Robert Moore (February 1, 1927 – May 10, 1984)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Robert Moore (February 1, 1927 – May 10, 1984) was an American stage, film and television director and actor.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Moore studied at the Catholic University of America Drama Department under Gilbert V. Hartke, OP. He is best known for his direction of the ground-breaking play The Boys in the Band, his Broadway productions (which garnered him five Tony Award nominations), and his collaborations - three plays and three films - with Neil Simon, including the classic detective spoof, Murder By Death.

As an actor, he played a disabled gay man opposite Liza Minnelli in the 1970 drama Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, appeared in two episodes of Valerie Harper's sitcom Rhoda (for which he also directed 26 episodes), in one episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (as Phyllis' brother) and was a regular on Diana Rigg's short-lived 1973 sitcom Diana. His other television directing credits include The Bob Newhart Show and the 1976 production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Laurence Olivier, and Maureen Stapleton.

Moore died of AIDS-related pneumonia in New York City.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moore_%28director%29

Further Readings:

Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 by William J. Mann
Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult; 1st edition (October 15, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0670030171
ISBN-13: 978-0670030170
Amazon: Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969

William Mann's Behind the Screen is a thoughtful and eye- opening look at the totality of the gay experience in studio-era Hollywood. Much has been written about how gays have been portrayed in the movies but no book— until now— has looked at their influence behind the screen. Whether out of or in the closet, gays and lesbians have from the very beginning played a significant role in shaping Hollywood. Gay actors were among the earliest matinee idols and gay directors have long been among the most popular and commercially successful filmmakers. In fact, gay set and costume designers created the very look of Hollywood.

With this landmark book, Mann fills a void in the Hollywood history archives. Written in the tradition of Neal Gabler's An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood and based on hundreds of hours of interviews with survivors of this golden age, Behind the Screen is destined to become a classic of film literature.
More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Gay Classics