Dickie Moore

For other people of the same name, see Dickie Moore.

**John Richard Moore, Jr.** (September 12, 1925 – September 7, 2015) was an American actor, known as **Dickie Moore**. He was one of the last surviving actors to have appeared in silent film. A busy and popular actor during his childhood and youth, he appeared in over 100 films until the 1950s. Among his most notable appearances were the *Our Gang* series and films such as *Oliver Twist*, *Blonde Venus*, *Sergeant York* and *Out of the Past*.

## Career

Moore was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Nora Eileen (Orr) and John Richard Moore, Sr., a banker. His mother was Irish, and his paternal grandparents were from England and Ireland. He made his film debut in 1927 in the silent film *The Beloved Rogue*, where he portrayed silent film star John Barrymore's character as a one-year-old baby. At the time of his death, Moore was one of the last surviving actors to have appeared in silent film. He quickly gained notable supporting roles. He had a significant role as Marlene Dietrich's son in Josef von Sternberg's drama *Blonde Venus* (1932). He also appeared with Barbara Stanwyck in *So Big* (1932), with Walter Houston in *Gabriel Over the White House* (1933) and with Spencer Tracy in *Man's Castle* (1933).

Besides appearing in a number of major feature films, he was featured as a regular in the *Our Gang* series during the 1932–1933 season. Although he only played in eight *Our Gang* films, in those films he played an important role as the leader of the gang. He left the series after one year to play in more feature films. In addition to his *Our Gang* work, Moore is most remembered for his portrayal of the title character in the 1933 adaptation of Charles Dickens' *Oliver Twist*. In 1935, he played the historical role of Joseph Meister in the film drama *The Story of Louis Pasteur* about the life of scientist Louis Pasteur. In 1941, he portrayed the brother of Gary Cooper in the war drama *Sergeant York* under the direction of Howard Hawks. He is also famous for giving Shirley Temple her first romantic onscreen kiss, in the film *Miss Annie Rooney*.

Moore was less successful as a teenage actor and young adult and he often had to play in B-movies such as *Dangerous Years* during the 1940s. One of his last notable film roles was in *Out of the Past* (1947), where he portrayed Robert Mitchum's deaf young assistant, "The Kid". Moore played his last role as a young soldier in *Eight Iron Men* (1952). He later performed on Broadway, in stock and on television. He went on to teach and write books about acting, edit Equity News, and produce an Oscar-nominated short film (*The Boy and the Eagle*), and industrial films. He retired from acting in the late 1950s.

## Later life

In 1984, Moore published *Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: (But Don't Have Sex or Take the Car)*, a book about his and others' experiences as child actors. Moore owned a public relations firm, Dick Moore and Associates. Founded in 1966, it existed for 44 years. From 1988 until his death in 2015 Moore was married to the actress Jane Powell. The two met when Moore interviewed Powell for *Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star*. The couple lived in Manhattan and Wilton, Connecticut.

In March 2013, Powell reported that Moore had arthritis and "bouts of dementia".

Moore died at a hospice near Wilton, Connecticut on September 7, 2015, five days before his 90th birthday.

## Filmography

* *The Beloved Rogue* (1927)
* *Object: Alimony* (1928)
* *Madame X* (1929)
* *Lummox* (1930)
* *Son of the Gods* (1930)
* *The Three Sisters* (1930)
* *Let Us Be Gay* (1930)
* *The Matrimonial Bed* (1930)
* *Lawful Larceny* (1930)
* *The Office Wife* (1930)
* *Passion Flower* (1930)
* *Aloha* (1931)
* *Seed* (1931)
* *Three Who Loved* (1931)
* *Confessions of a Co-Ed* (1931)
* *The Star Witness* (1931)
* *The Squaw Man* (1931)
* *Husband's Holiday* (1931)
* *Union Depot* (1932)
* *Manhattan Parade* (1932)
* *Fireman, Save My Child* (1932)
* *The Expert* (1932)
* *Disorderly Conduct* (1932)
* *So Big!* (1932)
* *When a Feller Needs a Friend* (1932)
* *No Greater Love* (1932)
* *Million Dollar Legs* (1932)
* *Winner Takes All* (1932)
* *The Hollywood Handicap* (1932) (short subject)
* *Hook and Ladder* (1932) (short subject)
* *Blonde Venus* (1932)
* *Free Wheeling* (1932) (short subject)
* *Deception* (1932)
* *Birthday Blues* (1932) (short subject)
* *The Devil Is Driving* (1932)
* *The Racing Strain* (1932)
* *A Lad an' a Lamp* (1932) (short subject)
* *Fish Hooky* (1933) (short subject)
* *Oliver Twist* (1933)
* *Obey the Law* (1933)
* *Forgotten Babies* (1933) (short subject)
* *Gabriel Over the White House* (1933)
* *The Kid From Borneo* (1933) (short subject)
* *Mush and Milk* (1933) (short subject)
* *The Wolf Dog* (1933)
* *Man's Castle* (1933)
* *Cradle Song* (1933)
* *Gallant Lady* (1934)
* *This Side of Heaven* (1934)
* *Upper World* (1934)
* *In Love with Life* (1934)
* *Fifteen Wives* (1934)
* *The Human Side* (1934)
* *The World Accuses* (1934)
* *Little Men* (1934)
* *Tomorrow's Youth* (1935)
* *Wild Waters* (1935) (short subject)
* *Without Children* (1935)
* *Swellhead* (1935)
* *Peter Ibbetson* (1935)
* *So Red the Rose* (1935)
* *The Story of Louis Pasteur* (1935)
* *Timothy's Quest* (1936)
* *The Little Red Schoolhouse* (1936)
* *Star for a Night* (1936)
* *The Life of Emile Zola* (1937)
* *Madame X* (1937)
* *The Bride Wore Red* (1937)
* *Love, Honor and Behave* (1938)
* *My Bill* (1938)
* *The Gladiator* (1938)
* *The Arkansas Traveler* (1938)
* *Lincoln in the White House* (1939) (short subject)
* *The Under-Pup* (1939)
* *Hidden Power* (1939)
* *The Blue Bird* (1940)
* *A Dispatch from Reuter's* (1940)
* *Virginia City* (1940)
* *The Great Mr. Nobody* (1941)
* *Sergeant York* (1941)
* *The Adventures of Martin Eden* (1942)
* *Miss Annie Rooney* (1942)
* *Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4* (1942) (short subject)
* *Heaven Can Wait* (1943)
* *Happy Land* (1943)
* *Jive Junction* (1943)
* *The Song of Bernadette* (1943)
* *The Eve of St. Mark* (1944)
* *Youth Runs Wild* (1944)
* *Sweet and Low-Down* (1944)
* *Out of the Past* (1947)
* *Dangerous Years* (1947)
* *16 Fathoms Deep* (1948)
* *Behind Locked Doors* (1948)
* *Bad Boy* (1949)
* *Tuna Clipper* (1949)
* *Boy and the Eagle* (1949) (short subject)
* *Killer Shark* (1950)
* *Cody of the Pony Express* (1950)
* *The Member of the Wedding* (1952)
* *Eight Iron Men* (1952)

## References

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCV4-G6J
3. ↑ [2]
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7. ↑ Thomas, Nick. "Wilton's Jane Powell, 80 years young", p 1B, *The Wilton Bulletin* (and other Hersam Acorn newspapers), September 10, 2009.
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## External links

* Dickie Moore at the Internet Movie Database
* AllMovie.com
* Photographs and literature
* "Fun with Dick and Jane" article w/photos

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