Agnes Moorehead

Actress. She was born in Clinton, Massachusetts, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she was a graduate of Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio, and 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 City, New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began appearing on Broadway and radio. With Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, she was founder and charter member of the famed Mercury Theater Players. She worked in radio throughout her career, and received many accolades. Agnes was involved in two of the most famous shows of all time: "Sorry Wrong Number" which earned her the Golden Mike Award as well as a Golden Record and the hard to forget "War of the Worlds", the infamous Orson Welles broadcast. She had five nominations for Oscars in her career and made her film debut in Orson Welles movie "Citizen Kane." Agnes Moorehead appeared in many movies often cast in acid tongue roles and some are: "The Magnificent Ambersons, Our Vines have Tender Grapes, Dark Passage, The Left Hand of God and The Bat." Her numerous TV guest appearances led her to the 1960s TV sitcom Bewitched and became "Endora" the overbearing mother. She and several cast members were exposed to radiation while making "The Conqueror" in Nevada which led to speculation this was the cause when diagnosed with uterine cancer. She worked until the very end. Coming full circle, she ended her career on the Broadway stage. When the disease progressed, she was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota where she died. She was returned to Ohio for her entombment. Dayton was the last pastoral assignment of her father. Agnes had a presence in the area. She had attended high school in Hamilton and when not busy in Hollywood residing in her Beverly Hills home, she would spend long periods of time on a farm she owned in Hamilton purchased so as to be near her parents. After a private Presbyterian funeral service, Agnes was interred beside them in Abby Mausoleum located in Dayton's historic Memorial Park.