Owen Moore

Last updated

Owen Moore
Owen Moore 1914.jpg
Moore in 1914
Born(1886-12-12)12 December 1886
Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland
Died9 June 1939(1939-06-09) (aged 52)
Resting place Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles
Years active1908-1937
Spouses
(m. 1911;div. 1920)
(m. 1921)
RelativesBrothers: Tom, Matt and Joe Moore

Owen Moore (12 December 1886 [1] – 9 June 1939) was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937. [2]

Contents

Early life and career

Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. Along with his parents, John and Rose Anna Moore, brothers Tom, Matt, and Joe, and sister Mary, he emigrated to the United States as a steerage passenger on board the S.S. Anchoria. The Moore family were inspected on Ellis Island in May 1896 and settled in the Toledo, Ohio area. Moore and his siblings went on to successful careers in motion pictures in Hollywood, California.

While working at D. W. Griffith's Biograph Studios, Moore met a young Canadian actress named Gladys Smith, whom he married on January 7, 1911. Their marriage was kept secret at first because of the strong opposition of her mother. However, Smith soon overshadowed her husband under her stage name, Mary Pickford. In 1912, he signed on with Victor Studios, co-starring in a number of their films with studio owner/actress Florence Lawrence.

Moore with Florence Lawrence in a scene still from a silent drama, possibly The Redemption of Riverton (1912) Owen Moore Florence Lawrence 1912.jpg
Moore with Florence Lawrence in a scene still from a silent drama, possibly The Redemption of Riverton (1912)

Pickford left Biograph Studios to join the Independent Moving Pictures (IMP) to replace their star, Florence Lawrence. Carl Laemmle, the owner of IMP (IMP later merged into Universal Studios), agreed to sign Moore as part of the deal. This humiliation, together with his wife's meteoric rise to fame, drastically affected Moore, and alcohol became a problem that led to violent behavior and his physically abusing Pickford. In 1916, Pickford met actor Douglas Fairbanks. In 1920, Pickford filed for divorce from Moore when she agreed to his demand of $100,000 settlement. [3] Pickford and Fairbanks married days later.

(L-R): Owen Moore, Victory Bateman, Gladden James and Florence Lawrence in After All (1912) After All 1912.jpg
(L-R): Owen Moore, Victory Bateman, Gladden James and Florence Lawrence in After All (1912)

Moore appeared in many successful films for Lewis J. Selznick (father of producer David O. Selznick and agent Myron Selznick), in the late teens and early 1920s. He was a popular star at Selznick Pictures along with Olive Thomas, Elaine Hammerstein, Eugene O'Brien and Conway Tearle. He also appeared in films for his own production company as well as Goldwyn and Triangle.

Moore married a second time to silent film actress, Katherine Perry, in 1921. With the advent of sound film, Moore's career declined, and he became a supporting actor for newer stars. He competed, as the third lead, with Cary Grant and Noah Beery, Sr. for the attentions of Mae West in She Done Him Wrong , Paramount's most lucrative film of 1933. His last film appearance was as a movie director in the 1937 drama A Star Is Born, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March – ironically a movie about a former film star who turned to alcohol, much like himself at that time.

Death

After years of fighting alcoholism, Moore was found dead on June 9, 1939, in his apartment in Beverly Hills, California. An Associated Press news report said that he "apparently had been dead two days". An autopsy was scheduled for the next day. [4]

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Moore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6727 Hollywood Boulevard. [2]

Selected filmography

Moore in the 1916 film Under Cover Under Cover.jpg
Moore in the 1916 film Under Cover
Moore and Dorothy Gish in silent drama Betty of Graystone (1916) Owen Moore Dorothy Gish 1916.jpg
Moore and Dorothy Gish in silent drama Betty of Graystone (1916)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam De Grasse</span> Canadian actor (1875–1953)

Samuel Alfred De Grasse was a Canadian actor. He was the uncle of cinematographer Robert De Grasse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfred Lucas</span> Canadian-American actor, director, and screenwriter (1871–1940)

Wilfred Van Norman Lucas was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Moore (actor)</span> Irish-American actor and film director

Thomas J. Moore was an Irish-American actor and director. He appeared in at least 186 motion pictures from 1908 to 1954. Frequently cast as the romantic lead, he starred in silent movies as well as in some of the first talkies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Turner</span> American actress (1885–1946)

Florence Turner was an American actress who became known as the "Vitagraph Girl" in early silent films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Rosher</span> English cinematographer (1885–1974)

Charles G. Rosher, A.S.C. was an English-born cinematographer who worked from the early days of silent films through the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Moreno</span> Spanish-American actor (1887–1967)

Antonio Garrido Monteagudo, better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Sterling</span> American actor and comedian (1883–1939)

Ford Sterling was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4', he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Neilan</span> American actor (1891–1958)

Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, whose work in films began in the early silent era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur V. Johnson</span> American actor (1876–1916)

Arthur Vaughan Johnson was a pioneer actor and director of the early American silent film era, and uncle of Olympic wrestler and film actor Nat Pendleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobart Bosworth</span> American film actor

Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with tuberculosis, he found success in silent films, establishing himself as a lead actor and pioneering the industry in California. Bosworth started his own production company, Hobart Bosworth Productions, in 1913, focusing on Jack London melodramas. After the company closed, Bosworth continued to act in supporting roles, surviving the transition to sound films. He is known as the "Dean of Hollywood" for his role in shaping the California film industry. In 1960, Bosworth was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kirkwood Sr.</span> American actor and film director

James Cornelius Kirkwood Sr. was an American actor and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Van Buren</span> American stage and screen actress

Mabel Van Buren was an American stage and screen actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Rosson</span> American cinematographer

Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer who worked during the early and classical Hollywood cinema, in a career spanning some 52 years, starting from the silent era in 1915. He is best known for his work on the fantasy film The Wizard of Oz (1939) and the musical Singin' in the Rain (1952), as well as his marriage to Jean Harlow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Cavender</span> American actor

Glen W. Cavender was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1914 and 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Murray (American actor)</span> American actor (1872–1941)

Charles Albert Murray, was an American film actor of the silent era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Dillon (actor)</span> American actor and director

Edward Dillon was an American actor, director and screenwriter of the silent era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Panzer</span> German actor (1872–1958)

Paul Wolfgang Panzerbeiter, known professionally as Paul Panzer, was a German-American silent film actor. He appeared in more than 330 films between 1905 and 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Nichols (actor)</span> American actor

George Nichols, sometimes credited in films as George O. Nicholls, was an American actor and film director. He is perhaps best remembered for his work at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy West (actress)</span> American actress

Dorothy West was an American stage and film actress and radio performer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Hurley (actress)</span> American actress

Julia R. Hurley was an American actress who found popularity in her senior years in silent films. She is best remembered today as the 'landlady with the lamp' in the John Barrymore classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1920, a role for which she is uncredited. This film is her most readily available film today.

References

  1. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
  2. 1 2 "Hollywood Star Walk". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. Peggy Dymond Leavey, Mary Pickford: Canada's Silent Siren, America's Sweetheart. Dundurn Press (2011), p. 110
  4. "Owen Moore found dead in California" . The New York Times. Associated Press. 10 June 1939. p. 36. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  5. Hans J. Wollstein. "High Voltage". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 10 August 2013.