Paul Gilmore (1873-1962) was once one of America's most popular stage actors who also appeared in no fewer than 10 silent films. Additionally, he owned and managed for many years the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City, giving work to such future stars as Robert Walker Sr., Jennifer Jones and Carl Reiner. Gilmore reached full star status in late 1900 with his performance in "The Dawn of Freedom" at the Fourteenth Street Theatre in New York City. He performed relentlessly all over the country in scores of plays, more often than not he played the swashbuckling lover role. Audiences flocked to see him in productions such as "Captain Debonnaire," "The Mummy and the Hummingbird" and "The Boys of Company B."
He returned to New York City where he settled down in Greenwich Village over a tobacco warehouse that he would transform into the Paul Gilmore Cherry Lane Theatre. Divorced from his fourth wife by the 1930s, he was joined by his daughter, Virginia, and together they ran the small venue and starred in many of its productions.
In 1948, the Gilmores moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where they established the Gilmore Comedy Theatre in a 40- by 80-foot Quonset hut they constructed along Lake Superior. The theater opened on July 14, 1949, with a production of "This Thing Called Love." Gilmore operated the theater until age and declining health forced him to sell it in 1955.
Gilmore and his daughter retired to Dubuque, Iowa, where they resided at 418 Raymond Place. Gilmore died while wintering in Palm Springs, Florida, on December 29, 1962, at the age of 89. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Key West, Iowa. Regina βVirginiaβ Cooper Gilmore died in Dubuque on September 22, 1981.