MORAN, Peggy, actress

MORAN, SCOTT, KOSTER

Posted By: Judy Neu (email)
Date: 11/3/2002 at 12:42:14

Posted In Monterey Herald November 3, 2002

CAMARILLO (AP) - Peggy Moran, who made more than 30 horror and Western films in the 1930s and 1940s and was once dubbed one of Hollywood's top "shrieking violets" has died. She was 84.

Moran died Oct. 25 in Camarillo of complications from injuries suffered in an Aug. 26 car accident, said her son, Peter Koster of Oakland.

Moran's reputation was made by a handful of popular horror movies, including 1940's "The Mummy's Hand" and 1941's "Horror Island."

"The Mummy's Hand" later proved popular on cable TV, reviving her popularity with horror fans. She appeared at conventions all around the country and last year was invited to the premier of Universal's "The Mummy Returns," starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.

She also appeared in the 1939 comedy "Ninotchka," starring Greta Garbo.

While under a six-month contract to Warner Bros. and three years with Universal, Moran made dozens of "B" films that were made every two or three weeks.

She also starred opposite Gene Autry in "Rhythm of the Saddle" and with Roy Rogers in "King of the Cowboys."

Moran co-starred in comedies such as "One Night in the Tropics," which was Abbott and Costello's screen debut.

She was born in Clinton, Iowa, to ex-dancer Louise Scott and pinup artist Earl Moran. The couple divorced and Scott brought the future actress to Los Angeles when she was 5 years old.

Her movie career ended when she married director Harry Koster, who made "Harvey," starring James Stewart and "The Bishop's Wife," starring Cary Grant and David Niven.

Moran said Koster promised her she would be in his films but that never happened. Koster did have a bust made of Moran's head, which appeared in all of his films made after their marriage.

Widowed by Koster's death in 1988, she is survived by her son, Peter, and her stepson, Bob Kohttp://www.montereyherald.com/mld/mcherald/news/obituaries/4420438.htmster of Camarillo>>
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