Grace Moore

Grace Moore, the internationally famous star of the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, motion pictures, radio and recordings, was born December 5, 1898, in Del Río near Newport, Tennessee. Her family moved to Jellico when she was a young girl. She attended Jellico High School where she was captain of the girls basketball team in 19l6. She was selected by Florenz Ziegfeld of Ziegfeld Follies fame as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her motion picture, "One Night of Love", and was the subject of a movie titled, "So This is Love", in which Kathryn Grayson portrayed the "Tennessee Nightingale", as Grace was called.

She was known as the comedian's comedian, and one of the few capable of making Jack Benny laugh at the drop of a hat. Anyway, Edward G. Robinson was hosting a private party for Grace Moore about the time her movie (One Night of Love) was coming out in 1934. At some point during the party, Grace was asked to sing the title song from the movie for the guests, to which she obliged. As the guests set up a couple of rows of chairs to listen to her sing, George Burns leaned forward and told Jack Benny that "it would be very rude of him to laugh when she starting singing". Of course the minute Grace started to sing, Benny began to laugh... and continued to laugh. George's punch line... "See, I don't make Jack Benny laugh... Grace Moore makes Jack Benny laugh".

In 1938 became the mentor and benefactor for Metropolitan soprano Dorothy Kirsten, in the latter's early career.

She was decorated as a chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France in 1939.

She was good friends with Gloria Swanson and Gloria mentioned her in the film Airport 1975 (1974).