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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The Bad and the Beautiful | Pebbel's Secretary (uncredited) | 1952-12-25 |
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Mystery Street | Nurse (uncredited) | 1950-06-23 |
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The Yellow Cab Man | (uncredited) | 1950-03-25 |
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Luxury Liner | Woman (uncredited) | 1948-11-09 |
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Two Girls and a Sailor | Dowager (uncredited) | 1944-06-14 |
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Movie Pests | Woman Whose Vision Gets Blocked (uncredited) | 1944-07-08 |
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Born to Sing | (uncredited) | 1942-02-18 |
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Rio Rita | Hotel Guest (uncredited) | 1942-03-11 |
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Mr. Blabbermouth! | 1942-08-08 | |
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1-2-3-Go! | Nurse | 1941-04-26 |
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Sucker List | Secretary (uncredited) | 1941-07-26 |
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Ringside Maisie | 1st Nurse (uncredited) | 1941-08-01 |
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Whispers | Gossip (uncredited) | 1941-02-08 |
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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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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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Hollywood: Style Center of the World | Saleslady | 1940-05-29 |
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No Defense | Ruth Harper | 1929-04-05 |
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Stolen Kisses | May Lambert | 1929-02-23 |
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Caught in the Fog | The Girl | 1928-08-25 |
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The Terror | Olga Redmayne | 1928-09-06 |
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The Lion and the Mouse | Shirley Ross | 1928-05-21 |
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The Little Snob | May Banks | 1928-02-11 |
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Irish Hearts | Sheila | 1927-05-21 |
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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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Slightly Used | Cynthia Martin | 1927-09-03 |
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A Reno Divorce | Carla | 1927-10-22 |
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Matinee Ladies | Sallie Smith | 1927-04-09 |
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The Passionate Quest | 1926-07-10 | |
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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 Fire Brigade | Helen Corwin | 1926-12-20 |
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The Savage | Ysabel Atwater | 1926-07-18 |
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The Mad Whirl | Cathleen Gillis | 1925-03-02 |
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Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | Esther | 1925-12-25 |
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Tessie | Tessie | 1925-09-18 |
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Lady Windermere's Fan | Lady Windermere | 1925-12-26 |
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West of the Water Tower | Bee Chew | 1924-01-06 |
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Tarnish | Letitia Tevis | 1924-08-01 |
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The Bedroom Window | Ruth Martin | 1924-06-08 |
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Three Women | Jeannie Wilton | 1924-08-18 |
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The Enchanted Cottage | Laura Pennington | 1924-03-23 |
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Only 38 | Lucy Stanley | 1923-06-17 |
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Her Reputation | Jacqueline Lanier | 1923-10-14 |
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Hollywood | May McAvoy | 1923-08-19 |
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Clarence | Cora Wheeler | 1922-10-15 |
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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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A Trip to Paramountown | Self | 1922-07-10 |
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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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I'll Say So | 1918-12-22 | |
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A Perfect Lady | Claire Higgins | 1918-12-01 |
