Biography of C. L. Moore

"Brace yourself for some dull but necessary background." - C. L. Moore

• Born: January 24, 1911
• Died: April 7, 1987
• Parents: Otto Newman Moore (F) & Maude Estelle Jones (M)
• Birthplace: Indianapolis, IN
• Died in: Hollywood, CA
• Graduated: University of Southern California, 1956

A child of the Great Depression, Catherine Lucille Moore would publish her first story in 1933 after a sickly childhood spent making up stories in bed. That story was "Shambleau," an alien space adventure that featured a deadly Medusa-inspired femme fatale and introduced a hero that would reappear again and again in her later works: the rugged Earth-hailing rogue Northwest Smith. "Shambleau" put the twenty-two year old secretary on the map as a new up-and-coming pulp magazine writer. Moore was praised for the unique stylings of her work. Her stories were intensely lucid, emotional and descriptive in ways that were unfamiliar to the SF pulp genre (Wikipedia).

Henry Kuttner, a fellow writer wrote "Mr. C. L. Moore" a letter in 1936. His mistake would lead to the two meeting and later fallling in love, a tale worth any story either of them wrote. They would soon marry both their hearts and their writings, as their collaborative talents were something to reckon with in the science fiction industry. They wrote many stories and novels together with a remarkable seamlessness as described in the following quote:

"On one occasion I was invited to spend the weekend with Henry Kuttner at the home he shared with his wife, Catherine L. Moore, at Hastings--on--Hudson in New York state. About midnight Catherine went up to bed while Henry and I talked a little while longer. When it was time for me to hit the sack on the spare cot downstairs in the area of the house where the two did their writing, Kuttner took up his place on the other side of the room and set out to get some writing done. I eventually nodded off to the music of Henry Kuttner at the typewriter. Kuttner quit work at about 4:00 A.M. and the sudden interruption of keystrokes and his footsteps on the stairs woke me up. I turned over and was just nodding off again when the typewriter music began again with a slightly different pace and keystroke. Catherine had taken her husband’s place and was taking up right where he left off. They were really good collaborators, and their work together was so seamless that not even they could tell where one had left off and the other had started. Kuttner was the better plotter, but Catherine was the better craftsman in terms of literary ability" (Lohl).

Her relationship with her husband obviously inspired her, as they poured out works both individually and together. She would retell the creation story with her story "Fruit of Knowledge," and even address cyborgs with "No Woman Born." She is credited as the first author to place a sword in a woman's hand as a heroine in the sword-and-sorcery genre with her Jirel of Joiry series. With many awards to her credit, Moore enjoyed a highly successful career.

After Kuttner's death in 1958 she ceased to write the printed word, though she continued with her teleplays and scripts. She wrote for many television shows, including "77 Sunset Strip" and "The Twilight Zone," and a short story she wrote is the basis for a children's movie coming out in 2009 entitled "The Last Mimzy." She married again in 1963--after this marriage she did not write anymore. She died in 1987 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease (Lohl).

Awards:

• Gandalf Grand Master Award - 1981
• World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement - 1981
• World SF Convention Guest of Honor - 1981
• Inducted into Science Fiction & Fantasy Hall of Fame - 1998

A Guide to Pseudonyms:

Moore (and her husband) wrote under a veritable number of pseudonyms during her career. When she began her career, it was generally because women were not really accepted in the pulp writing field. However, even as her identity was unveiled, she thought of different names to go by. Here are a few and what they typically meant.

• C. L. Moore --> Catherine Moore's initials. Just Moore herself writing.
• Lewis Padgett --> Kuttner & Moore collaborating.
• Lawrence O'Donnell --> Usually just Moore, but sometimes both Kuttner & Moore.
• Catherine Kuttner --> Moore herself - her married name.
• C. H. Liddell --> Kuttner & Moore collaborating.
• Keith Hammond --> Kuttner & Moore collaborating.