Francis Charles Moran (18 March 1887 â€" 14 December 1967) was an
American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight
Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a
25-year film career.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Martin and Mary Moran,
immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, Moran studied dentistry at the
University of Pittsburgh where he also played football. He played
professional football for the Pittsburgh Lyceums and Akron Pros as a
guard and center.While Moran was serving in the U.S. Navy in 1908, he
knocked out fighter Fred Cooley in the second round. While serving on
the U.S.S. Mayflower, he served as a spar partner for President
Theodore Roosevelt. He began his career as a prize-fighter that same
year with a match against Fred Broad. Soon, Moran, who had a hard
right hand punch which he called "Mary Ann", became known as the
"White Hope" of the teens. In 1914 he fought Jack Johnson for the
Heavyweight Championship of the World, and in 1916 "The Fighting
Dentist" went up against Jess Willard for the same title, but lost
both bouts. He lost his last fight to Marcel Nilles for the
Heavyweight Championship of France on December 22, 1922. He retired
from boxing after 66 bouts with a record of 36 wins (28 by a
knockout), 13 losses, 16 draws and 1 no contest.After acting in one
show on Broadway in 1926 â€" a stage adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's
novel An American Tragedy â€" Moran made his film debut in 1928 when
he did two silent films, The Chinatown Mystery and Ships of the Night,
but his film career didn't start in earnest until 1933, when he
appeared as himself in The Prizefighter and the Lady, and also in Mae
West's She Done Him Wrong, in which he played a convict. This was
typical of the kinds of roles Moran was to play for the next 25 years
â€" gangsters, henchmen, "plug uglies", bartenders, stage hands,
sailors, guards, cops, bouncers, moving men, sergeants and other
soldiers â€" roles which belied his personal gentleness and
sensitivity.
American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight
Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a
25-year film career.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Martin and Mary Moran,
immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland, Moran studied dentistry at the
University of Pittsburgh where he also played football. He played
professional football for the Pittsburgh Lyceums and Akron Pros as a
guard and center.While Moran was serving in the U.S. Navy in 1908, he
knocked out fighter Fred Cooley in the second round. While serving on
the U.S.S. Mayflower, he served as a spar partner for President
Theodore Roosevelt. He began his career as a prize-fighter that same
year with a match against Fred Broad. Soon, Moran, who had a hard
right hand punch which he called "Mary Ann", became known as the
"White Hope" of the teens. In 1914 he fought Jack Johnson for the
Heavyweight Championship of the World, and in 1916 "The Fighting
Dentist" went up against Jess Willard for the same title, but lost
both bouts. He lost his last fight to Marcel Nilles for the
Heavyweight Championship of France on December 22, 1922. He retired
from boxing after 66 bouts with a record of 36 wins (28 by a
knockout), 13 losses, 16 draws and 1 no contest.After acting in one
show on Broadway in 1926 â€" a stage adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's
novel An American Tragedy â€" Moran made his film debut in 1928 when
he did two silent films, The Chinatown Mystery and Ships of the Night,
but his film career didn't start in earnest until 1933, when he
appeared as himself in The Prizefighter and the Lady, and also in Mae
West's She Done Him Wrong, in which he played a convict. This was
typical of the kinds of roles Moran was to play for the next 25 years
â€" gangsters, henchmen, "plug uglies", bartenders, stage hands,
sailors, guards, cops, bouncers, moving men, sergeants and other
soldiers â€" roles which belied his personal gentleness and
sensitivity.
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