Friday 7 December 2007

The original Lavender Lady



Yesterday, 107 years ago(!), the wonderful Agnes Moorehead was born. Although she appeared in more than 70 films (including Citizen Kane, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte and a miscellany of character roles in melodramas and horror films) and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than 30 years, she is probably most widely known to modern audiences for her role as the imperious diva witch Endora, Samantha's mother, in the television series Bewitched.

Rumours abounded about Agnes's lesbian affairs - not least that with Debbie Reynolds during filming of How The West Was Won - and indeed there is anecdotal evidence to back up the "alternative" lifestyle she liked to keep away from the public gaze. However, all that is irrelevant compared to the brilliance of the unique style she brought to every part she played on the big and small screen, and in her one-woman shows with which she toured theatres and universities across America in the 1960s - a recording of one of which, The Lavender Lady, is a treasured part of my our collection of camp icons. A true star!

Agnes Moorehead's career outlined on IMDB

Agnes Moorehead in the GLBTQ online encyclopedia

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