Keith Moore

The Wood River Valley lost one of its treasured artists on Sunday when consummate actor and drama teacher Russell Keith Moore, 60, lost his six-year battle with cancer.

A celebration of Moore’s life will be held at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 15. All are welcome.

According to a statement issued by the family, “Keith slipped away as his brother Brian held his hand, while they watched their favorite show, ‘The Time of Their Lives’ with Abbott and Costello. They have loved the show since boyhood. Everyone was laughing and smiling; the evening was warm, gentle, and loving.”

Moore and his wife, Patsy Wygle, came with their son Jamie to the valley about 10 years ago from New York City to run the educational programs at the nextStage Theatre in Ketchum. They also brought a passion for the Bard that could not be satisfied in the Big Apple.

“We are going to try it out here for a year,” Moore told the Mountain Express in 2006. “The main reason we are here is to be more involved in theatre and the Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival. To do Shakespeare in New York, you have to be a celebrity.”

That trial year turned into a decade, during which Moore moved local theater audiences with shows ranging from “A Christmas Carol” to “God of Carnage” and “Lend Me a Tenor.”

Moore also touched the lives of many kids with whom he shared the gift of acting. He taught speech and drama at the Community School in Sun Valley.

“I’ve never met a couple like Patsy and Keith,” said friend Fiona “Freddie” Harris, who worked with Moore in numerous Shakespeare plays. “They were absolutely devoted to one another and did everything together. It has been a wonderful love story.”

Harris said Moore had a terrific sense of humor and was game for whatever antics his troupe had in store for him, especially when it meant putting a smile on the faces of children at The Laughing Stock Theater Company’s Camp Little Laugh.

“One year, we made him lip-synch Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies,” dressed in a leotard,” she said. “I have never laughed so hard in my life.”

About six years ago, Moore was stricken with abdominal pains while in rehearsals. The play was canceled and he was soon diagnosed with cancer of the colon.

Yet, Moore returned to the stage while undergoing chemotherapy treatment to inhabit the challenging lead role of the sorcerer/duke Prospero in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”