23 Facts About Gussie Moran

Gertrude Augusta "Gussie" Moran was an American tennis player who was active in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Gussie Moran was born in Santa Monica, California and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 89.

Moran's father was a sound technician and electrician at Universal Studios, and possibly because of his connections, Moran worked as an extra in a few movies of the 1940s; her tennis groups occasionally enjoyed weekly Sunday soirees at Charlie Chaplin's mansion.

When Gussie Moran was 17, their family was informed that her older brother had been declared missing in action in World War II.

Gussie Moran was devastated by the news, and soon went to work at the nearby Douglas Aircraft Company, helping to assemble airplanes for the war effort.

Gussie Moran joined USO tours to California hospitals and military bases.

Gussie Moran entered several amateur tennis tournaments in California in her early career.

Gussie Moran won the doubles title, partnering Marjorie Gladman, and the mixed doubles event, together with Pancho Gonzales.

Gussie Moran's results made her eligible to play at Wimbledon in 1949.

Gussie Moran asked for one sleeve to be one color, the other sleeve to be another color, and the skirt to be a third color.

Gussie Moran's outfit drew considerable attention; reporters covering the event began calling her "Gorgeous Gussie", and photographers fought for positions where they could get low shots of Moran, with the hope of glimpsing the lace.

Gussie Moran, who was accused of bringing 'vulgarity and sin into tennis' by the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, later reverted to wearing shorts.

Wimbledon officials went mad, and Gussie Moran, shocked by the reaction, went into a shell.

Gussie Moran's popularity led her to a cameo appearance in the 1952 sports-oriented American movie Pat and Mike, which featured Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

Gussie Moran even posed in her frilly kit in department stores.

One of the last tournaments Gussie Moran competed in professionally was the 1971 US Open, where in the Women's Singles draw, she was eliminated at the first round.

In 1951, Gussie Moran began working for Los Angeles television Channel 4, doing a 15-minute interview with Bob Kelley, the voice of the Rams.

Gussie Moran then returned to California and became hostess of a racket club in Palm Springs, California.

Gussie Moran was fired after 11 weeks when she referred to the Catholic religion as a political party.

Gussie Moran then returned to giving tennis lessons at a Lake Encino racket club, remaining there for two and a half years.

Gussie Moran then freelanced for a fabric manufacturer and wrote columns for Tennis magazine.

Gussie Moran was living at the family's Santa Monica home, a Victorian structure with an ocean view, but with her mother's death, she was unable to pay the property taxes, and was evicted on 26 April 1986.

Gussie Moran then moved to a series of small apartments in the Los Angeles area.