Owen Moore (December 12, 1886 - June 9, 1939) was born in Fordstown Crossroads , County Meath, Ireland. Along with his brothers Tom and Matt, he emigrated to America and they all went on to successful careers in motion pictures in Hollywood, California.
While working at D.W. Griffith's Biograph Studios, Owen 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, Gladys Moore would soon overshadow 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.
So much in demand, Mary Pickford left Biograph Studios to join the IMP Co. who had lost their major star, Pickford’s Canadian friend, Florence Lawrence. Carl Laemmle, the owner of IMP Co., agreed to sign her husband as part of the deal. This humiliation and his wife's meteoric rise to fame, drastically affected Owen Moore and alcohol became a problem that led to violernt behaviour and his physically abusing Pickford. Before long, the marriage ended and Mary Pickford left him for actor Douglas Fairbanks.
Owen Moore married a second time to another silent film actress, Katherine Perry . Although Moore was a good actor, his talent for singing and music went to waste during the silent film era. By the time "musical talkies" came along, it was too late for Moore to take much advantage of his gifts.
Owen Moore died in Beverly Hills, California and was interred in the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California.
He has Star #6743 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6727 Hollywood Blvd.
Some of his films:
- The Lonely Villa - (1909)
- Home Sweet Home - (1914)
- Little Meena's Romance - (1916)
- The Blackbird - (1926)
- The Red Mill - (1927)
- The Taxi Dancer - (1927)
- High Voltage - (1929)
- Side Street - (1929)
- As You Desire Me - (1932)
- She Done Him Wrong - (1933)
- A Man of Sentiment - (1933)
- A Star Is Born (1937)