May Allison
Encyclopedia
May Allison was an American stage and film actress whose greatest success was achieved in the early part of the 20th century in the medium of silent film
.
, the youngest of five children born to Dr. John Simon (Sam) Allison and Nannie Virginia (Wise) Allison.
Violet eyed, Allison made her Broadway stage debut in the 1914
production of Apartment 12-K before settling in Hollywood, California in the early days of motion pictures. Allison's screen debut was as an ingenue in the 1915
star-making Theda Bara
vehicle A Fool There Was. When Allison was cast that same year opposite actor Harold Lockwood
in the Allan Dwan
directed romantic film David Harum, audiences quickly became enamored of the onscreen duo and the two began a hugely successful onscreen film collaboration. Possibly the first such publicly celebrated "romantic duo" of the silver-screen, the two actors were never romantically involved offscreen. The pair starred in approximately twenty-five highly successful features together during the World War I
era.
Allison and Lockwood's highly popular film romances ended, however, when in 1918 Lockwood died at the age of 31 after contracting Spanish influenza, a deadly epidemic that swept the world from 1918 through 1919 killing 50 to 100 million people globally. Allison's career then faltered markedly without her popular leading male co-star.
Allison continued to act in films throughout the 1920s, although she never received the same amount of public acclaim as when she starred opposite Harold Lockwood. Her last film before retiring was 1927's
The Telephone Girl opposite Madge Bellamy
and Warner Baxter
.
In 1920, Allison married writer and actor Robert Ellis
. The couple divorced in 1923. Allison then married Photoplay
magazine editor James Quirk, a union that lasted until 1932. Allison's third marriage, to Carl Norton Osborne, lasted over forty years until his death in 1982.
In her later years, May Allison spent much of her time at her vacation home in Tucker's Town, Bermuda
and was a Patron of the Cleveland
Symphony. She died of respiratory failure in Bratenahl, Ohio
in 1989 at the age of 98 and laid to rest at the Gates Mills South Cemetery in Gates Mills
, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
.
Life and career
Allison was born in Rising Fawn, GeorgiaRising Fawn, Georgia
Rising Fawn is a small unincorporated community in the southern part of Dade County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also the location of Cloudland Canyon State Park.-Notable residents:...
, the youngest of five children born to Dr. John Simon (Sam) Allison and Nannie Virginia (Wise) Allison.
Violet eyed, Allison made her Broadway stage debut in the 1914
1914 in film
The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.-Events:*The 3,300-seat Mark Strand Theatre opens in New York City....
production of Apartment 12-K before settling in Hollywood, California in the early days of motion pictures. Allison's screen debut was as an ingenue in the 1915
1915 in film
The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 8 : D.W Griffith's The Birth of a Nation premieres at Clune's Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks box office and film length records, running at a total length of 3 hrs 10 minutes.* June 18 : The Motion Picture Directors...
star-making Theda Bara
Theda Bara
Theda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman...
vehicle A Fool There Was. When Allison was cast that same year opposite actor Harold Lockwood
Harold Lockwood
Harold A. Lockwood was an American silent film actor and one of the most popular matinee idols of the early film period during the 1910s.-Career:...
in the Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
directed romantic film David Harum, audiences quickly became enamored of the onscreen duo and the two began a hugely successful onscreen film collaboration. Possibly the first such publicly celebrated "romantic duo" of the silver-screen, the two actors were never romantically involved offscreen. The pair starred in approximately twenty-five highly successful features together during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
era.
Allison and Lockwood's highly popular film romances ended, however, when in 1918 Lockwood died at the age of 31 after contracting Spanish influenza, a deadly epidemic that swept the world from 1918 through 1919 killing 50 to 100 million people globally. Allison's career then faltered markedly without her popular leading male co-star.
Allison continued to act in films throughout the 1920s, although she never received the same amount of public acclaim as when she starred opposite Harold Lockwood. Her last film before retiring was 1927's
1927 in film
-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
The Telephone Girl opposite Madge Bellamy
Madge Bellamy
Madge Bellamy was an American film actress who was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Her career declined in the sound era, and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.-Early life:...
and Warner Baxter
Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
.
In 1920, Allison married writer and actor Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis (actor)
Robert Ellis was an American film actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in 166 films between 1913 and 1934...
. The couple divorced in 1923. Allison then married Photoplay
Photoplay
Photoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded a similar magazine entitled Motion Picture Story...
magazine editor James Quirk, a union that lasted until 1932. Allison's third marriage, to Carl Norton Osborne, lasted over forty years until his death in 1982.
In her later years, May Allison spent much of her time at her vacation home in Tucker's Town, Bermuda
Tucker's Town, Bermuda
Tucker's Town is a small community in St. George's Parish, Bermuda at the mouth of Castle Harbour, on Tucker's Town Peninsula on Bermuda's main island.-Forgotten community:...
and was a Patron of the Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
Symphony. She died of respiratory failure in Bratenahl, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1989 at the age of 98 and laid to rest at the Gates Mills South Cemetery in Gates Mills
Gates Mills, Ohio
Gates Mills is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,270 at the 2010 census. Gates Mills is an affluent suburb of Cleveland...
, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.