Mary Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921 – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. She appeared in wartime musicals such as Show Business and Atlantic City and the classic 1939 movie serial Buck Rogers, in which she played Wilma Deering, its only female character.

Life and career

Moore was born in Sioux City, Iowa, but her family moved away before she was a year old. She spent most of her formative years in Dallas. She had two sisters, who both survived her. She got a job as a singer in the 1930s with CBS radio. Her work impressed a scout from Universal Studios and she signed a contract with the company. Among the stars she worked with was W. C. Fields in You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939). She appeared on Broadway in the musical By Jupiter. Beginning in mid-1945, Moore starred with Dennis O'Keefe on Hollywood Mystery Time on ABC radio. She retired from films in 1947 but made sporadic appearances over the next few decades. She appeared on a USO tour with Bob Hope and the Nicholas Brothers in 1951. She painted still lifes and in 1976 was the chairwoman for the Braille Institute Auxiliary in Beverly Hills, California. Moore guest starred as Doris in the episode "Just a Housewife" (1960) on the ABC sitcom, The Donna Reed Show. In the 1961–1962 season, Moore co-starred in ten episodes on CBS as Robert Young's romantic interest in his short-lived nostalgia series, Window on Main Street.

Personal life

At age 18, Moore married her agent, John Maschio, who died in 1998. The couple had two children, son Michael and daughter Gina, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. She was a Republican who campaigned for Thomas Dewey in 1944. Moore died September 16, 2005, of heart failure following a long illness. She was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles.

Filmography