Cleo Moore (October 31, 1928 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - October 25, 1973) was a blonde bombshell of 1950's Hollywood films. Moore received a ton of publicity but most of her movies were less than memorable. Nevertheless, she became a "name" with her fairly popular B movies during the era albeit not a major star. She made her film debut in 1948 movie serial Congo Bill. She had stints as a starlet ar Warner Bros. in 1950 and RKO Radio Pictures in 1950-52 before signing with Columbia Pictures in 1952. She first gained attention as a doomed gun moll on Nicholas Ray's film noir classic On Dangerous Ground in 1951.
Moore began starring in films in 1952. Her best-known films include One Girl's Confession (1953), Women's Prison (1955), Over-exposed (1956) and Hit and Run (1957). She was often starred in films directed by actor/director Hugo Haas and starred opposite John Agar, Richard Crenna, Vince Edwards, and Robert Ryan among other actors. In the mid 1950's Columbia considered starring Moore in a film biography on Jean Harlow's life but the project never got off the ground. Moore made headlines with several publicity stunts notably a five minute kiss on live Chicago television in 1954 and her tongue-in-cheek pledge to one day run for Governor of Louisiana, having once been married to the youngest son of Huey Long, Palmer. Many sources have incorrectly stated that she did run for Governor.
Moore found success as a businesswoman as a real estate developer after her screen career ended in the late 1950's. She had been out of the limelight for many years when she died from a heart attack. Today her bad girl movies have a cult following and photos and memorabilia on Moore is often as coveted as that of her more famous contemporaries Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.
