Ray Moore
| Raymond S. Moore | |
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| Biographical information | |
| Born: | Febuary 27, 1905 |
|---|---|
| Died: | January 13, 1984 |
| Nationality: |  American
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| Occupation: | Artist |
| Website: | N/A |
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Raymond Stephen Moore (February 27, 1905 – January 13, 1984), better known as Ray Moore, was the co-creator, together with Lee Falk, and first artist on what would grow to become the world's most popular adventure comic strip, The Phantom, which started in 1936. Moore had previously worked as Phil Davis' assistant on the Lee Falk-created Mandrake the Magician comic strip, which was why he was thought to be a suitable choice to draw Falk's new creation.
Life and career
Little is known about Ray's personal life, but he was born in Montgomery City, Missouri, in 1905, and he lived most of his life in Missouri (St Louis, Manchester), until his death in 1984, together with his wife, Claire Moore. He was the son of a jeweler, and originally intended to become an engineer, before he realised that he could live off his job as an artist.
Moore attended Washington University Art School in St. Louis and started drawing The Phantom in 1936, after creator Falk realised he would not have the time to do the artwork in the strip himself. He had previously worked as an assistant on Falk's other strip, Mandrake the Magician.
Ray was involved in an accident during his career as a pilot in World War II, which made him unable to keep on drawing The Phantom, therefore leaving work on the strip to his assistant Wilson McCoy.
Ray Moore had a moody and mysterious drawing style, with a style of shadowing which suited the mysterious Phantom character. However, he slightly changed his style later on, focusing less on the dark atmosphere he had become known for, in advantage of a more realistic style, with more details and a less moody style of drawing.
Lee Falk always claimed that Moore was the best artist on the Phantom, because of his talent for drawing beautiful looking girls. It was this talent that led Falk to creating many crime corporations only consisting of women, like the infamous Sky Band.
Moore is known by fans to be as mysterious as the Phantom character he co-created and very few photos of him are known to the public. On the rare occasions he did interviews, he seldom mentioned his private life.
Ray Moore died in 1984 at St.Joseph Hospital near Kirkwood, a St.Louis suburb, after suffering a stroke. He was survived by his wife, Claire, who passed away in 2005.
Trivia
- Moore would sometimes use his wife Claire as a model when drawing the Phantom's girlfriend, Diana Palmer.
- The idea of the Phantom's pet wolf Devil is believed to have come from Ray Moore's lifelong pleasure of drawing wolves.
- In Paramount Pictures' The Phantom movie adaptation, starring Billy Zane, the butler of the Palmer-family is called "Falkmoore", a reference to Lee Falk and Ray Moore.
Phantom work by Ray Moore
Stories
Daily stories
| # | Title | Writer | Artist | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Singh Brotherhood" | Lee Falk | Falk, Moore | 17 Feb 1936 | 7 Nov 1936 |
| 2 | "The Sky Band" | Falk | Moore | 9 Nov 1936 | 10 Apr 1937 |
| 3 | "War in the Jungle" | Falk | Moore | 12 Apr 1937 | 18 Sep 1937 |
| 4 | "Little Toma" | Falk | Moore | 20 Sep 1937 | 5 Feb 1938 |
| 5 | "The Prisoner of the Himalayas" | Falk | Moore | 7 Feb 1938 | 18 Jun 1938 |
| 6 | "Adventure in Algiers" | Falk | Moore | 20 Jun 1938 | 23 Jul 1938 |
| 7 | "The Shark's Nest" | Falk | Moore | 25 Jul 1938 | 5 Nov 1938 |
| 8 | "Fishers of Pearls" | Falk | Moore | 7 Nov 1938 | 28 Jan 1939 |
| 9 | "The Slave Traders" | Falk | Moore | 30 Jan 1939 | 6 May 1939 |
| 10 | "The Mysterious Girl" | Falk | Moore | 8 May 1939 | 2 Sep 1939 |
| 11 | "The Golden Circle" | Falk | Moore | 4 Sep 1939 | 20 Jan 1940 |
| 12 | "The Seahorse" | Falk | Moore | 22 Jan 1940 | 27 Jul 1940 |
| 13 | "The Game of Alvar" | Falk | Moore | 29 Jul 1940 | 14 Dec 1940 |
| 14 | "Diana Aviatrix Lost" | Falk | Moore | 16 Dec 1940 | 12 Jul 1941 |
| 15 | "The Phantom's Treasure" | Falk | Moore | 14 Jul 1941 | 31 Jan 1942 |
| 16 | "The Inexorables" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 2 Feb 1942 | 9 Jan 1943 |
| 17 | "The Mermaids of Melo Straits" | Falk | Moore | 12 Nov 1945 | 16 Feb 1946 |
| 18 | "Princess Valerie" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 18 Feb 1946 | 13 Jul 1946 |
Sunday stories
| # | Title | Writer | Artist | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The League of Lost Men" | Falk | Moore | 28 May 1939 | 15 Oct 1939 |
| 2 | "The Precious Cargo of Colonel Winn" | Falk | Moore | 22 Oct 1939 | 10 Mar 1940 |
| 3 | "The Fire Goddess" | Falk | Moore | 17 Mar 1940 | 21 Jul 1940 |
| 4 | "The Beachcomber" | Falk | Moore | 28 Jul 1940 | 29 Dec 1940 |
| 5 | "The Saboteurs" | Falk | Moore | 5 Jan 1941 | 23 Feb 1941 |
| 6 | "The Return of the Sky Band" | Falk | Moore | 2 Mar 1941 | 22 Feb 1942 |
| 7 | "The Impostor" | Falk | Moore | 1 Mar 1942 | 11 Oct 1942 |
| 8 | "Castle in the Clouds" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 18 Oct 1942 | 18 Apr 1943 |
| 9 | "Queen Pera the Perfect" | Falk | Moore | 9 Dec 1945 | 17 Mar 1946 |
| 10 | "King of Beasts" | Falk | Moore | 24 Mar 1946 | 4 Aug 1946 |
| 11 | "The Scarlet Sorceress" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 11 Aug 1946 | 22 Dec 1946 |
| 12 | "The 12 Tasks" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 29 Dec 1946 | 29 Jun 1947 |
| 13 | "The Dragon God" | Falk | Moore | 6 Jul 1947 | 16 Nov 1947 |
| 14 | "The Marshall Sisters" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 23 Nov 1947 | 16 May 1948 |
| 15 | "The Phantom Trophy" | Falk | Moore | 23 May 1948 | 5 Sep 1948 |
| 16 | "The Haunted Castle" | Falk | Moore, McCoy | 12 Sep 1948 | 13 Feb 1949 |
External links
- Interview with Ray Moore's widow
- Moore's profile at Lambiek.net
- Obituary from New York Times, Jan. 17, 1984
- The Phantom – Ray Moore
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