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Sharyn Moffett

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Sharyn Moffett
Born
Patricia Sharyn Moffett

(1936-09-12)September 12, 1936
DiedDecember 23, 2021(2021-12-23) (aged 85)
OccupationActress
Years active1944–1951
SpouseJames Forrest (1955 - 2011, his death)
Children3
RelativesGregory Moffett (brother)

Patricia Sharyn Moffett (September 12, 1936 – December 23, 2021) was an American child actress who appeared in films during the 1940s.

Life and career

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Moffett was born in Alameda, California on September 12, 1936, to a show business family. Her parents were singer R.E. Moffett and dancer Gladyce Lloyd Roberts.[1] [2] Her younger brother, Gregory Moffett, was also a child actor.[3]

At the age of 11 months, Moffett appeared in In Old Chicago for 20th Century Fox. When she was four, her parents moved to Beverly Hills, California to explore her potential as a movie actress.[4]

By age five, she had appeared in the 1942 Three Stooges short film Even as IOU as a daughter whose family was dispossessed.[5] At age 7, she had her feature screen debut playing the lead in the film My Pal Wolf (1944).[6][7] In 1944, she signed a seven-year contract with RKO Pictures.[1]

Overall, she appeared in a dozen films, including The Body Snatcher (1945),[8] the film noir The Locket (1946), Child of Divorce (1946), Banjo (1947), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). In later years, she made occasional appearances at conventions and film festivals.

In 1955, Moffett married minister James Forrest and ministered with him in churches for more than 50 years. They had three children. He died in 2011.[3] She died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 23, 2021, at the age of 85.[9]

Filmography

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Year Title Role
1938 In Old Chicago
1942 Even as IOU Mrs. Blake's daughter
1944 My Pal Wolf Gretchen Anstey
1945 The Body Snatcher Georgina Marsh
The Falcon in San Francisco[10] Annie Marshall
1946 A Boy, a Girl and a Dog Button
Child of Divorce Roberta Carter
The Locket Nancy, age 10
1947 Banjo Pat Warren
1948 The Judge Steps Out Nan
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House Joan Blandings
Rusty Leads the Way Penny Waters
1951 Her First Romance Leona Dean

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sharyn Moffett Gets Contract With Studio". La Grande Observer. Oregon, La Grande. June 1, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved December 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Foster, Jim (February 2018). "Sharyn Moffett:RKO's Youngest Actress". Classic Images (512): 66–69.
  3. ^ a b "Sharyn Moffett, 85". Classic Images. March 2022. p. 42.
  4. ^ Picture show annual 1948. Amalgamated Press. 1947. ASIN B00B5HGPHE.
  5. ^ "Even As IOU (1942)". Threestooges.net. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  6. ^ Hopper, Hedda (July 22, 1944). "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg Telegraph. p. 15. Retrieved October 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Bob Hope Heads Cast in Comedy to Come Friday". Waterloo Daily Courier. Waterloo Daily Courier. October 29, 1944. p. 22. Retrieved October 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "Sharyn Moffett and Lanny Rees may be first kid co-star team". The Milwaukee Journal. September 25, 1946. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  9. ^ Barnes, Mike (January 22, 2022). "Sharyn Moffett, Young Actress in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and The Body Snatcher, Dies at 85". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "Abbott-Costello Comedy Now at Lowe Poli Theatre". The Centralia Enterprise and Tribune. The Centralia Enterprise and Tribune. October 19, 1945. p. 15. Retrieved October 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

Further reading

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  • Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 192–196.
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