Moore, Robin 1925-2008 (Robert L. Moore, Jr., Robert Lowell Moore, Jr., Robert Moore, Jr.)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born October 31, 1925, in Concord, MA; died February 21, 2008, near Fort Campbell, KY. Advertising writer and executive, novelist, and author. Moore wrote nearly twenty books in his career, but none were more successful than the early ones. He is remembered most often as the author of The Green Berets (1965), a best seller about the Special Forces Group (Airborne), who served their country with great valor in Vietnam. Moore attended boot camp with a Special Forces unit and traveled with it to Vietnam while researching his book, but so descriptive was his laudatory account of the unconventional and highly successful fighters that many readers mistakenly assumed that Moore had fought with the unit himself. His book was made into a blockbuster movie starring John Wayne, and Moore later coauthored "The Ballad of the Green Berets," a Barry Sadler song that the military unit eventually adopted as its own. Another of Moore's best sellers was The French Connection (1969), the account of a major, successful drug investigation of the New York City police department; this too became the basis for an award-winning film. He also coauthored The Happy Hooker (1972), the memoir of well-known brothel owner Xaviera Hollander. Moore's own life was less exciting than the ones he brought to life on the printed page. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, he worked briefly as a packager of television programs, then spent more than ten years as an advertising and public relations executive. After the publication of The Green Berets, Moore devoted his career to writing. In the 1980s his reputation was tarnished when he admitted in court that he was guilty of selling literary tax shelters at fraudulent, unrealistic prices, but he continued to write both novels and nonfiction until his death. Many of Moore's books were action stories related to military or police operations. These include The Hunt for Bin Laden (2003) and Hunting Down Saddam (2004).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2008, p. B11.

New York Times, February 23, 2008, p. B10.

Washington Post, March 1, 2008, p. B6.