Victor Moore
Victor Moore | |
---|---|
Born | Victor Fred Moore February 24, 1876 Hammonton, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | July 23, 1962 East Islip, New York, U.S. | (aged 86)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1893–1957[1][2] |
Spouses | Emma Littlefield
(m. 1903; died 1934)Shirley Paige
(m. 1942) |
Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876[3] – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, playing timid, mild-mannered roles. Today's audiences know him as the star of a Christmas-themed movie that has become a perennial: It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947). Moore plays a vagrant who occupies a millionaire's mansion—without the millionaire's knowledge—while the owner is vacationing.
Career
Victor Moore appeared in 21 Broadway shows and more than 50 films. His first appearance on Broadway was in Rosemary (1896).[4] He also appeared in George M. Cohan's Forty-five Minutes from Broadway, which opened January 1, 1906, and its sequel, The Talk of New York (1907). He went on to star in shows such as Oh, Kay! (1926) as Shorty McGee, Hold Everything! (1928) as Nosey Bartlett, Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing (1931) as Vice-president Alexander Throttlebottom, Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933), Cole Porter's Anything Goes (1934) as Moonface Martin, and Irving Berlin's Louisiana Purchase (1940) as Senator Oliver P. Loganberry. Moore often appeared with actor William Gaxton, with Gaxton's self-assured slicker playing opposite Moore's worried friend.
Moore's talent was first recognized by screenwriter
He worked in film twice with Bob Hope, first in Louisiana Purchase (1941) and again in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942). In the film Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Moore enacted the famous "Pay the Two Dollars" sketch (in which Moore is arrested on a minor charge, only to have his lawyer steamroll the case into higher courts). Edward Arnold played the William Gaxton lawyer role.
Moore made a guest appearance as himself on The Martin and Lewis radio show on August 16, 1949, and was a regular (as himself) on The Jimmy Durante Show.
In 1945, Moore appeared in the Daffy Duck cartoon Ain't That Ducky. He was so pleased with his caricature he offered to add his voice free of charge—on the condition that the animators draw him with a little more hair.[6]
Moore also appeared on television on such shows as The Colgate Comedy Hour and So This Is Hollywood alongside former child star Mitzi Green.
Personal life
Moore was married twice: first to actress Emma Littlefield from June 23, 1903 until her death on June 23, 1934,[7][8] and then to Shirley Paige on January 16, 1942, when Moore was 65 and Paige was 20.[9] The marriage was not publicly announced for more than a year.[10] They remained married until Moore's death 20 years later.
He had three children with his first wife: an adopted son Victor, Jr.,[11] Ora Victora[12][13] and Robert Emmett.[14][15]
Moore was well liked by his colleagues. In 1915, among the actors' colony in
Moore campaigned for Republican Thomas E. Dewey during the 1944 presidential election campaign.[17]
Moore died of a heart attack on July 23, 1962. He was 86 years old. He is interred at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[18]
Legacy
The
Filmography
Silent films
|
Sound films
|
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1944 | Amos 'n' Andy | Between Life and Death |
1947 | Lux Radio Theatre | It's a Wonderful Life[22] |
1948 | Hallmark Playhouse | Old Man Minnick[23] |
References
- ^ "No. 1 Funny Man Got His Start in 'Babes'". Nassau Daily Review-Star. September 15, 1941. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-1953-3533-0. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
- ^ Stockwell, Mary Lebaron (1904). Descendants of Francis LeBaron of Plymouth, Mass. Boston: T.R. Marvin & Son. p. 351.
- ISBN 978-0-1950-3471-4.
- ^ "Beatrice deMille – Women Film Pioneers Project". wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved January 16, 2018.[dead link]
- ISBN 978-0-4522-5993-5.
- ^ "Moores to Celebrate". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 18, 1928. p. 32.
- ^ "Mrs. Victor Moore Dies in Hospital; 53". The New York Times. June 24, 1934. p. 24.
- ^ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JBPM-3ZF: January 7, 2021), Shirley I Moore, July 11, 1989; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
- ^ “Moore Reveals Wedding”. The New York Times. July 5, 1943. p. 11.
- ^ Niemeyer, H.H. “VETERAN Comedian a FILM 'FIND.' Victor Moore, Long On Stage, Was Passed Up 24 Years Ago.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 17, 1936. p. 2D.
- ^ “Mr. and Mrs. Victor Moore (Emma Littlefield) Wish to Thank Their Many Friends for the Beautiful Gifts, Letters and Telegrams of Congratulations upon the Birth of Their Daughter ORA VICTORA MOORE Nov. 19th, 1917. They Also Wish to Announce That Ora Is Some Baby”. Variety. November 30, 1917. p. 23.
- ^ "California Death Index, 1940–1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP8Q-L7D : November 26, 2014), Ora Mora, October 26, 1993; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
- ^ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X78T-VWF: accessed November 3, 2020), Victor F Moore, Hempstead, Nassau, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 125, sheet 1B, line 99, family 28, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1460; FHL microfilm 2,341,195.
- ^ "United States Social Security Death Index". database, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGZJ-J43 : December 4, 2020), Robert E Moore, July 23, 2004; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
- ^ "Actors Form Club". Nassau County Review. August 13, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "Dewey Coliseum Address Cheered". Los Angeles Times. September 23, 1944. p. 1.
- ^ "Celebrities Attend Victor Moore Rites". The New York Times. July 27, 1962. p. 25. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ "Bus Terminal Opened at Jackson Heights: Victor Moore Enterprise in Queens Lauded by Officials" (PDF). The New York Times. December 12, 1941. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Officials Applaud Opening Of Renovated Bus Terminal". Queens Gazette. July 20, 2005. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ^ "It's a Wonderful Life (1946)". Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- ^ "Radio's Golden Age". Nostalgia Digest. Vol. 41, no. 2. Spring 2015. pp. 40–41.
External links
- Victor Moore at IMDb
- Victor Moore at the Internet Broadway Database
- Victor Moore at Find a Grave
- Victor Moore papers, 1864–1958 [bulk 1890s–1958] Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.