Clara Moores Payson (July 27, 1896[1] – January 21, 1986), born Clara Munchhoff, was an American stage actress.
Clara Moores | |
|---|---|
 Clara Moores, from a 1920 publication; she is wearing a hat made from wood shavings, as publicity for a show called Shavings | |
| Born | Clara Louise Munchhoff July 27, 1896 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Died | January 21, 1986 (aged 89) Seattle, Washington |
| Other names | Clare Moores, Clara Payson |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse | William Farquhar Payson |
Early life
editClara Louise Munchhoff was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1898, the daughter of Joseph W. Munchhoff and Mate (or May Etta) Cannon Munchhoff. Her father owned a traveling carnival.[2] Her mother was active in the suffrage movement and her (step) grandfather, Frank E. Moores,[3] was a controversial Mayor of Omaha.[4] She adopted the surname of her stepfather, railwayman Harry E. Moores, after her mother remarried in 1909.[5] She was raised in Seattle,[6] and graduated from Broadway High School[7] and attended the University of Washington.[8]
Career
editMoores acted on the stage,[9] beginning in college, and later mainly in Boston[10] and on Broadway, with stage credits including roles in Madame X, Under Cover,[8] A Cure for Curables (1918),[11] His Majesty Bunker Bean, Dangerous Years,[12] Lilies of the Field, Shavings (1920), Pot Luck (1921),[13] Common Clay, Cobra (1924) and The Circle.[14][15][16]
Moores was considered a stylish beauty in her time.[17] The costumes she wore on stage were described in detail.[18] As publicity for Shavings, she was photographed in hats made from wood shavings.[19] In 1920, she wrote a beauty advice column on attractive arms, for newspaper syndication.[20][21]
During World War II, Moores (by then named Payson) organized vaudeville-style entertainments for enlisted men stationed in the Seattle area.[22]
Personal life
editMoores became the second wife of writer, editor, and publisher William Farquhar Payson in 1927.[14][23] Her husband died in 1939;[24] she died in Seattle in 1986, aged 89 years.
References
edit- ^ Some sources give 1898 as Clara Moores' birth year, but 1896 is the year given on her grave marker, via Find a Grave, and in the US Social Security Death Index, via Ancestry. It also matches her appearance as a 3-year-old in the 1900 US Federal Census, via Ancestry.
- ^ "Flashes". The McCook Daily Gazette. 1931-06-06. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Stumped Her Way to Stage Success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1920-12-26. p. 52. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Mayor of Omaha: The Supreme court rules ..." (PDF). New York Times. 24 September 1898. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Short Stories of Transportation". Railway and Marine News. 18: 23. July 1920.
- ^ "Chestnut St. Opera House". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1919-04-20. p. 44. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Clara Moores". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1924-06-01. p. 65. Retrieved 2022-08-12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Summer-time Amusements". The Boston Globe. 1914-08-09. p. 53. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Stevens, Ashton (1923). Actorviews: Intimate Portraits. Covici-McGee Company. pp. 153–157.
- ^ "Played One Role Nearly Two Years". The Boston Globe. 1922-01-22. p. 58. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chestnut St. Opera House". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1919-04-20. p. 44. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shubert Theatre". The Chat. 1919-05-31. p. 67. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Pot Luck' at the St James". The Boston Globe. 1922-02-21. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "W. F. Payson Marries; Publisher Weds Clara Moores Actress, in Municipal Chapel". The New York Times. 1927-08-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ "In the Spotlight". Theatre Magazine. 27: 284. May 1918.
- ^ "Dramatic Club to Attend John Drew Performance January 16 in a Body". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. 1923-01-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ The Captain Kid Book and Judge Annual. Leslie-Judge Company. 1920. p. 25.
- ^ "Sports Clothes and Summer Frocks in Spring Plays". Dry Goods Economist. 72: 129. March 23, 1918.
- ^ "Wooden Hat's Latest Millinery Fad; Idea's Derived from Shavings on Floor". The Journal and Tribune. 1920-04-17. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moores, Clara (1920-06-28). "Arms and the Man". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moores, Clara (1920-06-26). "Arms and the Man (2)". The Missoulian. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Brown to be speaker". The Seattle Star. 1942-01-27. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-08-12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Star Weds". Shamokin News-Dispatch. 1927-09-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "W.F. Payson Dead; Author, Publisher; Ex-Managing Editor of Vogue and Founder of Firm of Own Name Succumbs at 63". The New York Times. 1939-04-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-12.