Owen Moore: Movies & Filmography

Owen Moore was an Irish‑born American actor whose prolific career spanned the silent era and the early sound period, appearing in more than 279 films from 1908 to 1937. Born on 12 December 1886 in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland, he emigrated with his parents John and Rose Anna and his siblings—including brothers Tom, Matt, and Joe—on the S.S. Anchoria, arriving at Ellis Island in May 1896 and settling in Toledo, Ohio. Moore entered the motion‑picture world at D. W. Griffith’s Biograph Studios, where his good looks quickly made him a popular leading man and where he first met Canadian actress Gladys Smith, who would later achieve iconic fame as Mary Pickford. The couple married secretly on 7 January 1911, but Pickford’s meteoric rise eclipsed Moore’s, and their marriage dissolved amid personal and professional tensions, culminating in a 1920 divorce that granted Pickford a $100,000 settlement shortly before her marriage to Douglas Fairbanks. After the split, Moore signed with Victor Studios and later with Independent Moving Pictures, eventually becoming a staple of Lewis J. Selznick’s productions in the late 1910s and early 1920s, sharing top billing with stars such as Olive Thomas and Conway Tearle. He also produced a handful of his own pictures and worked for Goldwyn and Triangle. In 1921 he married actress Katherine Perry, though the couple never had children. The advent of sound film reduced Moore to supporting roles; nevertheless, he delivered memorable performances as a third‑lead in She Done Him Wrong (1933) alongside Cary Grant and Noah Beery Sr., and his final screen appearance was a cameo as a director in the 1937 drama A Star Is Born. Chronic alcoholism plagued his later years, and he was found dead in his Beverly Hills apartment on 9 June 1939, apparently having died two days earlier. In recognition of his contributions, Moore received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6727 Hollywood Boulevard.