Norman Kerry
Encyclopedia
Norman Kerry was an American
actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of World War I
.
of German parentage, he changed his unmistakably German name to 'Norman Kerry' at the onset of World War I.
Around 1916 he befriended Rudolph Valentino
, then an exhibition dancer of some renown, in New York City
. He is said to have introduced Valentino to dancer Bonnie Glass who became Valentino's partner; Valentino in turn encouraged Kerry to try making a name for himself in film. (Later, Kerry would help out Valentino financially when the two met again in California
.) Kerry made his first film appearance in the 1916 Allan Dwan
directed comedy Manhattan Madness, starring Douglas Fairbanks. He would rise to leading actor status the following year in the Marshall Neilan
directed A Little Princess, playing opposite actress Mary Pickford
. In 1918, Kerry followed his success with A Little Princess in the William Desmond Taylor
directed Up the Road with Sallie, opposite Constance Talmadge
.
Kerry's career flourished during the silent film
era of the late 1910s and throughout the 1920s and he quickly became a matinee idol who was extremely popular with female fans. With his slicked back hair and thin, waxed moustache, he was often cast in the role of the heroic dashing swashbuckler or the exotic, seductive lothario. By 1923, Kerry was a very well respected leading man and box-office draw. That year he starred in two much talked about films: the enormous box-office hit The Hunchback of Notre Dame
, opposite Lon Chaney
and Patsy Ruth Miller
and the controversial Merry-Go-Round opposite the newcomer Mary Philbin
. Kerry was cast in Merry-Go-Round by the famous Austrian director Erich von Stroheim
to play von Stroheim's alter-ego 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg', but studio executive Irving Thalberg
fired von Stroheim during filming and had him replaced by director Rupert Julian
. Although the film was controversial at the time, it is now considered a classic.
Kerry would again be paired with Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin in the 1925 horror classic The Phantom of the Opera, playing Philbin's love-interest, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. The film was an enormous financial and critical success and solidified Kerry's position as a leading actor during the 1920s. That same year Kerry would star opposite Patsy Ruth Miller in the adventure film Lorraine of the Lions, although the film didn't achieve nearly the degree of success as The Phantom of the Opera. In 1927 Kerry would again share the screen with Lon Chaney, Sr. in the Tod Browning
directed horror film The Unknown with Joan Crawford
. Kerry was cast as a circus strongman
, despite his evident lack of a muscular physique. He would spend the decade appearing in high-profile roles opposite such famous actresses of the era as: Anna Q. Nilsson
, Marion Davies
, Bebe Daniels
, Mildred Harris
, ZaSu Pitts
, Joan Crawford
, Lillian Gish
and Claire Windsor
.
At the beginning of the talkie era he and Mary Philbin reunited to film talking scenes for the 1930 reissue of "Phantom of the Opera". On the surviving soundtrack both stars are stiff and awkward, speaking with exaggerated diction. This was Philbin's only sound film, and the beginning of Kerry's decline. He was cast in the 1931 film Bachelor Apartment, opposite silent film star Mae Murray
. The film was critically panned at the time of release and both Murray and Kerry's careers in the new medium of sound quickly waned. Kerry would only make three more film appearances before retiring from acting.
Later in life Kerry joined the French Foreign Legion
, returning to the U.S. only when France was invaded by Nazi Germany
.
Norman Kerry died in Los Angeles, California
from a liver ailment at the age of 61 in 1956 and was interred at
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
, Los Angeles County, California.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Norman Kerry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6724 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of 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...
.
Biography
Born Arnold Kaiser in Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
of German parentage, he changed his unmistakably German name to 'Norman Kerry' at the onset of World War I.
Around 1916 he befriended Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, then an exhibition dancer of some renown, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He is said to have introduced Valentino to dancer Bonnie Glass who became Valentino's partner; Valentino in turn encouraged Kerry to try making a name for himself in film. (Later, Kerry would help out Valentino financially when the two met again in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.) Kerry made his first film appearance in the 1916 Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
directed comedy Manhattan Madness, starring Douglas Fairbanks. He would rise to leading actor status the following year in the Marshall Neilan
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
directed A Little Princess, playing opposite actress Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. In 1918, Kerry followed his success with A Little Princess in the William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
directed Up the Road with Sallie, opposite Constance Talmadge
Constance Talmadge
Constance Talmadge was a silent movie star born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and was the sister of fellow actresses Norma Talmadge and Natalie Talmadge.-Early life:...
.
