A dark-haired, durably handsome and dependable cowboy actor equipped with a strong stance and taciturn seriousness both on and off camera, Dennis Moore was cast as both hero and villain in his three-decade-long career. A player in well over 200 "B"-level oaters and serials during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Moore never reached the rugged heights of top-flight stardom but did manage to find steady employment until only a few years before his death at age 56. Moore was born Dennis Price Meadows on January 26, 1908, in Fort Worth, TX, the son of Texas-born Dennis Wesley Meadows and Tennessee-born Bessie Bebe Price Meadows. His initial interest in show business may have been sparked while employed as an usher at a movie theater. He eventually learned the tools of the trade performing on the dramatic stage in Texas and in stock companies in the early 1930s. His film career began in 1932, appearing uncredited for a time in a variety of cliffhangers and westerns as various henchmen and cowhands, and even worked as a stuntman on occasion. Billed first as Denny Meadows, he changed his stage name to the more catchy, marquee-friendly Dennis Moore by 1936, and legally changed his last name to Moore in the early 1950s. An avid flyer on the "Mickey Mouse Club" series. He pretty much hung up his gun belt shortly thereafter. A highly private man who was considered a loner by nature, little is known about his private life. He was married more than once, perhaps up to four times according to surviving relatives. His final marriage, in 1947 to Marilyn Mason, produced one daughter, Linda, and lasted until his death. He subsequently moved to Big Bear Lake, CA, where he operated a gift shop for the last few years of his life. He died on March 1, 1964, at age 58 of rheumatic heart disease combined with circulatory problems.
According to writer Don Creacy, in an in-depth article in the March 2009 issue of "Classic Images", Moore had a life-long passion for flying and at one point abandoned his acting career to become a transport pilot. It didnt last long, however; he was injured in a plane crash that required a hospital stay of more than a year. He also became a flight instructor at one point at a private San Fernando Valley airport to make ends meet. His aspirations of being a professional pilot were ended by the airplane crash.
He seriously injured co-star Jimmy Wakely in a 1945 knife attack that occurred after a night of heavy drinking, apparently due to a budding professional jealousy over Wakelys popularity. Wakely survived the attack and, surprisingly, did not press charges. Even more surprisingly, Moore returned to co-star with Wakely in Rainbow Over the Rockies and Roaring Westward .
Known in pictures for wearing a distinctive-looking gun belt and buckle.
He loved roses and maintained a lovely rose garden at his California home.
An expert woodworker, Moore was known for making beautiful furniture. but it cost him the ends of two of his fingers in separate accidents.
Retired from acting in 1961. He and his family then moved from Los Angeles to Big Bear, CA, where they operated a gift shop until his death in 1964.
He was known as a tough flight instructor with great focus and very demanding to detail. He also took special exception to cowboy actors who couldnt set a horse properly and was very outspoken about it.
