Sharyn Moffett, 1940s child actress in ‘The Body Snatcher,’ dead at 85

Sharyn Moffett, a child actress during the 1940s who shared billing with Cary Grant, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, died Dec. 23, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 85.

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Moffett, whose obituary lists her name as Sharon Moffett Forrest, died of natural causes at a Pittsburgh hospital, her brother, Gregory Moffett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Sharyn Moffett starred with Grant and Myrna Loy in “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” in 1948 and was paired with Karloff and Lugosi in “The Body Snatcher” in 1945, according to IMDb.com.

Sharyn Moffett appeared in 12 films during her career, from 1944 until 1951, according to IMDb.com. She made her feature film debut in 1944, when she was 8, in “My Pal Wolf.” She was also paired with dogs in “A Boy, a Girl and a Dog” (1946) and “Rusty Leads the Way” (1948).

Patricia Sharyn Moffett was born on Sept. 12, 1936, in Alameda, California, according to her biography. Her mother, Gladyce Roberts, danced in the musical “Flying Down to Rio” (1933), and her father, Bob Moffett, sang in a traveling show fronted by Billie Burke, who played Glinda, the good witch in “The Wizard of Oz,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Her brother appeared with her in “The Judge Steps Out,” the website reportes.

After making her last on-screen appearance on “Fireside Theatre” in 1955, Moffett married James Forrest, and the couple spent more than five decades as church ministers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As a grandmother, she earned her master’s degree in church history from the Trinity School for Ministry in Pittsburgh, according to her obituary.