Who was Grace Moore? Everything You Need to Know (2024)

Quick Facts

Nick Name: The Tennessee Nightingale

Also Known As: Mary Willie Grace Moore

Died At Age: 48

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Valentin Parera

father: Richard Lawson Moore

mother: Jane Stokely

Born Country: United States

Actresses Opera Singers

Died on: January 26, 1947

place of death: Copenhagen, Denmark

U.S. State: Tennessee

Cause of Death: Accident

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Childhood & Early Life

Grace Moore was born as Mary Willie Grace Moore in a small town named Slabtown, currently a part of Del Rio, in Cocke County, Tennessee, USA on December 5, 1898.

Her father was Richard Lawson Moore and her mother was Jane Stokely.

Her family moved to Knoxville and then to Jellico, Tennessee, when she was quite young.

She attended the ‘Jellico High School’ and then studied briefly at the ‘Ward-Belmont College in Nashville.

She also attended the ‘Wilson-Green School of Music’ in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

She studied music and singing in college and went to Washington D.C. and New York for further training.

In 1919, at the age of 17, she sang at a recital with Giovanni Martinelli, who later became the director of the ‘Metropolitan Opera’.

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Career

Grace Moore auditioned for the ‘Metropolitan Opera’ twice but failed in both attempts. She had to sing at nightclubs to earn money for her music lessons.

During this period she appeared in the musicals ‘Suite Sixteen’, ‘Just a Minute’ and ‘Up in the Clouds’.

She got a singing job in the Broadway musical ‘Hitchy Koo’ produced by Jerome Kern in 1920 and also sang in ‘Town Gossip’ later.

She moved to Paris for two years to continue her studies with the money she earned with this job.

After returning to America she sang two numbers ‘What’ll I Do’ and ‘Listening’. The second number became the one of the five best selling numbers in the country.

She went to France in 1925 and trained under operatic coach Richard Barthelemy at the suggestion of Mary Garden.

During one of Grace’s visit to Milan, Italy in 1927, Giulio Gatti-Cazzaza, the director of the ‘Metropolitan’ heard her sing and signed her up to sing at the ‘Metropolitan’. She made her debut on February 7, 1928 as ‘Mimi’ in Giacomo Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’ and later sang for Charles Gounod’s ‘Romeo et Juliette’.

For sixteen seasons she stayed with the ‘Metropolitan’, she sang in the title roles of several Italian and French operas such as ‘Carmen’, ‘Tosca’, ‘Manon’ ‘Faust’, ‘Pagliacci’, ‘Gianni Schicchi’, ‘Louise’ and others.

She performed for the first time at the ‘Opera-Comique’ in Paris on September 29, 1928 in the role of ‘Mimi’ in ‘La Boheme’.

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She signed up with MGM in 1930 and moved to Hollywood to play the role of the legendary singer Jenny Lind in the film ‘A Lady’s Morals’. The film did not do very well because of a bad script and loss of popularity of Hollywood musicals.

Her next film was ‘New Moon’ in 1931 where she co-starred with Lawrence Tibbett, who also sang for the ‘Metropolitan Opera’. The film adaption of the Sigmund Romberg operetta was a bit clumsy and did not succeed at the box office.

The continuous box-office failures depressed her very much and she became a food addict. MGM dropped her as she had gained a lot of weight due to her irregular food habits.

She pulled herself up after being dropped by unceremoniously by MGM, lost all her extra weight and promptly joined Broadway to star in the operetta ‘The Dubarry’ in 1932 which became a great hit.

In 1934 Harry Cohn, the president of the fledgling ‘Columbia Pictures’, liked her role in ‘Dubarry and signed her up for the musical ‘One Night of Love’. It was a fine musical score, directed excellently and became an artistic and financial success. The record became a number one hit and Grace Moore became a major film star with this musical. The film won five ‘Academy Award’ nominations in 1935 including the ‘Best Actress’ for Grace. She eventually went on to make six more musicals for ‘Columbia Pictures’ such as ‘Love Me Forever’ in 1935, ‘The King Steps Out’ in 1936, ‘When You’re in Love’ and ‘I’ll Take Romance’ in 1937.

On June 6, 1935 she performed for the royal command performance at ‘Covent Garden’ in London where she re-enacted the role of ‘Mimi’ in Giacomo Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’.