Kerry's career flourished during the silent film
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...
era of the late 1910s and throughout the 1920s and he quickly became a matinee idol who was extremely popular with female fans. With his slicked back hair and thin, waxed moustache, he was often cast in the role of the heroic dashing swashbuckler or the exotic, seductive lothario. By 1923, Kerry was a very well respected leading man and box-office draw. That year he starred in two much talked about films: the enormous box-office hit The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
, opposite Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
and Patsy Ruth Miller
Patsy Ruth Miller
Patsy Ruth Miller was an American film actress.After being discovered by the actress Alla Nazimova at a Hollywood party, Patsy Ruth Miller got her first break with a small role in Camille, which starred Rudolph Valentino...
and the controversial Merry-Go-Round opposite the newcomer Mary Philbin
Mary Philbin
Mary Philbin was a notable film actress of the silent film era. Philbin is probably best remembered for playing the roles of Christine Daaé in the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera opposite screen legend Lon Chaney and Dea in The Man Who Laughs...
. Kerry was cast in Merry-Go-Round by the famous Austrian director Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
to play von Stroheim's alter-ego 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg', but studio executive Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
fired von Stroheim during filming and had him replaced by director Rupert Julian
Rupert Julian
Rupert Julian was the first New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer.Born Thomas Percival Hayes in Whangaroa, New Zealand, Son of John Daly Hayes and Eliza Harriet Hayes...
. Although the film was controversial at the time, it is now considered a classic.
Kerry would again be paired with Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin in the 1925 horror classic The Phantom of the Opera, playing Philbin's love-interest, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. The film was an enormous financial and critical success and solidified Kerry's position as a leading actor during the 1920s. That same year Kerry would star opposite Patsy Ruth Miller in the adventure film Lorraine of the Lions, although the film didn't achieve nearly the degree of success as The Phantom of the Opera. In 1927 Kerry would again share the screen with Lon Chaney, Sr. in the Tod Browning
Tod Browning
Tod Browning was an American motion picture actor, director and screenwriter.Browning's career spanned the silent and talkie eras...
directed horror film The Unknown with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. Kerry was cast as a circus strongman
Strongman (circus)
The circus strongman is one of many acts found in a modern circus. The strongman demonstrates great strength, power and agility to the audience. The strongman and strongwomen were very popular attractions in the circus in the 19th century....
, despite his evident lack of a muscular physique. He would spend the decade appearing in high-profile roles opposite such famous actresses of the era as: Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Quirentia Nilsson was a Swedish born American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.-Background:...
, Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
, Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent movie era as a child actress, became a star in musicals like 42nd Street, and later gained further fame on radio and television in Britain...
, Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with...
, ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
and Claire Windsor
Claire Windsor
Claire Windsor was a notable American film actress of the silent screen era.-Early life:Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk in 1892 to George Edwin and Rosella R. Fearing Cronk in Marvin, Phillips County, Kansas of Scandinavian heritage. Her parents later moved to Cawker City, Kansas when she was...
.
At the beginning of the talkie era he and Mary Philbin reunited to film talking scenes for the 1930 reissue of "Phantom of the Opera". On the surviving soundtrack both stars are stiff and awkward, speaking with exaggerated diction. This was Philbin's only sound film, and the beginning of Kerry's decline. He was cast in the 1931 film Bachelor Apartment, opposite silent film star Mae Murray
Mae Murray
Mae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen"....
. The film was critically panned at the time of release and both Murray and Kerry's careers in the new medium of sound quickly waned. Kerry would only make three more film appearances before retiring from acting.
Later in life Kerry joined the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
, returning to the U.S. only when France was invaded by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Norman Kerry died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
from a liver ailment at the age of 61 in 1956 and was interred at
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
, Los Angeles County, California.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Norman Kerry was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6724 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California.
Filmography
- Tanks a MillionTanks a MillionTanks a Million is a 1941 American film directed by Fred Guiol. It was the first of Hal Roach's Streamliners, short films under an hour designed for the lower half of a double feature. The film was also the first pairing of William Tracy and Joe Sawyer in a series of films of the two in the...
(1941) - Phantom of Santa Fe aka The Hawk (1931)
- Air Eagles (1931)
- Bachelor ApartmentBachelor Apartment (film)Bachelor Apartment is a 1931 romance film directed by and starring Lowell Sherman as a womanizing playboy who falls in love with Irene Dunne's character.-Cast:*Lowell Sherman as Wayne Carter*Irene Dunne as Helene Andrews*Mae Murray as Mrs...
(1931) - Ex-Flame (1930)
- The Prince of Hearts (1929)
- The BondmanThe Bondman (film)The Bondman is a 1929 British silent film adventure directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Norman Kerry, Frances Cuyler and Donald Macardle. It was based on a novel The Bondman by Hall Caine.-Cast:* Norman Kerry - Jason...
