As a youth, Tim Moore performed on the sidewalks of his hometown, Rock Island, Illinois.  He often hung around the line of ticket buyers at Douglas Park, where his troupe of street urchins would whistle "Turkey in the Straw" while Tim cut a neat buck and wing.

According to the "Rock Island Argus" newspaper, a passing vaudevillian spotted Tim and another featured performer of the Rock Island streets, Romeo Washburn, and made them a part of an act known as "Cora Mitchell and Her Gold Dust Twins."  After a long tour at a salary of $12 per week, Tim toured the British music halls for 18 months.

The popularity of "The Gold Dust Twins" was such that it inspired the creation of a line of soap powders by the Lever Brothers company.  Items featuring the image of the Gold Dust Twins are now sought after by collectors of black memorabilia.