Cosmé McMoon

Cosmé McMoon (born Cosmé McMunn; February 22, 1901 - August 22, 1980) was a Mexican-American musician, pianist and composer, best known as the accompanist to notably tone-deaf soprano Florence Foster Jenkins. McMoon was born as Cosmé McMunn in 1901 in Mapimí, Mexico, the son of Maria (Valadez) and Cosme McMunn. His paternal grandparents were Irish. He moved with his family to San Antonio, Texas around 1911. He moved to New York City around 1920 to further his musical studies, and likely adopted the McMoon surname around that time. Foster Jenkins met McMoon in the late 1920s, and knowing McMoon was a concert pianist, eventually asked him to help her prepare for her performances and accompany her. McMoon never ended up making a career in music after Jenkins' death in 1944, and instead took an interest in bodybuilding and judging bodybuilding contests. He resided in New York City until shortly before his death in August 1980. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and moved back to San Antonio, where he was buried. McMoon was portrayed by actor Donald Corren in Souvenir, a play about Florence Foster Jenkins' career, which ran on Broadway in 2004 and has since been staged in many regional theaters. He was portrayed by Simon Helberg in the 2016 feature-film about the life of Jenkins titled Florence Foster Jenkins.