William Perry Moore IV also known as
Perry Moore, was an
American author,
screenwriter, and
film director. He was an executive producer of
The Chronicles of Narnia film series and the author of
Hero, an award-winning novel about a gay teenage superhero died from a apparent drug overdose he was , 39,.
(November 4, 1971 – February 17, 2011)
Early life
Moore was born on November 4, 1971, in
Richmond, Virginia, to William and Nancy Norris Moore.
[1][2][3] His father was a Vietnam War veteran who received the
Bronze Star.
[3] He had two sisters, Jane and Elizabeth.
[1] He grew up in
Virginia Beach, Virginia,
[1][4] and graduated high school from
Norfolk Academy in 1990.
[5][6] He graduated from the
University of Virginia in 1994,
[1][7] and while still in college
interned at the
Virginia Film Festival.
[1] He also served as an intern in the
White House[3] and at the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in New York City.
[1]
He worked on the production team for
The Rosie O'Donnell Show,
[1][8] then joined
Walden Media (a media production company created by conservative billionaire
Phillip Anschutz to produce family-friendly movies, documentaries, and television programs).
[8][9] He was the executive in charge of production for the film
I Am David, an adaptation the
Anne Holm novel
North to Freedom.[8]
Film career
Moore was an executive producer of
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.[10] Moore spent several years seeking the movie rights to the seven novels by
C. S. Lewis which comprise the Narnia books.
[11] Moore's persistence proved critical for Walden Media in winning the rights; an obituary in
Variety called his role "instrumental".
[12] As the
New York Times reported in 2005: "At the beginning of 2001, Perry Moore embarked on a forbidding quest. Mr. Moore, an executive with an untested movie company called Walden Media, dispatched an impassioned letter to the chief executive of the C. S. Lewis Company, seeking movie rights to the much-loved
Chronicles of Narnia fantasy novels."
[13] After a meeting of executives, a handshake sealed the deal for the rights.
[13] Moore continued his role as executive producer with
Prince Caspian (2008) and
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
[14]
He co-wrote and co-directed (with
life partner Hunter Hill) the 2008 film
Lake City, a drama that tells the story of a mother (
Sissy Spacek) and son (
Troy Garity) who reunite under desperate circumstances years after a family tragedy drove them apart.
[12][15] He also co-produced (again with Hill) a
Spike Jonze-directed 2010 documentary (
Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak) about children's book author and illustrator
Maurice Sendak.
[8][12][16]
In early 2010, Moore said he and Hill were planning to co-direct a feature film to star actress
Julianne Moore.
[3][5] The night before he died, Moore told his father that he had just secured financing for a fourth Narnia movie based on the book
The Magician's Nephew.
[5]
Writing career
In addition to his work in production and development, Moore wrote
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion.
[11][17] The book was on the
New York Times bestseller list in December 2005 and January 2006.
[1]
A longtime fan of children's literature and comic books,
[3] Moore's novel
Hero was first published by
Hyperion Books in August 2007. The
young adult novel tells the story of a closeted gay teenager who becomes a superhero.
[4][18] In May 2008,
Hero won a
Lambda Literary Award as the best LGBT Children's/Young Adult novel of the past year.
[19] In 2008, Moore was in talks with veteran comic book writer
Stan Lee about producing a television series based on the book.
[20] Moore began writing a sequel to
Hero in 2009.
[3][21] Moore's father said that in early 2011 his son was working on turning
Hero into a movie on the
Starz cable television channel.
[5]
In February 2010, Moore said he was also at work on a new novel,
Way of the Wolf, Book One: Fire, about triplets who inherit super powers and have to stop a villain from taking over the Earth.
[3]
Personal life
Moore was
openly gay[22] and lived in New York City with life partner Hunter Hill (a writer for
Paper magazine). Moore was also a
Christian and spoke publicly about his faith.
[12] According to family members, Moore had suffered knee and back problems before his death, which required pain medication and corrective surgery, but which he had put off to continue working.
[5]
Death
Moore died on February 17, 2011, at the age of 39. The
New York Daily News reported his death was from an apparent drug overdose.
[2] His body was discovered by Hill.
[2] The
New York Times and
Variety reported that the cause of death was yet to be officially announced, and that a medical examiner's report was pending.
[1][12] Local police said there was no obvious evidence of foul play.
[1] An initial
autopsy proved inconclusive.
[23]
To see more of who died in 2010
click here
John Kelly Lewis , better known as Buddy Lewis, was a third baseman/right fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Washington Senators (1935–41, 1945–47, 1949) died from cancer he was , 94. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Only Ty Cobb had more career hits at the age of 24 than Lewis. Lewis was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
In an 11-season career, Lewis posted a .297 batting average (1,563-for-5,261) with 73 home runs, 607 RBI, 830 runs, 249 doubles, 93 triples, and 83 stolen bases in 1,349 games played.
