May McAvoy
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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
Ben-Hur
Woman in crowd (uncredited)
Rio Rita
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Esther
Ringside Maisie
1st Nurse (uncredited)
Sentimental Tommy
Grizel
Sucker List
Secretary (uncredited)
The Bad and the Beautiful
Pebbel's Secretary (uncredited)
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere
The Jazz Singer
Mary Dale
No Defense
Ruth Harper
A Homespun Vamp
Meg Mackenzie
Mystery Street
Nurse (uncredited)
Two Girls and a Sailor
Dowager (uncredited)
Executive Suite
Grimm's Secretary (uncredited)
Love Crazy
Sanity Hearing Secretary (uncredited)
Tessie
Tessie
Hollywood
May McAvoy
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Wife (uncredited)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Saleslady
Gareth Hughes
Self (archive footage)
The Yellow Cab Man
(uncredited)
Born to Sing
(uncredited)
Dulcy
Miss Murphy - Van Dyke's Secretary (uncredited)
Phantom Raiders
Middle Telephone Operator
The Fire Brigade
Helen Corwin
Third Finger, Left Hand
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Two Girls on Broadway
Chatworth's Secretary (uncredited)
Three Women
Jeannie Wilton
Luxury Liner
Woman (uncredited)
My Old Dutch
Sal Gratton
Main Street on the March!
Window Shopper (uncredited)
A Trip to Paramountown
Self
The Bedroom Window
Ruth Martin
Tarnish
Letitia Tevis
Whispers
Gossip (uncredited)
The Savage
Ysabel Atwater
Slightly Used
Cynthia Martin
Kick In
Myrtle
A Private Scandal
Jeanne Millett
I'll Say So
The Road to Glory
Judith Allen
1-2-3-Go!
Nurse
The Terror
Olga Redmayne
Her Reputation
Jacqueline Lanier
The Enchanted Cottage
Laura Pennington
Movie Pests
Woman Whose Vision Gets Blocked (uncredited)
A Virginia Courtship
Prudence Fairfax
Clarence
Cora Wheeler
The Mad Whirl
Cathleen Gillis
To Hell with the Kaiser!
Wounded Girl
Irish Hearts
Sheila
Stolen Kisses
May Lambert
Caught in the Fog
The Girl
The Truth About Husbands
Leslie Brownell
Morals
Carlotta Carlotta
The Way of a Woman
Grace Lee
West of the Water Tower
Bee Chew
The Woman Under Oath
Edith Norton
Only 38
Lucy Stanley
The Top of New York
Hilda O'Shaunnessey
The Devil's Garden
Norah
If I Were Single
May Howard
Mr. Blabbermouth!
The Lion and the Mouse
Shirley Ross
The House of the Tolling Bell
Lucy Atheron
The Little Snob
May Banks
The Forbidden Valley
Morning Glory
A Reno Divorce
Carla
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Australy Wiggs
Matinee Ladies
Sallie Smith
The Passionate Quest
The Sporting Duchess
Mary Aylmer
Grumpy
Virginia Bullivant
A Perfect Lady
Claire Higgins
Through a Glass Window
Jenny Martin
My Husband's Other Wife
Nettie Bryson