Tedde Moore, the Canadian actress best known for playing Ralphie Parker’s teacher in the Christmas classic A Christmas Story, has died. She was 79.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Moore died on 5 August in Huntsville, Ontario, according to a statement posted on her Facebook page. Her cause of death was not disclosed.
“On Wednesday August 5th under sunny skies overlooking Fairy Lake, Tedde passed away surrounded by family physically and spiritually in her beloved Huntsville Muskoka,” the statement said.
The post described Moore as “forever the teacher” and praised her warmth, courage and ability to touch the lives of those around her.
Moore played Miss Shields in the 1983 film A Christmas Story, starring Peter Billingsley as Ralphie.
Her character famously gives Ralphie a poor grade for an essay about his dream of receiving a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.
She also appeared in one of the film’s memorable classroom scenes involving Flick, played by Scott Schwartz, who gets his tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole.
Moore was nominated for a Genie Award for best performance by a supporting actress for her work in A Christmas Story.
She later reprised her role as Miss Shields in the 1994 sequel My Summer Story, which was also based on Jean Shepherd’s semi-autobiographical stories.
Her television credits included Friday the 13th: The Series, RoboCop: Prime Directives, Odyssey 5 and This Is Wonderland.
She also played Mrs Claus in the 2011 television film Mistletoe Over Manhattan and Nanny Shaw in the miniseries The Kennedys.
According to IMDb, her final acting credit was the 2017 television film Magical Christmas Ornaments.
Born on 11 April, 1947, Moore came from a prominent Canadian theatrical family.
She was the daughter of actress Darwina Faessler Moore and actor Mavor Moore, while her grandmother was Canadian theatre pioneer Dora Mavor Moore.
Moore graduated from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1967, receiving the Principal’s Medal of Honour.
She later performed at the Stratford Festival, including a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream opposite Christopher Walken.
Moore was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009.
She had two children with Canadian filmmaker Donald Shebib: Suzanna, a former child actor who became a teacher, and Noah, a former child actor and Grammy-winning music producer better known as “40”.
Noah is a frequent collaborator of rapper Drake and produced several of his major hits, including “One Dance”, “God’s Plan” and “Take Care”.
Moore also had a daughter, Zoë, from a previous relationship with actor Patrick Christopher Carter, and raised a foster daughter, Chaunce Drury.
Though best remembered by generations of viewers as Miss Shields, Moore’s career extended across theatre, television and film, leaving behind a lasting legacy in Canadian entertainment.
