Garry Moore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Garry Moore
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Moore with his guests the Marquis Chimps in 1959
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| Born |
Thomas Garrison Morfit
January 31, 1915 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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| Died | November 28, 1993 (aged 78) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1937–1989 |
| Known for | The Garry Moore Show, I've Got a Secret, To Tell The Truth |
| Spouse(s) |
Eleanor "Nell" Borum Little
(m. 1939; died 1974)Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" DeChant
(m. 1975–1993) |
| Children | 2; John Mason Morfit (son) and Garry Morfit, Jr. |
Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was a popular American entertainer. He was a well-known game show host, comedian, and funny person, especially famous for his work on television.
Garry Moore started his long career in radio in 1937 with the CBS network. From 1949 through the mid-1970s, he became a familiar face on TV, hosting many different variety and game shows.
Even though he left high school early, Moore found great success in radio first, then moved to television. He hosted several shows called The Garry Moore Show, and the fun game shows I've Got a Secret and To Tell the Truth. He also helped the famous comedian Carol Burnett start her career. Early in his career, he was known for wearing bow ties and having a short haircut called a crew cut.
In 1976, Moore had to retire from broadcasting due to illness. After that, he only made a few TV appearances. He spent his later years living in Hilton Head, South Carolina and at his summer home in Northeast Harbor, Maine. He passed away on November 28, 1993, at the age of 78.
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Early Life and Radio Career
Garry Moore was born on January 31, 1915, in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were Mason P. Morfit and Mary L. Morfit. He went to Baltimore City College, which was a high school, but he left before finishing to work in radio and writing.
In 1937, he started working at a radio station in Baltimore called WBAL. He was an announcer, a writer, and a comedian. He used his birth name, Thomas Garrison Morfit, until 1940. While he was on the air for a show called Club Matinee in Chicago, the host, Ransom Sherman, held a contest to find a new, easier-to-say name for him. The name "Garry Moore" won the contest, and the person who suggested it received $100.
It was on Club Matinee that he met Durward Kirby, who became his good friend and broadcasting partner for many years.
In 1941, Moore hosted a variety show on Sunday afternoons called Talent, Ltd.. Over the next few years, he appeared on many different radio shows. He began as an announcer and then supported other broadcast stars, like Jimmy Durante.
From 1943 to 1947, Durante and Moore had their own show together, with Moore playing the "straight man" (the serious person who sets up jokes for the comedian). CBS was impressed with how well he connected with listeners. So, in 1949, they gave him his own one-hour daytime variety show called The Garry Moore Show. Moore also briefly returned to radio in 1969 to host NBC's Monitor.
Television Career Highlights
Between 1947 and 1950, Garry Moore started trying out the new world of television. He appeared as a panelist and a guest host on quiz and music shows. On June 26, 1950, he got his own 30-minute TV show on CBS, also called The Garry Moore Show. It was a shorter version of his radio show. For a few months, it was even broadcast on both radio and TV at the same time.
Moore also hosted summer replacement shows for Arthur Godfrey and his Friends and appeared as a guest on other programs.
Hosting I've Got a Secret
While hosting his variety show, Moore was chosen to host CBS's weekly prime-time TV game show I've Got a Secret. It started on June 19, 1952. On this show, Moore became good friends with comedian Henry Morgan and game show host Bill Cullen. Morgan later said that Moore helped him keep his job on television.
Moore became famous for getting involved in the funny stunts and demonstrations of the show's contestants. I've Got a Secret's popularity even led to Moore and the show's panelists appearing in the 1959 movie It Happened to Jane. In the film, Doris Day's character was a contestant on the show.
The Prime-Time Garry Moore Show
Moore's variety program moved to a daytime slot, where it ran until June 1958. Just three months later, Moore and his long-time friend Durward Kirby brought The Garry Moore Show back to prime time. This time, it was a comedy and variety hour that aired on Tuesday nights from September 1958 to June 1964.
Even though the show was a bigger hit in prime time, Moore always preferred the daytime audience of housewives. He felt it gave lonely housewives something to watch and listen to while they worked. The show helped many performers get their start in show business, including Alan King, Jonathan Winters, Carol Burnett, and Dorothy Loudon. The Garry Moore Show had regular cast members like Durward Kirby, Marion Lorne, and Denise Lor. It featured songs, dances, and funny skits. The show was especially important for introducing the public to the talented comedian Carol Burnett. After Moore's show ended, Burnett became a huge star with her own program, The Carol Burnett Show.
