Template:Other people
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 Beatrice deMille.[5] He made his film debut in 1915. He starred in three films that year, two of which were directed by Cecil B. DeMille – Chimmie Fadden and Chimmie Fadden Out West. He also appeared in Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), The Heat's On with Mae West, Duffy's Tavern (1945), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), On Our Merry Way (1948), A Kiss in the Dark (1949), and We're Not Married (1952), working with Ginger Rogers for a second time. His last screen appearance was a role as a plumber in The Seven Year Itch (1955).
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[]
He 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 a year and a half.[10] They remained married until Victor 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]
Victor Moore was well liked by his colleagues. In 1915, among the actors' colony in Long Island, New York, he established a social group called L.I.G.H.T.S. (Long Island Good Hearted Thespian's Society), based in Freeport.[16] The membership included many show-business notables, including John Philip Sousa, Irving Berlin, Al Jolson, Will Rogers, and the Ringling Bros. Moore noted that people in show business often had to work during the Christmas season, so he instituted annual "Christmas in July" celebrations especially for actors.
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, United States.[17]
Legacy[]
The Victor Moore Bus Terminal and business arcade at the New York City Subway's Roosevelt Avenue / 74th Street station in Jackson Heights, Queens was named for him when it opened in 1941.[18][19] In 2005, the arcade was replaced by an Intermodal Transportation Complex serving the same subway and bus lines.[20]
Filmography[]
The Clown (1916)
Nutty Knitters (1917)
Moore in trailer for Louisiana Purchase (1941)
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[21] |
| 1948 | Hallmark Playhouse | Old Man Minnick[22] |
References[]
- ↑ "No. 1 Funny Man Got His Start in 'Babes'". Nassau Daily Review-Star. September 15, 1941. Retrieved October 26, 2021.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ (2008) The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press, page 504. ISBN 978-0-1953-3533-0.
- ↑ Stockwell, Mary Lebaron (1904). Descendants of Francis LeBaron of Plymouth, Mass.. Boston: T.R. Marvin & Son, page 351.
- ↑ Green, Stanley (1984). The Great Clowns of Broadway. Oxford University Press, page 203. ISBN 978-0-1950-3471-4.
- ↑ "Beatrice deMille – Women Film Pioneers Project". wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu.[dead link]
- ↑ (December 1987) Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin, page 252. 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.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "Celebrities Attend Victor Moore Rites". The New York Times. July 27, 1962. p. 25. Retrieved December 30, 2021.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "Bus Terminal Opened at Jackson Heights: Victor Moore Enterprise in Queens Lauded by Officials" (December 12, 1941).
- ↑ "Real Politics Scares L.I.'s 'Senator' Moore". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 13, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved November 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "Officials Applaud Opening Of Renovated Bus Terminal". Queens Gazette. July 20, 2005. Retrieved November 11, 2012.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "It's a Wonderful Life (1946)".
- ↑ "Radio's Golden Age". Nostalgia Digest. Vol. 41 no. 2. Spring 2015. pp. 40–41.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Category:{{#property:P373}}|Victor Moore]]. |
Victor Moore at the Internet Movie Database- Template:IBDB name
Victor Moore at Find a Grave- Victor Moore papers, 1864–1958 [bulk 1890s–1958] Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.
