I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead (49 page)

In September 1966 Hayes felt the need to write to Agnes regarding Paul
Gregory resurrecting the idea of
Marlowe
as a play. According to Hayes,
Gregory had spoken to her son about playing the title role and “Jim has got
himself all worked up. I think the lad has got very uneasy sitting around the
house waiting for a picture to materialize — so he has latched onto this
play.” It seems Hayes had some misgivings about her son playing the part.
“Don’t you think Jim is too American for Marlowe? I think it would be
great for him to act this role — but again, I’m loathe to say anything — I’m
too close up to see the situation clearly.” As if it might lessen her anxiety
she inquired as to whether Agnes would be interested in playing the Queen
to her son’s Christopher Marlowe. Unfortunately, it would be impossible,
with Agnes’ television schedule, for her to undertake a play.

Years later, James MacArthur acknowledged that Paul had indeed offered
him Marlowe. “I was rather taken aback by his offer since I felt it was a very
strong part and something a little daunting for someone with my background
and skill at that point. I wasn’t unwilling to do it, but I was fearful that I
wouldn’t be able to do it justice.” However, Gregory never did mount this
production and MacArthur never acted the play, which he describes as
“very dark and brooding,” adding, “And that’s how I remember Paul
Gregory as well.”

It was during these years of working on
Bewitched
that Agnes spent more
time at home. “People don’t believe it, but I’m really a homebody” she once
said. Prior to
Bewitched,
she toured extensively in her one-woman show or
some Paul Gregory play or did one film after another — often on location.
Now, with a more or less fixed schedule for much of the year (though she
would still hop off in a dreaded airplane for a one-woman show some weekends), she took pleasure in the house she had lived in for nearly twenty
years. On Saturdays, when she wasn’t spending the day with her acting
students, she liked to just “putter” around the house. She would paint,
sculpt, play the piano, catch up on reading or even rake leaves — activities
which relaxed her and renewed her spirit as well as energy. “She even used
to climb a very high ladder to wash windows . . . she must have inherited the
trait of cleanliness, because although she had lots of clutter it was clean
clutter,” recalled her maid, Freddie Jones. She liked to go to the Farmer’s
Market in Hollywood, near the CBS Studios, to pick out fruits and vegetables.
She was a collector too. Everywhere she went, when traveling overseas or to
different cities within the United States, she would seek out antique
shops. “I prefer Venetian pieces — I select them carefully so they will
be appropriate to my Mediterranean styled home.” Sundays, true to her
religious principles, was a day of rest and renewal. According to Bernard
Fox, Agnes would assemble her household staff each Sunday at the stairwell
of her home where she would recite passages from the Bible.

In terms of exercise, Agnes enjoyed walking. Occasionally when she was
driven to a social gathering at the Beverly Hills Hotel, she would tell the
driver, “I think I’ll walk back. It’ll be easier for everyone and the weather is so
nice.” For recreation, she was a huge movie fan and saw many of the
current releases and, as her scrapbooks indicate, she was invited to the
premiers of many films. She also enjoyed attending plays and concerts. For pure
relaxation and getting away from it all, she enjoyed nothing more than taking
a cruise. She loved the sea air and could have all the privacy she wanted to catch
up on sleep or reading in her cabin. She also enjoyed going to parties, and
attended many, cocktail or dinner. One party invitation around this time was
sent by Aggie’s old friend Rock Hudson in honor of Lauren Bacall, who was
returning to Hollywood after a stint in New York in the play
Cactus Flower.
“That Broadway Cactus Flower, Lauren Bacall, is coming to town, so I hope
that you can join me in welcoming her back Friday night, October twenty-first,
at Eight P.M.. Slacks, lounging pajamas are in order. No Ties. Come early and
stay late, music and dancing at Ninety Four Zero Two Beverly Crest Drive.”

Lucille Ball, who had first met Agnes in the early 40’s on the film
The
Big Street
, was a neighbor and friend. She delighted in playing games with
her; Lucy loved Scrabble, as did Agnes. “Lucy and I play Scrabble once in
a while,” Aggie dryly told one interviewer. “I suppose if I needed to borrow
a cup of sugar, she’d lend it to me.” In one funny postcard sent by Lucy to
Agnes from Hawaii she addressed Agnes as “Scrabblehead,” and said she
was heading home. “Will beat card home even though I’m giving it a head
start.” In the book,
Lucy in the Afternoon
, Lucy tells author Jim Brochu a
funny anecdote regarding Agnes. “I loved Aggie. When
How the West Was
Won
came out, I ran to see it, and God was it great. Unbelievable. I called
all my friends and told them to rush to see it. I went over to Aggie’s house
and asked her if she had seen the film, and she said no. I went on and on
about it and told her that she had to drop whatever she was doing and see
the best movie of all time. Well, about two weeks later, I saw Aggie and
said, ‘Have you seen
How the West Was Won
? I’ve seen it twice now.’ Aggie
shook her head and said, ‘No, I haven’t seen it yet.’ I got so frustrated with
her, I shouted, ‘Why? I told you to go see it. I begged you to go see it. Don’t
you believe me when I tell you it’s good? Now why haven’t you seen it?’
Aggie looked at me like I was a first-class dope and said, ‘Because I’m in it!’
Aggie had played Debbie Reynolds’ mother, and she was so goddamned
brilliant that I never recognized her.”

