Moody's next feature film was Richard Frankln's under-appreciated CLOAK & DAGGER (1984), which starred Dabney Coleman and Henry Thomas. This time, Moody's performance made the final cut, and he can be seen eating fajitas and drinking beer on the San Antonio River Walk as young Thomas asks him and his wife for help while being pursued by "bad guys."
Moody appeared in several made-for-television movies in the 1980s: "Adam" (1983), Michael Tuchner's excellent drama about the abduction of young Adam Walsh with Daniel J. Travanti as John Walsh and JoBeth Williams as his wife, Revé; "The Jesse Owens Story" (1984), starring Dorian Harewood and directed by Richard Irving; "The Sky's No Limit" (1984), opposite Sharon Gless, Dee Wallace Stone and Anne Archer, directed by David Lowell Rich; "Right to Kill?" (1985), starring Frederic Forrest, directed by John Erman; "The George McKenna Story" (1986), starring Denzel Washington and directed by Eric Laneuville; "Houston: The Legend of Texas" (also 1986), starring Sam Elliott; "The Lone Star Kid" (1988), directed by Anson Williams; and "Fire and Rain" (1989) the story of the crash of Delta flight 191 which starred Angie Dickinson, Dean Jones, Charles Haid and Robert Guillaume. He also appeared in episodes of the TV series "Dallas" (CBS), "Miller and Müller" (German TV) and "Guilty or Innocent" (Syndicated).
Moody's next feature film was MISSISSIPPI BURNING (1988), directed by Alan Parker and starring Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe and Frances McDormand. Moody played a reporter who comes down from the North to cover the trial of accused church bombers in 1964 Mississippi. After two weeks on the set, he can be seen -- by those with a "PAUSE" button -- in a brief shot of the pandemonium in the court room after the verdict is announced.
1993 brought Moody two more "cop" roles: A part as a police desk sergeant in Alan Spencer's farce, HEXED, which starred Arye Gross and Claudia Christian. It is here that Moody perfected his expression of long-suffering patience with the world around him. And he played a "sheriff-du-jour" in Clint Eastwood's A PERFECT WORLD, with Eastwood, Kevin Costner and Laura Dern. Moody's sheriff brings Eastwood and his group to the cornfield where the body of Costner's running buddy has been discovered.
In 1997, Moody got the opportunity to work with Edward James Olmos and director Gregory Nava in the biopic SELENA. Working in Corpus Christi on the 54th day of principal photography, Moody played Olmos' boss at Dow Chemical in the early days when Abraham Quintanilla was trying to balance his musical career with his full-time job at the factory. Moody had to eventually fire him. But, once again, Moody's work fell prey to the editor's cut, and his scenes did not appear in the final version of the film.
Moody played the part of a crooked banker who buys stolen securities from Matthew McConaughey and Dwight Yoakam in Richard Linklater's THE NEWTON BOYS (1998). Moody's finely crafted characterization proved worthy of inclusion in the final cut. During this time, he also appeared in more television movies: "Bonnie and Clyde: The True Story" (1992), directed by Gary Hoffman; and "Still Holdin' On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack" (1998), which starred Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black, and multiple episodes of "Walker, Texas Ranger" (CBS) and "Wishbone" (PBS). His latest feature credit to date is the ill-fated JUST SUE ME (2000), with Tom Arnold and William MacNamara. It got made, but no one seems to know what happened to it.
On stage, Moody has worked in regional theatre since 1978. He has had major roles in productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Sylvia, The Lion in Winter, The Retreat from Moscow, Take Me Out, Finian's Rainbow, Two By Two, I Ought To Be in Pictures, Cactus Flower, Moon Over Buffalo and many other plays and musicals. His plays Mail Call! (a World War II big band radio show) and A Granbury Christmas Carol (an adaptation of Dickens' classic tale to turn-of-the-century Texas) were both premiered at the Granbury (TX) Opera House and subsequently produced in other theaters in Texas. Moody collaborated with songwriter Gary Taylor to create A Lone Star Christmas Carol, a new musical retelling of the story; they have yet to find a producer who shares their "vision" of the show's commercial potential.
Moody's interest in the Oscars® began through his association with his late friend, actor and film historian John Addington. Oscar Nights at Addington's -- complete with marshmallows to throw at the television in response to ill-worded acceptance speeches or a bad dress -- were events that many in the Dallas film community looked forward to annually. Moody began his work on his web site in the late 1990s, and it continues to be a hobby that fills the time between acting jobs.
· 0 nominations (but one can always dream...)