Moore, Victor (Frederick)

Moore, Victor [Frederick] (1876–1962), comic actor. A popular comedian, whose style was a singular amalgam of wistfulness and toughness, he was a pudgy man with a bleating voice. He was born in Hammonton, New Jersey, and made his stage debut while in his teens. Success did not come until he entered vaudeville in 1901 with his wife, Emma Littlefield. Arthur Hopkins recalled, “The timid Moore, who even in those days, was mostly hips, would waddle to the footlights and beseech the spotlight man in the gallery, as though reluctant to remind him, ‘Mister, hey, mister, spotlight, you know, mister, you know like we rehearsed—spotlight.’” Moore continued to perform the act between major Broadway appearances, such as his wily Kid Burns in both Forty‐five Minutes from Broadway (1906) and The Talk of New York (1907). After featured roles in Oh, Kay! (1926) and Funny Face (1927), he was teamed with William Gaxton in Of Thee I Sing (1931), playing the befuddled Vice President Alexander Throtlebottom opposite Gaxton's suave, brash style, which complemented Moore's diffident manner. The two were coupled afterwards in Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933), Anything Goes (1934), Leave It to Me! (1938), Louisiana Purchase (1940), Hollywood Pinafore (1945), and Nellie Bly (1946). Moore's last appearances were as Gramps in a 1953 revival of On Borrowed Time and as the Starkeeper in a 1957 revival of Carousel.