One time, Moore and his writers knew an episode of his variety show wasn't going to be very good. So, at the start of the show, Moore honestly told the live audience and the viewers at home that it wouldn't be a great show. He even suggested that people watch other channels! Every time a joke didn't land, Moore would look at the camera and say, "It's your fault for still watching this!" Viewers were so surprised by his honesty that they kept watching, and it became one of the highest-rated episodes of the season.
Taking a Break and Returning
The Garry Moore Show was canceled in 1964. After being on radio and television for 27 years without a break, Moore decided to retire. He said he had "said everything [he] ever wanted to say three times already." He stopped hosting I've Got a Secret and was replaced by comedian Steve Allen. Moore spent his break traveling around the world with his wife.
In 1961, on an episode of I've Got a Secret, magician Michel de la Vega tied up Garry Moore and put him in a trunk. Moore was a great assistant, and the trick went smoothly. The audience loved it so much that the magician was brought back two more times! In 1962, Michel de la Vega also hypnotized Garry Moore live on the show. He made Moore's body stiff enough to be stretched between two chairs, and then the hypnotist stood on him! This was the first time hypnosis was performed on American television.
On the tenth anniversary show of I've Got a Secret in June 1962, Moore shared that he had surgery on his right hand. That's why he was shaking hands with his left hand for a few months, to protect his hand. In September of that year, guests Viola and Stephen Armstrong appeared with the secret that their son, Neil Armstrong, had just been chosen as an astronaut by NASA. Moore asked them, "How would you feel if it turns out... that your son is the first man to land on the moon?"
After two years away, The Garry Moore Show came back to CBS in the fall of 1966. However, it was canceled mid-season because it couldn't compete with the popular western show Bonanza on NBC. The successful Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour then took its place.
Hosting To Tell the Truth
Moore then made occasional TV appearances, like cameos on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and reunions with Carol Burnett on her show. He also appeared as a panelist on various game shows. Then, producer Mark Goodson asked him to host another series. This was a new version of To Tell the Truth, which had ended its run on CBS in 1968. Moore was asked to host the new syndicated version, which started in September 1969.
When To Tell the Truth was being planned, the producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman first wanted Bud Collyer to host again. But Collyer said no because of his poor health. When Goodson and Todman called Moore about the job, he immediately contacted Collyer, who told Moore, "I am just not up to it."
Moore often took part in the show's silly stunts, just like he had on I've Got a Secret. He would perform magic tricks and even cook. This made this version of To Tell the Truth feel a lot like I've Got a Secret. Moore hosted the show from its start until the middle of the 1976–77 season.
Recordings and Retirement
In 1944, Garry Moore recorded some of his radio monologues for Decca Records. These included his funny story "Hugh, the Blue Gnu" and a very fast reading of "Little Red Riding Hood." In 1956, Moore recorded a children's album for Columbia Records. It featured stories by Rudyard Kipling, like "The Elephant's Child." He also narrated two classical music pieces for children, Carnival of the Animals and Peter and the Wolf, in 1965.
Retirement from Television
Moore became ill in 1976 and was diagnosed with throat cancer. He left To Tell the Truth in late 1976 to have surgery. Panelist Bill Cullen took over as host, and Joe Garagiola also hosted for several weeks.
Moore returned in September 1977 for the show's ninth season. He explained why he had been away and announced his permanent retirement. He said that while recovering from his surgery, he felt that continuing his 42-year career would be "just plain greed." Moore later said in another interview that he felt ready to move on from the entertainment world. Joe Garagiola hosted the rest of that season, which turned out to be the show's last. Even after retiring, Moore kept getting offers for more work, including calls from the producers of The Love Boat, but he turned them down.
Later Life and Passing
Moore retired to Hilton Head, South Carolina, where he enjoyed sailing. He also spent time at his summer home in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Moore became a regular humor columnist for the local newspaper The Island Packet, writing a column called "Mumble, Mumble." He later released a book of his columns with the same name in the early 1980s.
He made two rare television appearances after retiring. One was in a 1984 special about game-show bloopers, hosted by William Shatner. The other was in a 1990 TV tribute to Carol Burnett on the talk show Sally.
Garry Moore passed away from emphysema in Hilton Head on November 28, 1993, at the age of 78. He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Time magazine named him one of the 15 greatest game-show hosts of all time.