Her last film was an adaptation of Gustave Charpentier’s opera titled ‘Louise’ in 1938 in which she was coached by the composer himself.

She returned to the stage in 1938 and to ‘Metropolitan for a short duration. She performed on the radio and toured Europe. She also went on tours for the USO during the Second World War.

She performed at concerts all over Europe and the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s and sang songs in German, Italian, French, Spanish and English languages.

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Her most famous roles as an Italian lyric soprano were ‘Mimi’ in ‘La Boheme’, ‘Gilda’ in ‘Rigoletto’ and ‘Manon’ in ‘Madama Butterfly’.

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Major Works

Grace Moore published her autobiography ‘You’re Only Human Once’ in 1944.

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Awards & Achievements

Grace Moore received the ‘Gold Medal Award’ from the ‘American Society of Arts and Science’ and won a nomination for the ‘Academy Award for Best Actress’ in 1935.

The King of Denmark awarded the ‘Ingenito et Arti’ to her in 1936.

She was honored as the chevalier of the French ‘Legion d’Honneur’ in 1939.

She was made an honorary Colonel on the staff of the Governor of Tennessee and a life member of the ‘Tennessee State Society of Washington, D.C.’

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Personal Life & Legacy

She was married to a Spanish actor named Valentin Parera in 1931 but had no children.

Grace Moore died at 48 in an airplane accident on January 26, 1947. She had boarded the KLM DC3 for Stockholm, Sweden, after performing in Copenhagen the night before.

In 1953 ‘Warner Bros’ released a film biography in which Kathryn Grayson played the role of Grace Moore in the film.

Who was Grace Moore? Everything You Need to Know (2024)

FAQs

Who was Grace Moore? Everything You Need to Know? ›

Mary Willie Grace Moore (December 5, 1898 – January 26, 1947) was an American operatic lyric soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.

What was Grace Moore famous for? ›

Grace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the “Tennessee Nightingale.” Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.

Was Grace Moore married? ›

She was married to Spanish screen actor Valentin Parera. She sang for 16 seasons with the Metropolitan Opera. In 1937 she gave a concert at UT, in Alumni Memorial Building, which was the initiating concert of the University Concerts series.

Who is the famous black woman grace? ›

Grace Wisher was a free African American woman who was indentured as a child to the famous Star-Spangled Banner flag seamstress, Mary Pickersgill.

What is Art Moore famous for? ›

Art Moore, renowned as the vice president of programming for WABC-TV, has left an indelible mark in the world of television. With a remarkable career that began in the 1960s, he has been an instrumental part of popular shows like Live with Kelly and Ryan.

How old was Mary Tyler Moore when she had her first child? ›

Moore was married for the first time at just 18 years old, to her next door neighbor, Richard Carleton Meeker, in 1955, and within weeks of their wedding she became pregnant. The young bride gave birth to her first, and only, child at 19 years old when she welcomed son, Richie Meeker.

How old was Mary Tyler Moore when her son was born? ›

Personal life. At age 18 in 1955, Moore married her next-door neighbor, 28-year-old cranberry juice salesman Richard Meeker, and within six weeks she was pregnant with her only child, Richard Carleton Meeker Jr., born on July 3, 1956. Meeker and Moore divorced in 1962.

Who was Mary Tyler Moore married to when she died? ›

The excellent and moving new HBO documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore, about the fascinating life and game-changing work of the TV star who died in 2017 at age 80, was coproduced by her widower, S. Robert Levine, 68, who also appears in it.

What was Grace Abbott famous for? ›

Abbott pioneered the process of collecting and incorporating sociological data relating to child labor, juvenile delinquency, and dependancy and on the work of local and private agencies into the lawmaking process.

What was Henry Moore famous for? ›

Henry Moore pioneered a new vision for modern sculpture, becoming a global star within his own lifetime. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures but he also made carvings, drawings, prints and designed textiles and tapestries.

What was Patrick Moore famous for? ›

He became a prolific amateur astronomer and writer, gaining prominence as the presenter of the BBC documentary series The Sky at Night for over 40 years and earning knighthood in 2001 for “services to the popularization of science and to broadcasting.” For many years, Charles Messier's Catalog of Nebulae and Star ...

What was Bobby Moore famous for? ›

Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore OBE (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

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