Marshall Moore worked in the locations department for the TV series “Touched by an Angel,” which was shot in and around the greater Salt Lake City area in the 1990s.
In light of Moore’s health issues, which includes his ongoing fight with cancer, friends and film-industry insiders have sent out a call for other types of angels to help raise funds for medical bills with a GoFundMe campaign.
When friends asked Moore how much he would like to raise, he originally asked for the modest amount of $20,000, said Diane Millett, who along with Debbie Rohovit, set up the crowd-sourcing drive on Sept. 25.
“I thought we should go for more, so we set it at $50,000,” said Millett, a film production designer who lives in Park City. “We’re still hoping to reach that goal because that would take a lot of pressure off of Marshall and (his wife,) Michelle. The fund would help them pay for things that have come up in the past, but also things that will come up in the future.”
Moore, currently the vice president of operations at Utah Film Studios and co-director of the Zions Indie Film Fest, was first diagnosed with cancer in January 2004, said Michelle.
“(It’s) Follicular Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma — typically a low-grade lymphoma that responds to treatments that shrink the tumors and stop the growth/spread,” she said. “He’s lived with tumors, and we’ve gone through over 50 chemo treatments.”
Back in May, after a routine oncology visit, doctors told Moore that his scans indicated no signs of cancerous cells in his lymph nodes, Michelle said.
“We were shocked, amazed, elated and a lot in denial,” she said. “How could this be — he’d been fighting for 20-plus years. (So) we had the oncologist read the findings again.”
Toward the end of May, the couple shared the news with their children, and then they went to social media to share the news with those who have been following Moore’s health journey for decades.
But the joy didn’t last.
“Shortly after, he started experiencing some severe pain in his lower back,” Michelle said. “With the recent news of (being) cancer free, we figured it was something else — a bulging disk and kidney stones were at the top.”
After a couple of visits to the emergency room for the intense pain, one doctor ordered an MRI, according to Michelle.
“It was during that scan that they found two large, cancerous tumors that were pressing against his spine in the lower lumbar region,” she said. “After many other tests and procedures we received the news that the cancer has spread to his central nervous system — mostly in the spine and brain. It’s the same type of cancer but has spread to the CNS, making things much more serious and life-threatening.”
Once Millett and Rohovit heard the news, they brainstormed ideas of how to help.
“Debbie’s husband, who was a first assistant director in Utah for years, was, like Marshall, loved and adored in the film industry,” Millett said. “He passed away in June. And Debbie kept asking what could we do for Marshall and Michelle because the film industry rallied around her and her husband.”
Millett and Rohovit talked about making meals for the Moores.
“I also sent them some of those meal-prep so they know when they come home from the hospital they could have some soup and things like that in the refrigerator,” she said.
Then Rohovit asked Millett about setting up the campaign.
“To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about doing that,” Millett said. “But that sparked the fire.”
Still, Millett knew she needed to get permission from Moore.
“He’s a very humble person and would never ask people for money,” she said. “So, I talked with him.”
Moore was more than grateful for the gesture, according to Millett.
“He said, ‘You don’t know how much that would mean to us,’” she said. “Even though he had good insurance, there are things that still haven’t been paid for. This is something that they need right now, so instead of focusing on bills, they can focus on getting Marshall on the road to recovery. We all love him, and we want to see him healthy and happy.”
Millett first met Moore in 1993, after he came to Utah to work on the Stephen King miniseries, “The Stand.”
“He decided to stay, and for the second season of ‘Touched by an Angel,’ where I was the production designer, he was hired for locations,” Millett said. “We just hit it off, and I felt like I had a brother working beside me. In this industry, the locations department can do things to hurt the art department, and the art department can do things to hurt the locations department. But we forged a great working relationship and have been friends ever since.”
Millett doesn’t know many people in the film industry who are as beloved as Moore.
“He has a lot of integrity and he’s very good at what he does,” she said. “He also has a levity about him. He’s an upbeat, positive person, and people react to that.”
The Moores, who just celebrated their 13th anniversary in August, are grateful to the thoughtfulness of Millett and Rohovit, and another friend, Jill Nunley.
“Seeing this campaign come to life reminds us that we’re not alone — that there’s a community standing beside us, believing in Marshall and our family,” Michelle said. “It gives us strength, hope and a deep sense of gratitude knowing that so many people care enough to help make a difference.”
Moore’s current treatment includes 20 rounds of radiation and working with an oncology team from LDS Hospital, according to Michelle.
“He has two chemo cycles with four rounds of in-patient chemo over the period of two months then a bone marrow transplant,” she said. “The issues we’re having now is an immunocompromised system because of the aggressive nature of the cancer. The doctor and their team have been very clear on the goals of the treatment of this stage four-plus cancer. We’re hopeful to start round two of the first cycle of treatment this week, (but) we’ve been delayed a few weeks because of some other unexpected setbacks relating to infections and low blood counts and platelets.”
Michelle is overwhelmed by the support of friends and family throughout her husband’s battle.
“We all face battles in life — some seen, some unseen, but none of us have to face them alone,” she said. “Marshall is a fighter, and I know we’re both going to give everything we have. The love and support from others lift us up and remind us of the strength that comes from standing together, fighting for one another and believing in hope even in the hardest moments.”
For information and how to donate to Marshall Moore’s GoFundMe campaign, visit tinyurl.com/4xm9yte3.
