Name: MOORE, Catherine Lucille Aged: 76
Born: January 24, 1911* Where: Indianapolis, Indiana
Died: April 7, 1987* Where: Hollywood, California
Interred: _ _ _
Married: Henry Kuttner When: June 7, 1940
Married 2: Thomas Reggie When: 1963
Awarded: 1981 World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement; 1981 World SF Convention Guest of Honor, and a 1998 inductee into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame

Daughter of Otto Newman Moore and Maude Estelle Jones, Catherine was raised in Indianapolis and became a published SF author there in her own right. A letter to "Mr." C. L. Moore from one Henry Kuttner eventually led to a California visit where the two met at the home of a friend. A romance blossomed during a period when Henry relocated to the New York City area, had an enlistment in the Army during WWII cut short by disability, and talked Catherine into marriage.

The pair set up life in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, near their prospective markets and began an outstanding collaboration. When the team thought they had just about burned themselves out, they decided to relocate to California, where Henry had been raised, and go to school while exploring the west coast markets.

Together, they attended the University of Southern California in 1950 where Henry graduated in 1954 (with GI bill assistance) while Catherine graduated in 1956 after a more modest and affordable pace. When Henry died in 1958, C. L. moved into the writing markets of mystery and TV, writing scripts for Maverick, Alaskans, and 77 Sunset Strip.

Every SF fan has a list of favorite writers and, of course, not everyone agrees. There are various measures; quantity, quality, originality, education, perception, presentation, word mastery . . . among them. But of ALL the SF writers, Catherine Moore was the best . . . she made Henry look far better than he was, and remained silent on the point. A beautiful lady in so many ways. Or as the late Wilson Tucker would say, "Smooth."

Julius Schwartz comments after an overnight visit to Hastings-On-Hudson:
"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 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. Kuttner was the better plotter, but Catherine was the better craftsman in terms of literary ability." See Skulls in the Stars.

*[ED NOTE: There is a problem on birth and death dates. The California Death Records show "Catherine Reggie: Jan 21, 1911 - Apr 7, 1987. Social Security (a form filed out by Catherine herself) shows birthdate of Jan 24, 1911. Another death source shows a death date of Apr 4, 1987. Probably these are transcription errors but a records error is also possible. For the time being, Catherine L. Moore was born Jan 21/4, 1911, and died Apr 4/7, 1987. Attempts to find an obituary or make contact with Thomas Reggie (now dec'd) have failed. GCW]

PEN NAMES: With Henry Kuttner, at least 17 jointly; however, Catherine was the dominant, if not sole, author when Lawrence O'Donnell was used. The true collaborative pen name was Lewis Padgett. The team also used: Edward J. Bellin, Paul Edmonds, Noel Gardner, Will Garth (shared house name), James Hall, Keith Hammond, Hudson Hastings, Peter Horn, Kelvin Kent, Robert O. Kenyon, C. H. Liddell, K. Hugh Maepenn, Scott Morgan, Woodrow Wilson Smith, & Charles Stoddard.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: This is qualified. Works known to be Moore's alone, mostly written before marriage to Kuttner are here while the Moore/Kuttner works are here.

BIOGRAPHY: Science Fiction Writers, Scribners 1982 and Supernatural Fiction Writers, 1985

OBITUARY:

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