Marcia Moore 12/12/1891 – 6/28/1920 (Section 22 S1/2 Lot 102)
Long before Judy Garland played Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz, Marcia Moore was the Dorothy adoring silent movie audiences knew from her starring roles in The Land of Oz (1910) and Dorothy and the Scarecrow of Oz (1910). Over the course of 11 years, Moore made an astonishing 44 films, many of them filmed at Essanay Studios – one of the earliest film studios in America, located in Chicago on Wells Street. (Essanay famously produced 14 Charlie Chaplin films in 1915 and 1916.)
Moore’s first role was in 1909, playing Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop. Besides the Oz films, she appeared in many Westerns such as The Prairie Trail, Days of ’49, War of the Cattle Range, and An Arrowhead Romance. She also appeared with Lon Chaney in the 1915 movie “Lon of the Lone Mountains.” Sadly, many of Moore’s silent films are lost, and her roles are only captured on still photos or mentions in the press.
Moore began performing when she was just 4 years old. Besides films, she also appeared on the stage in plays, vaudeville, and as a singer/dancer in burlesque. Moore was praised in a 1913 newspaper review as being “talented and dainty.” The article went on to point out that she rode horses bareback, could dance on her toes without slippers, and had a fine singing voice. Another article in 1918 said she was “noted for daring as well as good looks.”
While performing in a 1919 stage production of A Little Mother to Be, Moore made a plea to the public for someone to “loan” her a baby for the play. “It doesn’t make the least bit of difference whether it is a boy or a girl baby… even if it has to be leased, rented, borrowed or kidnapped.” She claimed that a “dummy” baby would not do for the live performance.
Moore married screenwriter Joseph Swerling (aka Jo Siverling) on Dec. 17, 1919. (Swerling collaborated with the Marx Brothers, worked on the screenplay of It’s a Wonderful Life and wrote the book for the 1950’s musical Guys and Dolls.) The marriage was short-lived, ending in divorce. Moore then wed John Thomas Davis, Jr. on June 24, 1920. Tragically, Moore died several days after the wedding — a victim of influenza, presumably the “Spanish Flu.” An article in the Chicago Tribune said the ceremony took place while Moore was on her deathbed. Moore was buried in Forest Home Cemetery in her “bridal robes” – a silent role with a very long run.
Moore was born Dec. 12, 1891 and died June 28, 1920. At Forest Home she is buried in Section 22 S1/2 Lot 102.
References: FindaGrave.com, IMBD, Dayton Daily News, The Times (Trenton New Jersey), Chicago Tribune, Grokipedia, IMBD, Indianapolis News
Amy Binns-Calvey is a volunteer with the Historical Society of Forest Park and the author of More Dead Than Alive: Stories of Forest Park’s Quietest Neighbors.