Book review - "I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead" by Charles Tranberg (2005)

Agnes Moorehead had one of the greatest careers of any character actress of the 20th century - she came to acting relatively late in life, after starting a teaching career, but got work quite quickly: did particularly well in radio where she met a young Orson Welles who took her to Hollywood with him; she delivered two superb performances in Citizen Kane and Magnificent Ambersons that helped set her up for life in cinema; was the definitive lead in Sorry Wrong Number on radio, perhaps the most famous radio play of all and worked constantly in that medium as well; conquered theatre with Don Juan in Hell in the 1950s; then in the 1960s swept all before her as Endora in Bewitched. Never out of work, always liked, a true professional.

Charles Tranberg has done a very good job of covering her life, helped by access to her papers. His examination of her acting style and career is very thorough - the look at her credits is very well done.

To be honest though it wasn't a terribly interesting life. There's an old rumour she was a lesbian, which Tranberg debunks; I think this got started because Moorehead simply looked like people's idea of a lesbian - and it might have livened up the book. She was a Midwestern gal who was religious, adored her dad who died early, who worked very hard and had Midwestern morality - becoming increasingly publicly associated with right wing causes towards the end of her life. She had rotten luck with her love life, with several failed marriages; she was also a lousy mother, fostering a kid but barely spending any time with him, making him raised by nannies and at boarding school (this is the most upsetting section of the book - they had a falling out and the guy dropped out of her life and no one knows what happened to him). I think she just loved acting so much she was prepared to give her career priority over everything.

It seems she was an immacuate pro and complete actress, working hard and always prepared. She could be a pain in the neck over things like billing and respect and whinged a lot around the time of Bewitched. But she knew her stuff and was always respected. I just wish she hadn't been such of a dickhead. It's not the fault of Tranberg who has written a good book.