(1929) - The Woman I Love (1929)
- Trial Marriage (1929)
- Man, Woman and Wife (1929)
- The Woman from Moscow (1928)
- The Foreign Legion (1928)
- The Affairs of Hannerl (1928)
- Love Me and the World Is MineLove Me and the World Is MineLove Me and the World Is Mine is a 1927 romantic film directed by Ewald André Dupont.-Plot:Hannerl is a young woman growing up in Old Vienna. She falls in love with two men: A young army officer who can provide her love and security and an old wealthy man who can provide her a high-class life...
(1927) - The Irresistible Lover (1927)
- Body and SoulBody and Soul (1927 film)Body and Soul is a 1927 silent film starring Aileen Pringle, Norman Kerry, and Lionel Barrymore. The movie was directed by Reginald Barker.-Cast:*Aileen Pringle as Hilda*Norman Kerry as Ruffo*Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Leyden...
(1927) - The Unknown (1927)
- Annie Laurie (1927)
- The Claw (1927)
- The Love Thief (1926)
- The Barrier (1926)
- Mademoiselle Modiste (1926)
- Under Western Skies (1926)
- Lorraine of the Lions (1925)
- The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force...
(1925) - Fifth Avenue Models (1925)
- The Price of Pleasure (1925)
- So This Is Marriage?So This Is Marriage?So This Is Marriage? is a drama film directed by Hobart Henley. The film was originally released with sequences filmed in Technicolor.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Peter Marsh* Eleanor Boardman as Beth Marsh* Lew Cody as Daniel Rankin...
(1924) - Butterfly (1924)
- Hello, 'Frisco (1924)
- Between Friends (1924)
- Cytherea (1924)
- True As Steel (1924)
- Daring Youth (1924)
- The Shadow of the East (1924)
- The Satin Girl (1923)
- The Thrill ChaserThe Thrill ChaserThe Thrill Chaser is a 1923 action film directed by Edward Sedgwick and featuring Hoot Gibson.-Cast:* Hoot Gibson - Omar K. Jenkins* James Neill - Sheik Ussan* Billie Dove - Olala Ussan* W. E. Lawrence - Prince Ahmed The Thrill Chaser is a 1923 action film directed by Edward Sedgwick and featuring...
(1923) - The Acquittal (1923)
- The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
(1923) - Is Money Everything? (1923)
- Merry-Go-Round (1923)
- Brothers Under the SkinBrothers Under the SkinBrothers Under the Skin is a 1922 silent comedy film directed by E. Mason Hopper. It is unknown whether any recording of the film survives; it may be a lost film.-Cast:* Pat O'Malley - Newton Craddock* Helene Chadwick - Millie Craddock...
(1922) - Till We Meet Again (1922)
- The Man from HomeThe Man from Home (1922 film)The Man From Home is a 1922 UK drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice. The story had been filmed before in 1914 by Cecil B. DeMille as The Man from Home. Alfred Hitchcock was credited as a title designer on the 1922 production. The film is now considered a lost film.-Cast:* James Kirkwood -...
(1922) - Find the Woman (1922)
- Three Live Ghosts (1922)
- Get-Rich-Quick WallingfordGet-Rich-Quick Wallingford (1921 film)Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford is a 1921 silent comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film's script was adapted by writer Luther Reed from the novel "Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford" by George Randolph Chester and George M. Cohan, which expanded in turn on a series of short stories by Chester...
(1921) - Little Italy (1921)
- The Wild Goose (1921)
- Proxies (1921)
- Buried Treasure (1921)
- A Splendid Hazard (1920)
- Passion's Playground (1920)
- Soldiers of Fortune (1919)
- The Dark Star (1919)
- Virtuous Sinners (1919)
- Getting Mary Married (1919)
- Toton the Apache (1919)
- The Talk of the TownThe Talk of the Town (1918 film)The Talk of the Town is a 1918 silent comedy film directed by Allen Holubar and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.-Cast:* Dorothy Phillips - Genevra French* George Fawcett - Major French* Clarissa Selwynne - Aunt Harriet* Zasu Pitts...
(1918) - Good Night, PaulGood Night, PaulGood Night, Paul was a 1918 silent film in five reels directed by Walter Edwards. It was based on a successful stage play with book and lyrics by Roland Oliver and Charles Dickson, and music by Harry B. Olsen. Produced by Lewis J...
(1918) - Rose o' Paradise (1918)
- Up the Road with Sallie (1918)
- Amarilly of Clothes-Line AlleyAmarilly of Clothes-Line AlleyAmarilly of Clothes-Line Alley is a 1918 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Frances Marion and based on a Belle K. Maniates novel.-Plot:...
(1918) - The Little Princess (1917)
- The Little AmericanThe Little AmericanThe Little American is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford as an American woman who is in love with both a German and a French soldier during World War I.-Plot:...
(1917) - Manhattan Madness (1916)