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. May 2, 1902 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	May 3, 1979 (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1934-1970
Spouse(s)	Mark Barron ​ ​ (m. 1936; div. 1946)​ [1]
Family	Ainsworth 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
1934	His Greatest Gamble	Florence Stebbins
1934	Dangerous Corner	Freda Chatfield
1934	Little Men	Jo Bhaer
1935	Our Little Girl	Sarah Boynton
1935	Streamline Express	Mary Bradley
1935	Seven Keys to Baldpate	Myra Thornhill
1936	Two in the Dark	Olga Konar
1936	The Leavenworth Case	Mrs. Silas (Gloria) Leavenworth
1936	Ring Around the Moon	Gloria Endicott
1936	The Ex-Mrs. Bradford	Mrs. Summers
1936	The Plough and the Stars	Rosie
1937	Black Legion	Ruth Taylor
1937	Green Light	Pat Arlen
1937	The Life of Emile Zola	Nana
1950	Destination Moon	Emily Cargraves
1951	The Family Secret	Ellen Clark
1953	Sea of Lost Ships	Mrs. Nora O'Malley
1954	Phantom of the Rue Morgue	Wardrobe Woman
1955	The Long Gray Line	Mrs. Koehler
1957	Peyton Place	Mrs. Evelyn Page
1962	Mooncussers	Mrs. Feather
1967	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Gertrude Biggley	uncredited

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.

External links

• Erin O'Brien-Moore at IMDb
• Erin O'Brien-Moore at the Internet Broadway Database
• Erin O'Brien Moore Papers, circa 1910–1950 #4069, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill