I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead by Tranberg Charles

Author:Tranberg, Charles [Tranberg, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BearManor Media
Published: 2011-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

12

THE WITCH OF ENDOR (1963–1964)

As 1963 began Agnes was enjoying her run on Broadway in Lord Pengo, but after an initial burst of box office success, attendance began to dwindle and expenses began to mount. The show closed on April 20, 1963 after 225 performances, including the six-week road tour prior to the New York opening. It was an exhausting, yet rewarding experience, but after six months of doing the same play night after night, especially in a part which was less than stellar, Agnes was ready to move on.

Who’s Minding the Store?, (1963). Her first opportunity came when Jerry Lewis offered her a part in his new comedy, Who’s Minding the Store? This would be Agnes’ second film with Lewis, the last time appearing as Lewis’ wife and mother in the Martin and Lewis film Pardners, seven years earlier. She would play yet another mother role in this one too — this time the wealthy owner of a department store whose daughter, played by Jill St. John, falls in love with the misfit typically played by Lewis. The film began shooting shortly before Lord Pengo closed and Agnes almost immediately flew on to California to begin filming her scenes. On her first day on the set, Lewis sent her a dozen roses along with a note: “I consider it a privilege to work with such a fine actress, and I hope you enjoy working in ‘films for fun’.” It was a quick shoot, in a painless role which Agnes could have done in her sleep. The film was, as usual for a Lewis picture from this period, a huge box office success and even got some decent notices, such as this review from Commonweal: “With its zany humor and extravagant slapstick, this comedy is sometimes reminiscent of that ‘Mad, Mad World’ affair. ‘Store,’ however has the advantage of being much shorter . . .” For some reason, for the three weeks that Agnes shot Who’s Minding the Store? she stayed at Debbie Reynolds’ house. Agnes also reported to her secretary, Georgia Johnstone, “The picture is just getting along beautifully — they couldn’t treat me any better if I was Garbo. Evidentially the rushes are good.”

For much of 1963 Agnes toured in her one-woman show, which was given the new title of Come Closer, I’ll Give You an Earful. It was her first performance of the one-woman show in almost two years and Agnes was apprehensive. “ . . . it was quite a pressure! But I managed to get through it without mishap and thankful that my feet are on the ground.” Typically, for one performance, Agnes was paid between $1,000 and $1,500 per date plus first-class accommodations and transportation. Which means, if she played 75 individual dates she earned well over $80,000, cushioned by an occasional television job and her work in the Lewis film as well as the final months with Lord Pengo. All this brought her income for 1963 to about $125,000, not bad in 1963 dollars.

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