Juanita Moore obit

Juanita Moore, Oscar-Nommed for ‘Imitation of Life,’ Dies at 99

She was not on the list.

Juanita Moore, who broke barriers for African-American actors and was Oscar-nommed for 1959’s “Imitation of Life,” died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. Her step-grandson, actor Kirk Kahn, said she was 99.

Moore received a supporting actress nomination for Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life,” playing the housekeeper whose daughter passes for white, in the racially themed film that was based on the Fannie Hurst novel. She was the fifth African-American to be Oscar-nommed.

Kahn said she was still running lines with him recently, and had planned to participate in a reading at the Saban Theater in a few weeks. “She didn’t candy-coat it for you,” he said. “She said, ‘If you’re no good, the play’s no good.'”

“She gave back to the community in so many ways,” he said. “Wherever we went she stopped and told black boys and girls they could do anything with their lives.”

Moore, who was a founding member of the Cambridge Players along with thesps such as Esther Rolle, was honored at the Black Theater Festival in North Carolina, her grandson said.

Born in Los Angeles, Moore was a chorus girl at the Cotton Club who started out as a film extra, then worked in theater at the Ebony Showcase Theater. She made her film debut in 1949’s “Pinky,” and often played a maid in 1950s films such as “The Girl Can’t Help It.” In the 1960s and ’70s, she played a nun in “The Singing Nun” and appeared in films including “Uptight,” “The Mack” and “Abby.” Though she didn’t work often through the 1980s, she began appearing onscreen again in later years on TV shows such as “E.R.” Dragnet, Adam-12, Marcus Welby, M.D. and “Judging Amy” and in films such as Disney’s “The Kid.”

On April 23, 2010, a new print of Imitation of Life (1959) was screened at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Los Angeles. Both Moore and co-star Kohner attended. After the screening, the two women appeared on stage for a question-and-answer session hosted by TCM's Robert Osborne. Moore and Kohner received standing ovations.

In addition to her grandson, she is survived by two nephews.

Partial filmography

    Double Deal (1939) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)

    Belle Starr (1941) as Dressed Up Freed Slave (uncredited)

    Broken Strings (1942) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)

    Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) as Dancer (uncredited)

    Cabin in the Sky (1943) as Nightclub Patron / Churchgoer (uncredited)

    Pinky (1949) as Nurse (uncredited)

    Tarzan's Peril (1951) as Native Woman (uncredited)

    No Questions Asked (1951) as Maid in Lounge (uncredited)

    Skirts Ahoy! (1952) as Black Drill Team Member (uncredited)

    Lydia Bailey (1952) as Marie (uncredited)

    Affair in Trinidad (1952) as Dominique

    The Iron Mistress (1952) as Juanita – Judalon's Maid (uncredited)

    The Royal African Rifles (1953) as Elderly Woman

    Witness to Murder (1954) as Negress – Mental Patient

    The Gambler from Natchez (1954) as Yvette's Maid (uncredited)

    Women's Prison (1955) as Polyclinic 'Polly' Jones

    Lord of the Jungle (1955) as Molu's Wife (uncredited)

    Not as a Stranger (1955) as Mrs. Clara Bassett (uncredited)

    Ransom! (1956) as Shirley Lorraine

    The Opposite Sex (1956) as Powder Room Attendant (uncredited)

    The Girl Can't Help It (1956) as Hilda

    Something of Value (1957) as Tribal Woman (uncredited)

    Band of Angels (1957) as Budge (uncredited)

    The Helen Morgan Story (1957) as Lucey – Backstage Maid (uncredited)

    Bombers B-52 (1957) as Clarissa (uncredited)

    The Green-Eyed Blonde (1957) as Miss Randall (uncredited)

    Imitation of Life (1959) as Annie Johnson

    Tammy Tell Me True (1961) as Della

    Walk on the Wild Side (1962) as Mama

    A Child Is Waiting (1963) as Julius' Mother (uncredited)

    Papa's Delicate Condition (1963) as Ellie

    The Singing Nun (1966) as Sister Mary

    Rosie! (1967) as Nurse

    Uptight (1968) as Mama Wells

    Angelitos negros (1970) as Nana Mercé

    Skin Game (1971) as Viney (Calloway slave)

    The Mack (1973) as Mother – Mrs. Mickens

    Fox Style (1973) as Hattie Fox

    Thomasine & Bushrod (1974) as Pecolia

    The Get-Man (1974)

    Abby (1974) as Miranda 'Momma' Potter

    Joey (1975)

    Fugitive Lovers (1975) as Assemblywoman Griffith

    Everybody Rides the Carousel (1975) as Stage 8 (voice)

    Paternity (1981) as Celia

    O'Hara's Wife (1982) as Ethel

    And They're Off (1982) as Sadie Johnson

    Two Moon Junction (1988) as Delilah

    The Sterling Chase (1999) as Grandma Jones (voice)

    Disney's The Kid (2000) as Kenny's Grandmother – Voice