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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ClassyCo" data-source="post: 305574" data-attributes="member: 7">Of the three women I posted pictures of at the beginning of this thread --- Mamie Van Doren, Cleo Moore, and Beverly Michaels --- I think I find Cleo Moore to be the most interesting to read about. I'd probably lean more towards Beverly Michaels if I had found more about her, but I haven't came across anything too substantial outside of her Wikipedia page. I've been reading up on Cleo Moore today during my downtime at work, and I figured I'd dedicate this little type-up to what trivia I've acquired concerning her. In no particular order, here's what I've come across today: Beautiful, voluptuous Cleo Moore was one of Hollywood's most publicized starlets during the 1950s. Several publicity stunts landed the B-movie queen on the front pages of newspapers across the country, notably her announcement to run for Governor of Louisiana and her notorious long, long kiss on live television which ended up a record breaker for time length. The kiss on live television was apparently nearly seven minutes long. Often dismissed in modern articles and representations as a Marilyn Monroe wannabe, Moore got larger roles in films before Monroe, and even ended up on the pages of LIFE magazine a solid year before Monroe did. Moore never imitated Monroe in any of her films, never copied her cheesecake poses, or mimicked any of her dresses for public appearances. Unlike many stars of the period, Moore used her biological birth name throughout her professional Hollywood career. Feeling her Southern accent was holding her back (she had been born and raised in Louisiana), Moore studied with Josephine Dillon, Clark Gable's first wife, to polish her speech. She had a standard contract with RKO Studios in the early-'50s, where she ultimately appeared in six movies. Her role in ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1952) was well-received, and brought her to the attention of actor and filmmaker Hugo Haas. So impressed was Haas with Moore's performance that he decided to champion her and make her his newest lead actress in his low-budget melodramas, replacing actress Beverly Michaels. The majority of Moore's profile (then and now) is consumed with her frequent comparisons to Marilyn Monroe. One contemporary movie buff called her the "Poor Man's Marilyn Monroe" because of her continuing roles in low-budget thrillers. Despite their frequent comparisons, Moore held no hostility towards Monroe. In fact, she frequently expressed her admiration for Monroe, whom she called one of her favorite movie stars, along with Marlon Brando and Joan Crawford. Moore also expressed admiration for her blonde predecessors, such as Jean Harlow and Mae West. In the mid-'50s, during her peak years at Columbia Pictures, she was proclaimed one of the top five most promising actresses along with Rota Moreno, Lori Nelson, Anne Francis, and Barbara Rush. The arrival of Kim Novak at Columbia in 1954 shifted Moore's career. Harry Cohn, the head-honcho at Columbia, began refocusing his attention towards Novak, effectively leaving Moore on the side-lines. Moore had been slated for a movie called PUSHOVER in 1954 with Fred MacMurray, but Cohn retracted her involvement and cast Novak in the movie instead. Columbia Pictures tried to get her away from Hugo Haas in 1955 by casting her in WOMEN'S PRISON with Ida Lupino and Oscar nominee Jan Sterling. The film is perhaps Moore's most famous film with modern fans. OVER-EXPOSED, her penultimate film, was released in 1956. It has been called "the most lavish of her starring vehicles" in which she played a "dime-a-dance girl who ends up one of New York's most prominent photographers". She drifted out of the limelight in the late-'50s and married real estate mogul Herb Heftler in 1961. She spent the remainder of her life working in real estate and masquerading as a Beverly Hills socialite. Moore considered THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE, a 1953 "C-movie" written, produced, and directed by Hugo Haas, to contain her strongest on-screen performance. Cleo Moore apparently had an ongoing feud with Swedish actress Anita Ekberg after Ekberg made a comment about American women being "immature and childish". Moore took Ekberg's comments personally, and she committed herself to proving her wrong. She set out on a crusade to prove that "American women could measure up, in every sense". Moore began a successful building construction enterprise with her father, Murphy Moore, and developed her skills as an artist. A portrait she did of comedian Jack Benny was unveiled when Benny was inaugurated as Abot of the Friars Club in 1954. She also did the art for the posters for her movie called THY NEIGBHOR'S WIFE. She took a 60-day tour to promote WOMEN'S PRISON in the summer of 1955. In Houston, the red-blooded Texans nearly tore her clothes off when a dozen young men, aged 16 or 17, wanted to be kissed by her. Moore said that such situations had become commonplace for her after the controversy surrounding her 1954 live kissing publicity. One movie magazine described her "bad girl" persona as "ruthless" and "amoral" and wryly quipped that in such movies the bad girl "usually ended up dead or in jail, or worse, reformed". [ATTACH=full]32933[/ATTACH] </blockquote>

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