1899-09-06 New York City, New York, USA
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.
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Gareth Hughes | Self (archive footage) | 2000-01-01 |
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Ben-Hur | Woman in crowd (uncredited) | 1959-11-18 |
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Executive Suite | Grimm's Secretary (uncredited) | 1954-04-30 |
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The Bad and the Beautiful | Pebbel's Secretary (uncredited) | 1952-12-25 |
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The Yellow Cab Man | (uncredited) | 1950-03-25 |
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Mystery Street | Nurse (uncredited) | 1950-06-23 |
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Luxury Liner | Woman (uncredited) | 1948-11-09 |
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Movie Pests | Woman Whose Vision Gets Blocked (uncredited) | 1944-07-08 |
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Two Girls and a Sailor | Dowager (uncredited) | 1944-06-14 |
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Mr. Blabbermouth! | 1942-08-08 | |
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Rio Rita | Hotel Guest (uncredited) | 1942-03-11 |
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Born to Sing | (uncredited) | 1942-02-18 |
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1-2-3-Go! | Nurse | 1941-04-26 |
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Ringside Maisie | 1st Nurse (uncredited) | 1941-08-01 |
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Sucker List | Secretary (uncredited) | 1941-07-26 |
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Main Street on the March! | Window Shopper (uncredited) | 1941-12-09 |
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Love Crazy | Sanity Hearing Secretary (uncredited) | 1941-05-23 |
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Whispers | Gossip (uncredited) | 1941-02-08 |
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World | Saleslady | 1940-05-29 |
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Dulcy | Miss Murphy - Van Dyke's Secretary (uncredited) | 1940-10-04 |
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Two Girls on Broadway | Chatworth's Secretary (uncredited) | 1940-04-19 |
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Phantom Raiders | Middle Telephone Operator | 1940-06-07 |
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Third Finger, Left Hand | Telephone Operator (uncredited) | 1940-10-11 |
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Stolen Kisses | May Lambert | 1929-02-23 |
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No Defense | Ruth Harper | 1929-04-05 |
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The Lion and the Mouse | Shirley Ross | 1928-05-21 |
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The Terror | Olga Redmayne | 1928-09-06 |
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The Little Snob | May Banks | 1928-02-11 |
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Caught in the Fog | The Girl | 1928-08-25 |
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Matinee Ladies | Sallie Smith | 1927-04-09 |
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Slightly Used | Cynthia Martin | 1927-09-03 |
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If I Were Single | May Howard | 1927-12-17 |
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The Jazz Singer | Mary Dale | 1927-10-06 |
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Irish Hearts | Sheila | 1927-05-21 |
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A Reno Divorce | Carla | 1927-10-22 |
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The Savage | Ysabel Atwater | 1926-07-18 |
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The Fire Brigade | Helen Corwin | 1926-12-20 |
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My Old Dutch | Sal Gratton | 1926-05-23 |
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The Road to Glory | Judith Allen | 1926-02-07 |
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The Passionate Quest | 1926-07-10 | |
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Lady Windermere's Fan | Lady Windermere | 1925-12-26 |
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Tessie | Tessie | 1925-09-18 |
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Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | Esther | 1925-12-25 |
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The Mad Whirl | Cathleen Gillis | 1925-03-02 |
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The Bedroom Window | Ruth Martin | 1924-06-08 |
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The Enchanted Cottage | Laura Pennington | 1924-03-23 |
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West of the Water Tower | Bee Chew | 1924-01-06 |
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Three Women | Jeannie Wilton | 1924-08-18 |
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Tarnish | Letitia Tevis | 1924-08-01 |
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Hollywood | May McAvoy | 1923-08-19 |
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Her Reputation | Jacqueline Lanier | 1923-10-14 |
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Only 38 | Lucy Stanley | 1923-06-17 |
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Clarence | Cora Wheeler | 1922-10-15 |
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A Trip to Paramountown | Self | 1922-07-10 |
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A Homespun Vamp | Meg Mackenzie | 1922-02-12 |
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The Top of New York | Hilda O'Shaunnessey | 1922-06-18 |
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Kick In | Myrtle | 1922-12-17 |
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Morals | Carlotta Carlotta | 1921-10-31 |
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Sentimental Tommy | Grizel | 1921-03-26 |
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A Private Scandal | Jeanne Millett | 1921-06-11 |
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The Devil's Garden | Norah | 1920-11-22 |
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The Truth About Husbands | Leslie Brownell | 1920-12-01 |
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Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch | Australy Wiggs | 1919-02-16 |
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The Way of a Woman | Grace Lee | 1919-07-27 |
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The Woman Under Oath | Edith Norton | 1919-06-29 |
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A Perfect Lady | Claire Higgins | 1918-12-01 |
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I'll Say So | 1918-12-22 |
