Alvy Moore

Alvy Moore
Moore in Screaming Eagles (1956)
Born	Jack Alvin Moore (1921-12-05)December 5, 1921 Vincennes, Indiana, U.S.
Died	May 4, 1997(1997-05-04) (aged 75) Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–1995
Spouse	Carolyn Moore ​ (m. 1950)​
Children	3

Jack Alvin "Alvy" Moore (December 5, 1921 – May 4, 1997) was an American actor best known for his role as scatterbrained county agricultural agent Hank Kimball on the CBS television series Green Acres. His character would often make a statement, only to immediately negate the statement himself and then negate the corrected statement until his stream of statements was interrupted by a frustrated Oliver Wendell Douglas portrayed by Eddie Albert. One such statement was, "Good morning, Mr. Douglas! Well, it's not a good morning ... but it's not a bad morning either!" Moore appeared in 142 of the 170 total Green Acres episodes.

Early life

Alvy Moore was born in Vincennes, Indiana, the son of Indiana natives Roy and Elice Moore. When Alvy was young the family moved to Terre Haute, where Roy was a grocery store manager. Alvy was president of the senior class at Wiley High School in 1940–41. He then attended Indiana State Teachers College—now Indiana State University—both before and after service with the United States Marine Corps during World War II, in which he saw combat in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Acting career

He became an actor and furthered his training at the Pasadena Playhouse, succeeding David Wayne in the role of Ensign Pulver opposite Henry Fonda's Mister Roberts on Broadway, and later toured with the play for 14 months. He made his screen debut playing the quartermaster in Okinawa (1952).

Moore appeared in guest and supporting roles in a number of movies and television shows, including My Little Margie in 1952, as Dillard Crumbly, an efficiency expert fresh out of Efficiency College, and The Mickey Mouse Club, where he hosted "What I Want to Be" segments as the Roving Reporter. He had a small role as a member of Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in the 1953 film The Wild One, and a similar bit part the same year as one of the Linda Rosa townspeople in The War of the Worlds. Moore co-starred with Dick Powell and Debbie Reynolds in the 1954 film Susan Slept Here, in which he displayed his natural gift for physical comedy. In 1955, he co-starred with Brian Keith and Kim Novak in 5 Against the House. In the early 1960s he was cast in the recurring role of Howie in 11 episodes of the CBS sitcom Pete and Gladys, with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams.

Moore made a brief appearance as a cab driver in the 1964 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Wednesday Woman." He also appeared in two episodes of another CBS sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show, "The Impractical Joke" posing, for a spoof, as an Internal Revenue Service agent and "The Case Of The Pillow" as a shifty home goods salesman named Mr. Wiley. In 1965 he appeared in an episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. ("Old Man Carter"). He found his niche in television, starring as the incompetent county agent Hank Kimball in Green Acres from 1965 to 1971. He was also a guest star on The Andy Griffith Show and later on Little House on the Prairie. He was an actor, producer, and uncredited scriptwriter for A Boy and His Dog. He attended DisCon II, the 1974 World Science Fiction Convention, to help promote the film. In 1978, Moore appeared as stage coach station master Swenson in three episodes of How the West Was Won (S2 E6 "Cattle Drive," S2 E7 "Robbers Roost," and S2 E10 "Gold"). One of Moore's last television appearances was a brief guest shot on the sitcom Frasier.

In the 1980s Moore appeared in many cult horror films, including Scream (1981), Mortuary (1983), They're Playing With Fire (1984), Intruder (1989), and The Horror Show (1989).

Personal life

Moore met Carolyn Mohr in 1947 while both were actors with the Pasadena Playhouse. They married in 1950 and traveled with the national touring company of Mister Roberts before settling in Los Angeles to start their family. The couple had three children: Janet, Alyson, and Barry. Carolyn continued to be involved in acting, doing dinner theater and various church productions.

In his spare time during the 1960s, he umpired Little League baseball in Lake View Terrace and Toluca Lake, California, and played in charity golf tournaments across the country. He was proud of his role of Hank Kimball in Green Acres, and drove a white Chrysler with the license plate "GRNACRS."

