Some of his stories became worldwide successes, such as Ninotchka (1939), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story, and To Be or Not to Be (1942).
Born Mary Jeanette Moran in Clinton, Iowa, Moran starred in a number of B movies like The Mummy's Hand (1940), Slightly Tempted (1940), Treat 'Em Rough (1942) with Eddie Albert and William Frawley, and King of the Cowboys (1943) with Roy Rogers and Smiley Burnette, and played smaller parts in A pictures, such as the "first cigarette girl" in Ninotchka (1939), which starred Greta Garbo.