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The following appeared in the 'Chicago Tribune' newspaper after Ray Moore's death in 1984, and was reprinted in Frew issue no. 918A:

R. Moore, 'Phantom' creator

KIRKWOOD, Mo. [UPI] - Ray Moore, a creator of the comic strip "The Phantom" in which the hero wore purple tights in his fight against crime, has died at age 78.

Funeral services were to be held Monday in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood.  Mr. Moore, who lived in nearby Manchester, died Friday in St. Joseph Hospital here after suffering a stroke.  The body will be cremated.

Mr. Moore and Lee Falk, who also was script writer for the comic strip "Mandrake the Magician," collaborated to produce "The Phantom."

The purple-clad title character, usually accompanied by a German shepherd, frequently used an airplane in his constant battles against spies and international gangsters.  He often had to rexcue the heroine, "Diana," who became his wife and mother of his children.

FALK CONTINUED the comic strip after Mr. Moore entered the Army in World War II.

Mr. Moore's wife, Claire, said Sunday that after her husband returned from the war with facial neuralgia, he increasingly had to rely on assistant Wilson McCoy, who took over drawing the Phantom in 1947 although Moore's name remained on it a few years longer.  After that, Mr. Moore was semiretired, Mrs. Moore said.

Mr. Moore was born in Montgomery City, Mo., and attended Washington University Art School in St. Louis.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a brother, David.

Thanks to Frew Publications

The Phantom � ™ 1999 King Features Syndicate Inc.
Last Updated:  September 25th, 1999.