Born in 1884, Owen Moore, a dashing silent screen idol with reddish and ruddy features, immigrated to America with his family from Ireland at the age of 11. He began his career in the entertainment industry with stage work, before entering the film world at the Biograph Studio in 1908, where he worked alongside D.W. Griffith on many of his early productions.
Moore's most notable role was as Mary Pickford's leading man, and the two secretly married in 1911. They collaborated on several classic films, including Cinderella (1914),in which Moore played Pickford's Prince Charming, and Mistress Nell (1915). However, their marriage ended in divorce in 1920 after Pickford left Moore for Douglas Fairbanks.
Moore remarried in the late 1920s to silent film actress Kathleen Perry, with whom he continued to work in the film industry. The couple made several films together, including a few with their brothers, Tom and Matt Moore, who were also popular leading men at the time.
Despite his success as a romantic leading man during the silent era, Moore's career declined significantly with the advent of sound in films. His last film appearance was in Janet Gaynor's A Star Is Born (1937),in which he played a movie director.
Moore's family was also involved in the entertainment industry. His mother, Mary Moore, was a character actress who appeared in several films, including Clara Kimball Young's Lola (1914). Two of Moore's siblings, Mary and Joe Moore, also worked in films, although they died young and are less well-known than their brother. Owen Moore himself died of a heart attack at the age of 54 in 1939.
