SAG-AFTRA Mourns the Passing of Dick Moore

SAG-AFTRA mourns the passing of former child star and AFTRA public relations consultant Dick Moore, who was married to screen star Jane Powell. He contributed to AFTRA’s public relations and communications teams for more than three decades. Moore died less than a week from celebrating his 90th birthday.

Moore was an indispensable asset to AFTRA for many years. His writing and no-nonsense approach to communications and public relations helped to speak on behalf of and better inform our members.

John Richard “Dick” Moore was born on Sept. 12, 1925 in Los Angeles. His mother’s chance meeting of a casting director led to his film debut a year later in The Beloved Rogue, portraying stage and film star John Barrymore as an infant. Moore joined Screen Actors Guild in 1937 and AFTRA in 1950. Known onscreen as “Dickie” Moore, he would appear in more than 100 films and television episodes before leaving acting in 1957.

He is known for his two years’ work on the Our Gang/Little Rascals series. Other screen credits include The Blonde Venus (as Marlene Dietrich’s son), Million Dollar Legs (with W.C. Fields), Peter Ibbetson (as young Gary Cooper), and Out of The Past (with Robert Mitchum).

While serving in the army in World War II, he became a forward area correspondent for The Stars and Stripes newspaper and later attended Los Angeles City College on the G.I. Bill, majoring in journalism. In 1949, he co-produced, co-directed and acted in a short film Boy and the Eagle, which received an Oscar nomination as the Best Short Subject of 1949. Moore later settled in New York and became involved on the Actors’ Equity council’s publications committee, eventually succeeding its longtime Equity magazine editor, Alfred Harding. In the early 1960s, he started the public relations firm of Dick Moore and Associates and served as a public relations consultant to AFTRA. Moore also spent many years working as a consultant to the AFTRA national magazine and as editor of Standby NY, the magazine of the AFTRA New York local. 

In 1997, he was awarded AFTRA's highest honor, the George Heller Memorial Award.

In 1984, he authored the book Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (But Don’t Have Sex or Take the Car) detailing the lives of many former child actors. It was during his time writing this book he met his wife, actor Jane Powell. 

He is survived by his wife, Jane Powell, and four children.