James Mavor Moore (March 8, 1919 – December 18, 2006) was a Canadian writer, producer, actor, public servant, critic, and educator. He notably appeared as

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West ...

in the CBC radio production in 1982.

Life and work

Moore was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, to Francis John Moore, an Anglican theologian, and

Dora Mavor Moore Dora Mavor Moore, (April 8, 1888–May 15, 1979) was a Canadian actress, teacher and director who was a pioneer of Canadian theatre. Life and work Born Dora Mavor in Glasgow, Scotland, she moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario, Cana ...

, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre in the 1930s and 1940s. His mother was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, the daughter of economist

James Mavor James Mavor (December 8, 1854 – October 31, 1925) was a Scottish-Canadian economist. He served as a Professor of Political Economy of the University of Toronto from 1892 to 1923. His influence upon Canadian economic thought is traced to as la ...

. Moore began acting at the age of six on the Hart House Stage, and continued throughout his high school career at the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

. Subsequently, he took up radio acting to pay his way through college. He received a

BA degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1941. Moore served in the Canadian military as an Intelligence officer during World War II. Following the War, he was employed by

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, becoming its producer for International Service (based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

). He transferred to CBC Television in 1950, serving as its first chief producer. He was among the pioneers of Canadian television in the 1950s, and was the creator of the CBC National News, later known as '' The National''. Moore selected the program's first regular newsreader, Larry Henderson. Moore is well known for his contributions to drama, having created more than 100 plays, documentaries, musicals, and librettos for stage, radio and television. From 1970 to 1984 he taught theatre history as a professor at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, and chaired its theatre department (1975-1976). He was named to the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

in 1974, and was the first artist to chair the council (1979-1983). He received three Peabody Awards for his radio documentaries produced on behalf of the United Nations. Moore was the founding chair of the British Columbia Arts Council (1996-1998). He sat on the first Board of Governors of the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

. He was the founding chair of the Canadian Theatre Centre, the Guild of Canadian Playwrights, and was a founding director of the

Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965. Named after its host city Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and its Charlottetown Conference, since its inc ...

. In 1973 Moore was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and was promoted to Companion in 1988. In 1999 he was appointed to the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier ...

. He received the

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in November 1999. He received a total of seven honorary degrees during his lifetime.

Publications and notable works

*''Reinventing Myself'' (1994), Moore's autobiography *''Sunshine Town'' (1954), a musical retelling of the

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

biography *''The Ottawa Man'' (1958), a musical drama
''The Ottawa Man'' IMDB *'' Louis Riel (opera), Louis Riel'' (1967), an opera composed by

Harry Somers Harry Stewart Somers, CC (September 11, 1925 – March 9, 1999) was a contemporary Canadian composer. Possessing a charismatic attitude and rather dashing good looks, as well as a genuine talent for his art, Somers earned the unofficial title ...

for which Moore wrote the libretto * Johnny Belinda Musical play by Mavor Moore and John Fenwick,

, 1968 * Belinda

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

adaptation of the musical, telecast March 9, 1977 *''Fauntleroy'' (1980)

Other artistic activities

Moore and his mother worked together to found the New Play Society, for which he served as producer/director of ''Spring Thaw'', the society's annual comedy revue (1948-1965). He wrote a theatre critic section for the

Toronto Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wit ...

(1958-1960), and was arts critic for the

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

magazine (1968-1969).

Family

Moore married Darwina Faessler in 1943. They had four daughters, including Charlotte Moore and

Tedde Moore Tedde Moore (born October 28, 1945) is a Canadian actress. Early life Tedde Moore is the daughter of Darwina (née Faessler) and actor and educator Mavor Moore, the granddaughter of Canadian theatre figure Dora Mavor Moore, and the great-grandda ...

, both Dora Mavor Moore Award winners. His second marriage, in 1968, was to

Phyllis Grosskurth Phyllis M. Grosskurth (March 16, 1924 – August 2, 2015) was a Canadian academic, writer, and literary critic. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she received a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in English from the University of Toronto and later a Ma ...

, ending in divorce in 1978. In 1980 he married opera singer Alexandra Browning, who survived him. He died in 2006, aged 87, after several years of ill health. His grandson is actor and music producer 40.

Filmography

References

External links

Mavor Moore fonds
*
Mavor Moore Interview
Legend Library, TheatreMuseumCanada
Canadian Communications Foundation biography

* ''Identifying Mavor Moore'' by Allan Boss, Ph.

* ''Discovering Mavor Moore'' by Allan Boss, Ph.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Mavor 1919 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Male actors from Toronto Members of the Order of British Columbia University of Toronto alumni Upper Canada College alumni Writers from Toronto York University faculty Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers