John Richard Moore Jr. (September 12, 1925 – September 7, 2015) was an American actor who was one of the last survivors of the silent film era. A busy and popular actor during his childhood and youth, he appeared in over 100 films until the early 1950s. Among his most notable appearances were the Our Gang series and films such as Oliver Twist, Blonde Venus, The Story of Louis Pasteur, The Life of Emile Zola, Sergeant York, Out of the Past, and Eight Iron Men.
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Career
John Richard Moore Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Nora Eileen (née Orr) and John Richard Moore, a banker. His mother was Irish, and his paternal grandparents were from England and Ireland, respectively.
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. He soon gained notable supporting roles. He appeared 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 Huston in Gabriel Over the White House (1933) and with Spencer Tracy in Man's Castle (1933).
In the 1932–33 season Moore appeared in eight films of the Our Gang series, as the leader of the gang. He left the series after one year to play in more feature films. He is perhaps most remembered for his portrayal of the title character in the 1933 adaptation of Oliver Twist.
