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Personal Info

Gender

Female

Birthday

1899-09-06 (125 years old)

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

May McAvoy

Biography:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

May McAvoy (September 8, 1899 – April 26, 1984) was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in The Enchanted Cottage, Esther in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and Mary Dale in The Jazz Singer.

McAvoy appeared in her first film, entitled Hate, in 1917. After appearing in more than three dozen films, she co-starred with Ramón Novarro and Francis X. Bushman in director Fred Niblo's 1925 production of Ben-Hur, released by MGM. The feature-length film was one of the most lavish and spectacular productions of the silent movie era.

Although her voice was not heard in The Jazz Singer, McAvoy did speak in several other films, including the second "all-talkie" released by Warner Brothers, The Terror, which was directed by Roy Del Ruth and co-starred Conrad Nagel.

For years a rumor circulated that McAvoy retired from the screen at the transition to sound films because of a lisp or speech impediment. In truth, she married the treasurer of United Artists, who asked her not to work.

Later, she returned to films and played small roles during the 1940s and 1950s, making her final film appearance in a small part in the 1959 version of Ben-Hur.

Known For

Acting

2000

Gareth Hughes as Self (archive footage)

1959

Ben-Hur as Woman in crowd (uncredited)

1952

The Bad and the Beautiful as Pebbel's Secretary (uncredited)

1950

The Yellow Cab Man as (uncredited)
Mystery Street as Nurse (uncredited)

1948

Luxury Liner as Woman (uncredited)

1944

Two Girls and a Sailor as Dowager (uncredited)
Movie Pests as Woman Whose Vision Gets Blocked (uncredited)

1942

Born to Sing as (uncredited)
Rio Rita as Hotel Guest (uncredited)

1941

Love Crazy as Sanity Hearing Secretary (uncredited)
Ringside Maisie as 1st Nurse (uncredited)
Whispers as Gossip (uncredited)
Main Street on the March! as Window Shopper (uncredited)
Sucker List as Secretary (uncredited)
1-2-3-Go! as Nurse

1940

Third Finger, Left Hand as Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Two Girls on Broadway as Chatworth's Secretary (uncredited)
Phantom Raiders as Middle Telephone Operator
Dulcy as Miss Murphy - Van Dyke's Secretary (uncredited)

1929

Stolen Kisses as May Lambert
No Defense as Ruth Harper

1928

The Little Snob as May Banks
The Lion and the Mouse as Shirley Ross
Caught in the Fog as The Girl
The Terror as Olga Redmayne

1927

The Jazz Singer as Mary Dale
Irish Hearts as Sheila
Slightly Used as Cynthia Martin
If I Were Single as May Howard

1926

The Fire Brigade as Helen Corwin
My Old Dutch as Sal Gratton
The Savage as Ysabel Atwater
The Road to Glory as Judith Allen

1925

Lady Windermere's Fan as Lady Windermere
The Mad Whirl as Cathleen Gillis
Tessie as Tessie

1924

The Bedroom Window as Ruth Martin
Three Women as Jeannie Wilton
The Enchanted Cottage as Laura Pennington
Tarnish as Letitia Tevis

1923

Hollywood as May McAvoy
Only 38 as Lucy Stanley
Her Reputation as Jacqueline Lanier

1922

A Homespun Vamp as Meg Mackenzie
Clarence as Cora Wheeler
Kick In as Myrtle
The Top of New York as Hilda O'Shaunnessey

1921

Morals as Carlotta Carlotta
A Private Scandal as Jeanne Millett

1920

The Truth About Husbands as Leslie Brownell

1919

The Way of a Woman as Grace Lee
The Woman Under Oath as Edith Norton

1918

A Perfect Lady as Claire Higgins