Joanna Moore was an American film and television actress. Over the course of
her career, she appeared in more than eighty television and film roles.
Moore's career hit its peak in the 1960s. During that time, she guest
starred in several popular shows of the era including Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
Perry Mason, and The Real McCoys. One of her more notable recurring roles was as
Sheriff Andy Taylor's love interest, Peggy "Peg" McMillan in four episodes of
The Andy Griffith Show from 1962 to 1963. Moore was a guest star in
television westerns like Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, The Rebel, and The Virginian.
By the 1970s, her career began to wane because of drug and alcohol issues. She
made her final onscreen appearance in 1986.
She was married to actor Ryan O'Neal from 1963 to 1967, with whom she had two
children: Griffin and Tatum O'Neal. Moore died of lung cancer in 1997.
Early life She was born Dorothy Joanne Cook in
Americus, Georgia, the elder of two daughters of Dorothy Martha and Henry
Anderson Cook III. When she was a child, her parents and younger sister were
involved in a fatal car accident, on March 31, 1941. Her mother and sister
died immediately, while her father died a year after the accident from the
injuries he sustained. She grew up in Americus, Georgia. Moore's grandmother
raised her until she became mentally and physically incapacitated. Moore was then
adopted by a wealthy local family and changed her name from Dorothy to Joanna.
As a teen, she married and quickly divorced Willis Moore in 1951. After the
divorce, she attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. While
attending college, she entered and won a beauty contest and was brought to
Hollywood. Moore's acting career began when she was spotted at a cocktail party
by a producer for Universal. Career
= 1950s= Moore made her television debut in the
November 8, 1956 episode of Lux Video Theatre. The following year, she made
her film debut in the 1957 crime drama, Appointment with a Shadow. Later that
year, she appeared in episodes of Goodyear Theater and Harbourmaster,
along with another film, Slim Carter. In 1958, she had a small role in the film
noir classic Touch of Evil, with Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh,
and Marlene Dietrich, followed by more substantial roles in the horror film
Monster on the Campus and the Western Ride a Crooked Trail.
From 1958 to 1959, Moore landed guest spots on television including Studio
One, Suspicion, The Rough Riders, Bourbon Street Beat, Bat Masterson, The
Real McCoys, and Riverboat. She made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as the
title character in the 1958 episode, "The Case of the Terrified Typist."
= 1960s= During the 1960s, Moore continued her
career guest starring on numerous television shows in addition to film
appearances. From 1960 to 1961, she guest starred on Five Fingers, The
Rebel, Hong Kong, The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip, Going My Way, and Empire.
In 1962, Moore appeared as Miss Precious in Walk on the Wild Side with Jane
Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck and Capucine, followed by the musical, Follow That
Dream with Elvis Presley. That same year, Moore appeared in four episodes of
The Andy Griffith Show as Peggy "Peg" McMillan, Sheriff Taylor's love
interest. In 1963, she co-starred in Son of Flubber and was cast in The Man from
Galveston, intended as the pilot for Temple Houston. Also that year she made
a second guest appearance on Perry Mason as Grace Olney in "The Case of the
Reluctant Model." In 1964, she guest starred on Bob Hope Presents the
Chrysler Theatre. From 1965 to 1967, Moore guested on The
Rogues, My Three Sons, Peyton Place, Daniel Boone, Cowboy in Africa, and The
Iron Horse. During the time, Moore also had an uncredited role as "Angie" in
Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Moore
also made multiple appearances on The Millionaire, The United States Steel
Hour, the pilot film for the T.V. series "Hong Kong", Route 66, Wagon Train,
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Hawaiian Eye, Alcoa Premiere, Gunsmoke, The Fugitive,
The Virginian, High Chaparral, The F.B.I, and The Rifleman.
= 1970s and 1980s= During the 1970s, Moore continued with
guest roles on Nanny and the Professor, The Governor & J.J., and McCloud. In
1973, she appeared in the television adaption of the 1954 film Three Coins in
the Fountain, also starring Yvonne Craig and Cynthia Pepper. In 1974 she appeared
on "The Waltons" in the episode entitled "The Departure". In 1975, she co-starred
in the feature film The Hindenburg. The next year, she guest starred on
Petrocelli, The Blue Knight and made two appearances on Bronk.
By the late 1970s, Moore's career had begun to wane due to personal problems.
Her only two on-screen appearances after 1976 were in a supporting role in the
1980 television film Scout's Honor, starring Gary Coleman, and a small bit
part in the 1986 Australian film Run Chrissie Run!.
Personal life = Marriages and children=
On April 3, 1963, Moore married actor Ryan O'Neal. The couple had two
children: Tatum Beatrice O'Neal, born on November 5, 1963, and Griffin Patrick
O'Neal, born on October 28, 1964. The marriage was tempestuous and the couple
separated in early 1966. In February 1967, their divorce became final.
In February 1975, she married roofing contractor Gary L. Reeves. They divorced
in 1977. = Drug and alcohol use=
Around the time of her separation from Ryan O'Neal, Moore began to abuse
alcohol and drugs, namely amphetamines and became addicted. She continued
acting, but her depression worsened over her impending divorce.
In 1970, Moore checked into the Camarillo State Hospital for treatment.
The next year, she was arrested for drunk driving after she and O'Neal got
into a fight while she and their children were visiting O'Neal's Malibu
home. After her arrest, she lost custody of her children.
By the late 1970s, she was being supported financially by daughter,
Tatum, who had become an Academy Award-winning actress at age 10, and one
of the highest-paid child stars of the era. The children were still in Ryan
O'Neal's custody, and despite treatment, Moore continued to abuse drugs and
alcohol. As a result, she was arrested five times for DUI during the 1980s.
Death In 1996, Moore, a long-time smoker, was
diagnosed with lung cancer. On November 22, 1997, she died from the disease. Her
daughter, Tatum O'Neal, was by her side at the time of her death. Moore's
interment was at Hillside Memorial Park in Redlands, California, but her family
later moved her remains to Oak Grove Cemetery in her Georgia hometown of
Americus. Selected filmography
References External links
Joanna Moore at the Internet Movie Database