Agnes had two live-in housekeepers, Freddie Jones and Polly Garland.
Freddie, who was with “Miss M” the longest — over twenty years — was
the upstairs person, responsible for dressing, clothes, and upstairs housekeeping. Polly tended to the downstairs and did the cooking. According to
author Warren Sherk, though, as the years went by and they got to know
each well, they would share duties and cover for each other, if need be, at
times of illness or vacation. Agnes trusted and respected both these women
completely, and they were devoted to her. Despite two maids who did much
of the cooking, Agnes also enjoyed dabbling in the kitchen from time to
time. Agnes would later say she didn’t bother with “mundane cooking,” but
liked to experiment with gourmet dishes like lobster bisque and minted
grapes. “I love to cook . . . not meat and potatoes and fried eggs and that
sort of cooking, but creative cooking with herbs and wines.” Freddie Jones
says that “on rare occasions that she fixed a meal, her favorite was trout,
which she prepared with a conglomeration of grapes, almonds, and herbs.”

Agnes tried to stay out of partisan politics as much as possible — “I don’t
mix in politics, I don’t believe one should mix oil with water.” Over time
she had contributed to both parties and was a fervent admirer of Eleanor
Roosevelt, but she rarely publicly endorsed or campaigned for a candidate.
By upbringing and belief she was a conservative Republican who believed
in less government and tax cuts. She would get angered by the fact that the
more money she made the more money the government took away from
her through taxes.

In 1966, her old friend Ronald Reagan ran for Governor on the
Republican ticket and for the first time Agnes publicly endorsed a candidate
as well as contributed to his campaign. Agnes told Georgia Johnstone, “I
don’t think it a good idea to get mixed up in politics — do you? I could be
non-partisan about it I suppose. I know Ronald to be an honest, sincere
man — and I like him personally. He has the courage of his convictions —
well, who knows?” “Agnes Moorehead absolutely loved Ronald Reagan,”
according to Quint Benedetti. “It was Ronald Reagan this and Ronald
Reagan that.” Despite Agnes’ support for Reagan, it didn’t stop leading
Hollywood liberals Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas from solicitating
Agnes to support Tom Braden (the newspaper man who was the inspiration
for the television series
Eight is Enough
) in the primary for Lt. Governor.
Agnes was very pleased by Reagan’s overwhelming mandate that November.
Reagan sent a letter of appreciation to Agnes following the election: “There
are no words to tell you how grateful I am. Even harder would be to express

how proud you’ve made me. It is sweet to be approved by your fellow man,
but when that approval comes from those you hold in affection and esteem,
and when that approval is evidenced so unselfishly it makes for a heartwarming and lasting memory. Nancy joins me in a thank you too big for
words, but from our hearts. Sincerely, Ron.”

In the fall of 1966, Agnes was back on television not only on
Bewitched
but in an NBC 90-minute special broadcast on November 6 of
Alice
Through the Looking Glass.
Agnes played the Red Queen, but came into the
show at the last minute after the original choice for the part, Bette Davis,
withdrew from the production officially due to illness. However, according
to Nanette Fabray, who portrayed the White Queen, Davis “chickened out.
She thought the idea of singing and dancing was wonderful, then she got a
case of the nerves close to the taping — we were all stunned, but she was
famous for that kind of thing.”

In addition to Agnes and Fabray, the supporting cast was strong: Jimmy
Durante as Humpty Dumpty, Ricardo Montalban as the White King, Jack
Palance as the Jabberwock, and Tom and Dick Smothers as Tweedledum
and Tweedledee. Fabray recalls being “grossly disappointed” about how the
special turned out. “I thought it was badly photographed. They put a camera
on the floor and had us walk in front of it — they used no imagination at
all.” While Fabray recalls that there was “no opportunity to mix and
mingle” due to the production schedule, she does recall that “Agnes was
very authorative in the part and did a fine job, (but) not inspired because
the show itself was not inspired.” She also believed that Agnes was “a very
dynamic woman and her face alone would be worth lots of close-ups.” The
show was taped, but performed as if it was a live production. The taping
itself was very uncomfortable due to the heavy costumes, along with the
strong lighting they used in those early days of color television. Despite the
air conditioning in the studio, it was uncomfortably hot. Fabray sums up
the special, which drew high ratings, as “pedestrian, where it should have
been magical.”

That same month, Agnes guest-starred on the ABC variety series,
The
Hollywood Palace,
which was hosted by Debbie Reynolds’ ex-husband Eddie
Fisher. On it she participated in a parody of the series,
Batman,
with Agnes
playing the Riddler, reciting the dialogue at a lectern bearing a huge script.
Here is a sampling of the dialogue:

A
GNES
:
What do we get from a pig? Ham. What goes with ham?
Eggs . . . I cut your bat-ray with my egg-ray.
B
ATMAN
:
Very clever of you, you friend.
A
GNES
:
That’s F
IEND
!
B
ATMAN
:
You Fiend.

Not surprisingly, Agnes wrote on the top of this script “Terrible!,” but
she did it anyway.
In December, Agnes accepted a guest shot on the popular CBS series,
The Wild, Wild West
in the episode, “The Night of the Vicious Valentine.”
Agnes was cast as Emma Valentine, a matchmaker with a nefarious plan.
She matches up women to prominent men and then has the men killed so
that women will gain more influence and eventually control of banks,
commerce, and the government. Emma explains to James West (Robert
Conrad) that she is trying to save women “from domination of the spirit.
Economic exploitation. Annihilation of the mind. In brief, all the injustices
wrought by men.” Since she controls the widows of the men that she
matches up, she plans to temporarily reign as Queen of a monarchy;
presumably, she has plans to do away with the president as well: “then after
time, I shall release this country into a democracy. And allow a grateful
nation to elect me president.”
The script is witty and full of good dialogue, including this exchange
between Emma Valentine and James West: “What do you demand in a
woman, intelligence or beauty?” asks Emma. “Beauty, if they are intelligent
and intelligence if they are beautiful,” responds West.