Oscraps
Silent screen star May McAvoy was born in an upper scale area of NYC.She became intrigued with show business.She received her first major break with The Devil's Garden (1920).A unassuming brunette,her petite frame (4' 11"
and sweet-natured looks belied a surprisingly feisty,independent nature.When Cecil B. DeMille put a halt on her career in 1923 as punishment for refusing a role that required partial nudity,May assertively bought out her contract and freelanced for the next six years. Mostly forgotten today,May nevertheless holds a steadfast position in film history thanks to her co-starring role in Hollywood's first talkie The Jazz Singer (1927) opposite Al Jolson, which is actually a silent film with several sound musical and speaking sequences.She herself had no talking scenes.She retired for marriage in 1929.She returned to films for a decade and a half in the 1940s for MGM.She was widowed in 1973 and died a decade later of a heart attack. KIT: Scent of Spring Bundle by Lynn Griffin.
and sweet-natured looks belied a surprisingly feisty,independent nature.When Cecil B. DeMille put a halt on her career in 1923 as punishment for refusing a role that required partial nudity,May assertively bought out her contract and freelanced for the next six years. Mostly forgotten today,May nevertheless holds a steadfast position in film history thanks to her co-starring role in Hollywood's first talkie The Jazz Singer (1927) opposite Al Jolson, which is actually a silent film with several sound musical and speaking sequences.She herself had no talking scenes.She retired for marriage in 1929.She returned to films for a decade and a half in the 1940s for MGM.She was widowed in 1973 and died a decade later of a heart attack. KIT: Scent of Spring Bundle by Lynn Griffin.