Today we celebrate the birth of one of my favorite actresses: Agnes Moorehead. I wish I could be like some of my more cultured friends who experienced her first by her movies and amazing radio work; alas I, like most of my generation first got to experience the grandeur and camp of Agnes watching Nick at Nite reruns of Bewitched. As someone who always had an innate fascination with ghosts, witches and “scary things” I always loved Bewitched. 

It only dawns on me now just how gay of a show Bewitched is. Between the costumes, the gay uncle and the overbearing mother in law to the simple fact that it was a mid century sitcom where the women held so much more power in her traditional family than her husband. 

Agnes was born on December 6, 1900 to a family in Massachusetts. Her mother was a former singer who encouraged her daughter’s early love of playing make believe. Her father was a Presbyterian clergyman who while supportive of her artistic ambitions, insisted she get a more useful education and subsequently she graduated university with a degree in Biology (just imagine dissecting a frog next to Agnes!) After obtaining her degree she went to New York and studied at AADA. 

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She found stage work to be scarce so became very active in radio and eventually became part of Orson Wells’ Mercury Players in 1932. When Orson moved the group to the west coast, Agnes followed and subsequently became part of two Orson Wells movies Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons.   

After several other films including Mrs. Parkington (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award) she became under contract at MGM with an unusual contract that allowed her to do radio work as well. She continued successfully in both mediums and the 1950s and 60s brought her several films she is known to to me in namely Pollyanna and of course, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte 

Her television work was also incredibly varied and she is in one of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone  “The Invaders” in which she has no real spoken dialogue and features Agnes defending herself from tiny little aliens. I consider it the precursor to A Quiet Place in the mime work and quite honestly when I think of it Emily Blunt should play her in a biopic. HOW DO WE MAKE THAT HAPPEN?! Agnes was nominated for a golden globe for her guest role on The Wild Wild West.

But ultimately her most high profile role was Endora, Samantha’s mother on Bewitched.  She felt trapped by the success of a show that she felt had subpar writing. While she and Elizabeth Montgomery got along, Dick Sargent, (the second Darrin) did not and reported called her, “A tough old bird.” Sidenote: I would love if that’s what people say about me when I’m gone. 

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Her work post Bewitched included her star turn as Mother Goose in the animated Charlotte’s Web and a Broadway revival of Gigi.

It’s an unavoidable truth. Fear of life closes off more opportunities for us than fear of death ever does.

Agnes Moorehead

While she was married and divorced twice a rumor remains about her sexuality. Paul Lynde claimed she was a lesbian saying “Well, the whole world knows Agnes was a lesbian – I mean classy as hell, but one of the all-time Hollywood dykes.” However other sources, including one of her best friends, Debbie Reynolds, denied her homosexuality. I feel like with most people the truth probably fell somewhere on a spectrum but who likes that answer I guess? However I cannot stop thinking what an amazing cocktail party Debbie, Agnes and Paul would have made. Sigh, I guess I’ll never get that wish. 

I love this broad. I love the life she had and the varied body of work she left us. I’m grateful that Endora brought her notoriety that we can better study her other work. In honor of this fantastic woman I decided to dress in my Endora finest. Happy Birthday, Agnes!