" in episode: "Mary Halstead Story, The" (episode # 1.10) 11/20/1957
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1951) in episode: "Life You Save, The" 3/1/1957