Alvy and Carolyn Moore were married 47 years. Alvy died of heart failure on May 4, 1997, at their home in Palm Desert, California. Former Green Acres actor Tom Lester was with him when he died. For over 50 years Carolyn was a member of Beta Sigma Phi, a women's sorority group that raises money for charity. In 2008 she received the "International Award of Distinction," the highest honor the organization bestows on active members. She also was a member and treasurer of the "Motion Picture Mothers" for over 30 years. Carolyn Moore died at age 79 in 2009.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Okinawa	Sailor on Bridge	Uncredited
1952	Talk About a Stranger	Sailor on Motorcycle	Uncredited
1952	Skirts Ahoy!	French-Speaking Sailor	Uncredited
1952	You for Me	Friend	(scenes deleted)
1952	Fearless Fagan	Pvt. Thomson	Uncredited
1952	Battle Zone	Marine	Uncredited
1952	Flat Top	Sailor	Uncredited
1952	Off Limits	Staff Sgt. Wagner	Uncredited
1953	Battle Circus	Runnker	Uncredited
1953	Destination Gobi	Aide, Argus HQ	Uncredited
1953	The Girls of Pleasure Island	Marine	Uncredited
1953	The War of the Worlds	Zippy	Uncredited
1953	The Glory Brigade	Pvt. 'Stoney' Stone
1953	Affair with a Stranger	Television Announcer	(scenes deleted)
1953	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes	Winston – Olympic Team	Uncredited
1953	The Affairs of Dobie Gillis	Interrupted Registering Freshman	Uncredited
1953	China Venture	Carlson
1953	The Wild One	Pigeon	Uncredited
1954	Riot in Cell Block 11	Gator
1954	Secret of the Incas	Young Man at Bar	Uncredited
1954	Susan Slept Here	Virgil, Mark's Gofer
1954	Return from the Sea	Smitty
1954	There's No Business Like Show Business	Katy's Date	Uncredited
1955	An Annapolis Story	Willie 'Seaweed' Warren
1955	5 Against the House	Roy
1956	Screaming Eagles	Pvt. Grimes
1957	The Persuader	Willy Williams
1957	Designing Woman	Luke Coslow
1957	The Invisible Boy	Scientist #4 (pranks scene)	Uncredited
1958	The Perfect Furlough	Pvt. Marvin Brewer
1958	The Heart Is a Rebel	Bill
1960	New Comedy Showcase	Andy	Episode "Johnny Come Lately"
1960	The Wackiest Ship in the Army	Seaman J. Johnson
1961	Everything's Ducky	Jim Lipscott
1961	Twist Around the Clock	Dizzy Bellew
1963	The Virginian	2nd Man	Episode "Run Away Home"
1963	For Love or Money	George
1963	Sunday in New York	Airport Ticket Clerk	Uncredited
1963	Move Over, Darling	Room Service Waiter
1963	The Raiders	Corporal
1964	3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt	Sutter T. Finley
1964	The Devil's Bedroom
1965	A Very Special Favor	Ralph	Uncredited
1965	Love and Kisses	Officer Jones
1965	One Way Wahine	Maxwell
1966	Hazel - A Car Named Chrysanthemum	Mr. Haverstraw
1967	The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin	Mr. Brown	Uncredited
1967	The Gnome-Mobile	Gas Station Mechanic	Uncredited
1969	The Witchmaker	Dr. Ralph Hayes
1971	The Brotherhood of Satan	Tobey
1971	The Late Liz	Bill Morris
1973	Time to Run	Officer Andy Sildania
1974	Herbie Rides Again	Angry Taxi Driver
1975	A Boy and His Dog	Dr. Moore
1975	The Specialist	Bailiff Humbolt
1975	Dr. Minx	Sheriff Frank
1978	How the West Was Won	Swenson	3 Episodes
1980	Smokey and the Hotwire Gang	Sheriff Flower
1981	Scream	Allen
1981	Early Warning	Paul Marshal
1983	Mortuary	Bob Stevens
1984	They're Playing with Fire	Jimbo
1985	Here Come the Littles	Grandpa Little	Voice
1989	Intruder	Officer Dalton
1989	The Horror Show	Chili Salesman

External links

• Alvy Moore at IMDb
• Alvy Moore at the Internet Broadway Database
• Interview
• The Roving Mooseketeer
• "Mr. Kimball" Tops List of TV Greats in Secondary Role