Erin O'Brien-Moore

Erin O'Brien-Moore (born Annette O'Brien-Moore, May 2, 1902 – May 3, 1979) was an American actress. She created the role of Rose in the original Broadway production of Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Street Scene (1929), and was put under contract in Hollywood and made a number of films in the 1930s. Her promising career on the stage and screen was interrupted by severe injuries she sustained in a 1939 fire. Following her recovery and extensive plastic surgery she returned to the stage and character roles in films and television, including four seasons of the primetime serial drama Peyton Place (1965–68).

Erin O'Brien-Moore
O'Brien-Moore in The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Born
Annette O'Brien-Moore

ca. (1902-05-02)May 2, 1902
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 1979(1979-05-03) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1934-1970
Spouse(s)
Mark Barron
(m. 1936; div. 1946)
[1]
FamilyAinsworth O'Brien-Moore (brother)

Biography

Early life and beginning in the theater

O'Brien-Moore was born in Los Angeles,[2]:36 to J.B.L. and Agnes O'Brien-Moore. Her father was publisher of the Tucson Citizen;[3] her older brother was classical scholar Ainsworth O'Brien-Moore.[4] She was educated at a convent in Arizona, and planned to become a painter until she saw Alla Nazimova on the stage, when she turned her attention to the theatre. She first appeared on Broadway in 1926 as a maid[5] in The Makropoulos Secret. In 1928, O'Brien-Moore played the female lead in E.E. Cummings' Him at the Provincetown Playhouse.[6] She was the star of Elmer Rice's Street Scene (1929), a naturalistic drama about life a New York City tenement that ran for 601 performances on Broadway, toured throughout the United States, and received the Pulitzer Prize. During the play's six-month run in London, Aldous Huxley became an ardent fan of O'Brien-Moore and saw her performance at least three times.[7]

Career in Hollywood

Erin O'Brien-Moore, Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan in Black Legion (1937)

O'Brien-Moore's stage success led to a Hollywood contract and second-lead roles in films, including Black Legion (1937) with Humphrey Bogart. In The Life of Emile Zola (1937), with Paul Muni, she played the character who inspired the fictional character Nana.[7] Her other films include Dangerous Corner (1934), Little Men (1934), His Greatest Gamble (1934), Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935), Streamline Express (1935), Our Little Girl (1935), Two in the Dark (1936), The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936), Ring Around the Moon (1936), The Leavenworth Case (1936), Green Light (1937) and The Plough and the Stars (1937).[8]

Described by The New York Times as "a slender, dark-haired woman with fragile, beautiful features", O'Brien-Moore had a rising career that was interrupted by severe injuries she suffered January 22, 1939 in a fire. After she recovered from the accident, O'Brien-Moore resumed her acting career on radio, including Big Sister.[7]

After extensive plastic surgery, O'Brien-Moore returned to the stage and resumed her career in films and television.[7] In 1948, she performed on Kraft Television Theatre[9] and in The Philco Television Playhouse presentation, "Street Scene". She took the role of Anna, and Betty Field played Rose,[10] the role that O'Brien-Moore had created on the stage.[11]

She co-starred with Charlie Ruggles in the situation comedy The Ruggles (1950–52),[12]:651 and in series including NBC Presents,[13] General Electric Theater,[14] Lux Video Theater,[15] Alfred Hitchcock Presents,[16] and Perry Mason ("The Case of the Deadly Verdict").[17] She portrayed Miss Kelly in the 1961 pilot episode, "The Return," of the series Window on Main Street (1961–62),[18] appeared in a 1965 episode of Kentucky Jones[19] and played the role of Nurse Esther Choate on the TV version of Peyton Place for four seasons (1965–68).[12]:596[20]

Her later feature films include Destination Moon (1950), The Family Secret (1951), Sea of Lost Ships (1954), Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954), Peyton Place (1957) and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967).[8]

Personal life and last years

O'Brien-Moore was married to Mark Barron, drama editor of the Associated Press in 1936. Their 10-year marriage ended in divorce.[7][21][22]

O'Brien-Moore died of cancer on May 3, 1979 at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Los Angeles.[7][23]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1934His Greatest GambleFlorence Stebbins
1934Dangerous CornerFreda Chatfield
1934Little MenJo Bhaer
1935Our Little GirlSarah Boynton
1935Streamline ExpressMary Bradley
1935Seven Keys to BaldpateMyra Thornhill
1936Two in the DarkOlga Konar
1936The Leavenworth CaseMrs. Silas (Gloria) Leavenworth
1936Ring Around the MoonGloria Endicott
1936The Ex-Mrs. BradfordMrs. Summers
1936The Plough and the StarsRosie
1937Black LegionRuth Taylor
1937Green LightPat Arlen
1937The Life of Emile ZolaNana
1950Destination MoonEmily Cargraves
1951The Family SecretEllen Clark
1953Sea of Lost ShipsMrs. Nora O'Malley
1954Phantom of the Rue MorgueWardrobe Woman
1955The Long Gray LineMrs. Koehler
1957Peyton PlaceMrs. Evelyn Page
1962MooncussersMrs. Feather
1967How to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingGertrude Biggleyuncredited

References

  1. "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. Liebman, Roy (2003). Vitaphone Films: A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0786446971.
  3. "Mrs. O'Brien-Moore". The New York Times. May 19, 1964. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  4. "Auto Crash Kills Dr. O'Brien-Moore". The New York Times. January 1, 1937. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  5. "Erin O'Brien-Moore". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  6. "Him Program (1928)". faculty.gvsu.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  7. Goodman, George, Jr. (May 5, 1979). "Erin O'Brien-Moore, 77, Is Dead; Actress of Stage, Screen and TV". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  8. "Erin Moore-O'Brien". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  9. "Kraft Television Theatre". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  10. "Philco Television Playhouse". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  11. "Street Scene". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  12. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1988). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (4th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35610-1.
  13. "NBC Presents". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  14. "General Electric Theater". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  15. "Lux Video Theatre". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  16. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  17. "Perry Mason". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  18. "CTVA US Drama - "Window on Main Street" (1961-62) starring Robert Young". ctva.biz. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  19. Classic TV Archive Kentucky Jones (1964-65)
  20. "Lux Video Theatre". Peyton Place. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  21. Associated Press (December 8, 1936). "Film Actress and Newspaperman Wed". Amarillo Daily News.
  22. Winchell, Walter (June 5, 1946). "Walter Winchell on Broadway". Burlington Daily Times-News.
  23. "Actress Erin O'Brien-Moore". St. Petersburg Times. May 5, 1979. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
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