Film Pioneer
In addition to his stage work, Gilmore participated in the early development of motion pictures in the United States. Starting in 1897, he performed short "character studies" on film for the American Mutuoscope Company (later to become the Biograph Company) and performed for Thomas Alva Edison's company on a number of short (less than 60-second) works that included A Pillow Fight, The Vanishing Lady, The Miser, Herman the Great and Caught In the Act.. He also claimed to have appeared in one Edison feature, The Artist's Model, in 1918, but is not listed as one of the principal actors.
On June 17, 1897, Gilmore married Regina Cooper, the daughter of millionaire wagon maker A.A. Cooper of Dubuque, Iowa, Two years later, on Sept. 9, 1899, Gilmore's wife delivered twins – a boy and a girl. Regina Cooper Gilmore died of heart failure two days after giving birth. Gilmore allowed A.A. Cooper to assume custody of the children, give them the Cooper surname and raise them, while he continued to tour.
Gilmore's son, Paul Gilmore Cooper, died in 1918 after leaping off a train on which he had hitched a ride. When Gilmore's daughter, Regina, reached maturity, she joined her father in New York, adopted the stage name of Virginia, and assisted him in his theatrical work for the rest of his life.
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