Owen Moore


Owen Moore was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937.

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.
Pickford left Biograph Studios to join the Independent Moving Pictures to replace their star, Florence Lawrence. Carl Laemmle, the owner of IMP, 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. Pickford and Fairbanks married days later.
File:After All 1912.jpg|thumb|: Owen Moore, Victory Bateman, Gladden James and Florence Lawrence in After All
Moore appeared in many successful films for Lewis J. 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 9 June 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.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Moore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6727 Hollywood Boulevard.

Selected filmography

  • The Guerrilla
  • The Valet's Wife
  • The Honor of Thieves as Ned Grattan
  • The Sacrifice
  • A Rural Elopement In Crowd
  • The Criminal Hypnotist as The Man
  • The Welcome Burglar In Office / In Bar
  • The Brahma Diamond
  • The Golden Louis as The Good Samaritan
  • Trying to Get Arrested as Passerby
  • The Prussian Spy as The Spy
  • His Wife's Mother as Restaurant Patron
  • A Fool's Revenge as The Duke
  • The Roue's Heart as Nobleman
  • The Deception as The Rich Patron
  • A Burglar's Mistake At Folsom's
  • Lady Helen's Escapade as The Boyfriend
  • Resurrection At Court / At Prison
  • Two Memories as Party Guest
  • A Sound Sleeper as Police Officer
  • Jones and the Lady Book Agent as Office Employee
  • The Lonely Villa as A Burglar
  • The Little Darling In Boarding House
  • The Hessian Renegades as Colonial Army Messenger
  • Leather Stocking as Leather Stocking
  • Pippa Passes as Sibald
  • Nursing a Viper as Fleeing Aristocrat
  • The Red Man's View as Indian
  • In Little Italy At the Ball
  • To Save Her Soul At Party
  • The Rocky Road
  • The Time-Lock Safe as The Friend
  • What the Daisy Said
  • In the Border States
  • Love in Quarantine
  • Their First Misunderstanding
  • Behind the Times as Billy Thompson
  • The Lesser Evil
  • The Angel of the Studio
  • So Runs the Way
  • Caprice as Jack Henderson
  • The Battle of the Sexes as Cleo's lover
  • Home, Sweet Home as The Tempter
  • The Escape as Dr. von Eiden
  • Aftermath as Allan Buchannan
  • Cinderella as Prince Charming
  • Mistress Nell as King Charles II
  • Pretty Mrs. Smith as Mr. Smith No. 3, Frank
  • Help Wanted as Jack Scott
  • Betty in Search of a Thrill as Jim Denning
  • Mabel Lost and Won as Mabel's Sweetheart
  • The Little Teacher as Teacher's Fiancé
  • Nearly a Lady as Jack Rawlins
  • 'Twas Ever Thus as Long Biceps / Frank Warren / Jack Rogers
  • Jordan Is a Hard Road as Mark Sheldon
  • Betty of Greystone as David Chandler
  • Little Meena's Romance as The Count
  • Susan Rocks the Boat as Larry O'Neil
  • Under Cover as Steven Denby
  • Rolling Stones as Dave Fulton
  • Intolerance as uncredited extra
  • The Kiss as Jean-Marie
  • A Coney Island Princess as Pete Milholland
  • A Girl Like That as Jim Brooks
  • The Little Boy Scout as Thomas Morton
  • The Crimson Gardenia as Roland Van Dam
  • Piccadilly Jim as James Braithwaite Crocker / Piccadilly Jim
  • Sooner or Later as Patrick Murphy
  • The Desperate Hero as Henry Baird
  • The Poor Simp as Melville G. Carruthers
  • The Chicken in the Case as Steve Perkins
  • A Divorce of Convenience as Jim Blake
  • Oh, Mabel Behave as Randolph Roanoke
  • Reported Missing as Richard Boyd
  • Love Is an Awful Thing as Anthony Churchill
  • Modern Matrimony as Chester Waddington
  • Hollywood as himself
  • The Silent Partner as George Coburn
  • Thundergate as Robert Wells / Kong Sur
  • Her Temporary Husband as Thomas Burton
  • Torment as Hansen
  • East of Broadway as Peter Mullaney
  • The Parasite as Arthur Randall
  • Code of the West as Cal Thurman
  • Go Straight as John Rhodes
  • Camille of the Barbary Coast as Robert Morton
  • False Pride as James Mason Ardsley
  • The Blackbird as Bertram P. Glayde aka West End Bertie
  • The Skyrocket as Mickey Reid
  • Married ? as Dennis Shawn
  • Money Talks as Sam Starling
  • The Road to Mandalay as The Admiral
  • The Red Mill as Dennis
  • The Taxi Dancer as Lee Rogers
  • Women Love Diamonds as Patrick Michael Regan
  • Tea for Three as Philip Collamore
  • Becky as Dan Scarlett
  • Husbands for Rent as Herbert Willis
  • The Actress as Tom Wrench
  • Stolen Love as Curtis Barstow
  • High Voltage as Det. Dan Egan
  • Side Street as Dennis O'Farrell
  • What a Widow! as Gerry Morgan
  • Outside the Law as Harry 'Fingers' O'Dell
  • Extravagance as Jim Hamilton
  • Stout Hearts and Willing Hands as Lookalike Bartender 1
  • Hush Money as Steve Pelton
  • As You Desire Me as Tony Boffie
  • She Done Him Wrong as Chick Clark
  • A Man of Sentiment as Stanley Colton
  • A Star Is Born as Casey Burke - Director