Jack Moore

Born

1942-05-05

Died

2002-02-02

Birthplace

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Biography

As a child, Moore found himself fascinated with writing up whatever he could, which largely influenced him to later start a career in journalism. At 16, Moore started working at the Vancouver Sun by working as a copy runner, where he met Judith Wyles, another copy runner, in 1958. Both were 18 when they had their first child, Tam, and Moore became panic-stricken as he felt that he wasn't ready to be a father. Moore hurriedly moved from Vancouver to travel to New York in order to pursue a career as a journalist. Then, in 1968, Moore moved to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, Moore was film critic for the South China Sunday Post-Herald. Moore married Lyla Fay King - a Vancouver-born Canadian secretary and co-worker - and had a honeymoon in Macau. Moore wrote some of the first major news articles about Bruce Lee following his Lee's rise to stardom (including an interview with Lee). Moore's earliest extant dub work includes all of the extant dubs of Bob Toole's group, recorded in 1970 and 1971. However, according to Moore in his 1973 article I Was Bruce Lee's Voice, he "got into the racket a few months after arriving." In 1972, after the dissolution of Toole's dubbing group, Moore began to appear in Ted Thomas's group, first in minor roles. Then, after Frank Mullen (one of Thomas's main "hero voices" since 1967) ceased dubbing for Thomas, Moore took over as the main "hero voice" for Thomas's group. In Moore's own estimation, he "took about a dozen movies where [he] did David Chiang." During the early 1970s, Moore's writing style proved to be particularly popular, as his book A Guide to Hong Kong's Saloons and Bawdy Houses became a bestseller in Hong Kong. The popularity of Moore's film reviews led to him hosting a film review show that aired in Hong Kong in the early 1970s. Moore divorced King and moved back to Vancouver in late 1972 or early 1973. Back in Vancouver, Moore found work in radio and worked as a journalist for the Westender and the Vancouver Courier. Moore later became the overseas journalist for said publication, which led to him moving back and forth between Hong Kong and Vancouver during the late 1980s and 1990s. Back in Hong Kong, Moore caught up with old journalist and dubbing buddies, including Rex Ellis; Moore is seen in the last known photo of Ellis, taken at his 60th birthday party. In the mid-1990s, whilst living in Vancouver, Moore re-established contact with Judith Wyles and their daughter, Tam, and all three consistently spent time with each other. Moore settled in Canada permanently in 1997; however, his worsening health problems caused by drinking and smoking for most of his life caught up with him. Although he was on the verge of death, he had to force himself to write tabloid articles for gossip publications to make just enough money to avoid becoming homeless. Moore entered hospice care in late 2001 and passed away on February 2, 2002.