Finding Aid for the May McAvoy papers, 1910s-1980s
Finding aid prepared by Michele James with assistance from Julie Graham; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline
Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
©2014 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: May McAvoy papers
Collection number: 1634
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.2 linear ft.
(8 flat boxes.)
Date (inclusive): 1910s-1980s
Abstract: May McAvoy was a silent screen actress who gained popularity during the early 1920s. She also reigned as Rose Queen for the
1923 Tournament of Roses. The collection consists of photographs, film stills, clippings, and ephemera related to her career.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Creator:
McAvoy, May, 1901-1984
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], May McAvoy Papers (Collection 1634). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Biography
May McAvoy was born September 18, 1901 in New York City. She began her career at the age of 15, when she dropped out of school
to begin modeling and acting. In 1917, she made her debut in the film Hate. She then appeared in several other films, including
To Hell with the Kaiser! (1918) and The Truth about Husbands (1920). Her work in Sentimental Tommy (1921) led to her being
offered an exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures, where she appeared in many successful films, including A Private Scandal
(1921), Morals (1921), and Clarence (1922). In 1923, she bought out the remainder of her contract after refusing to appear
scantily dressed in the Cecil B. DeMille production Adam's Rib. That same year, she was chosen to be queen of the Tournament
of Roses in Pasadena, CA. As a free-lance actress, McAvoy's success continued;. she was known for her beauty and talent, and
she was very popular with audiences. During this time, she appeared in The Enchanted Cottage (1924), Lady Windemere's Fan
(1925), and Ben Hur (1926). In 1927, McAvoy signed a new contract with Warner Brothers, which ultimately led to her appearing
in The Jazz Singer (1927), often considered to be the first "talking picture." McAvoy continued to appear in sound pictures
throughout the rest of the 1920s. She retired from film making in 1929 after her marriage to United Artists executive, Maurice
G. Cleary. In 1940, after her divorce from Cleary, she returned to acting and worked under contract with MGM into the late
1950s, when she retired for the second time. She continued to live in Los Angeles, CA until her death on April 26, 1984.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of photographs, clippings, and ephemera related to the career of actress May McAvoy. The photographs
are primarily portraits of McAvoy and film stills from a number of productions, such as Ben Hur, The Enchanted Cottage, The
Jazz Singer, and Sentimental Tommy. Known photographers represented in the collection include: Russell Ball, Clarence S. Bull,
Richard Burke, Preston Duncan, Edwin Bower Hesser, and Melbourne Spurr. The clippings and ephemera are related to McAvoy's
reign as the Rose Queen for the Tournament of Roses in 1923.
Organization and Arrangement
There is no specific arrangement to the collection.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Subjects and Indexing Terms
McAvoy, May 1901-1984
Motion picture actors and actresses--United States--Archives.
Box 3, Folder 2
May McAvoy - portrait in garden.
1918.
Box 3, Folder 8
May McAvoy - portraits.
ca. 1920s.
General note
With portraits crediting Curtis.
Box 1, Folder 6
May McAvoy - portraits.
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 7
May McAvoy - portraits.
no dates.
General note
Photographers: Clarence S. Bull, Hartsook, Melbourne Spurr, Russell Ball, Strauss-Peyton, Connelly, and Kandiler.
Box 1, Folder 8
May McAvoy - portraits.
ca. 1920s.
General note
With portraits crediting Harold Dean Carsey
Box 3, Folder 5
May McAvoy - portraits.
no dates.
Box 3, Folder 10
May McAvoy - portraits.
no dates.
General note
With portraits crediting Hartsook.
Box 1, Folder 10
May McAvoy - portraits by Edward Thayer Monroe.
ca. 1920s.
Box 1, Folder 9
May McAvoy - portraits by Edwin Bower Hesser.
no date.
Box 3, Folder 6
May McAvoy - portraits by Kenneth Alexander.
no dates.
Box 3, Folder 9
May McAvoy - portraits by Melbourne Spurr.
no dates.
Box 3, Folder 7
May McAvoy - portraits by Richard Burke.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 3
May McAvoy stills (unidentified).
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 1
May McAvoy stills (unidentified).
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 5
McAvoy and Cleary - wedding photographs by Russell Ball.
ca. 1920s.
Box 3, Folder 3
McAvoy and Cleary Temple home.
ca. 1920s.
Box 5, Folder 2
Realart Pictures - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 4
Warner Brothers Star (A) - publicity photographs.
no dates.
General note
Including photographs by Preston Duncan and Donald Biddle Keyes.
Box 3, Folder 11
Unidentified stills.
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 12
Ben Hur - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 6
Ben Hur - stills.
no dates.
General note
With photographs crediting Clarence S. Bull.
Box 5, Folder 5
Clarence - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 7
Enchanted Cottage - stills.
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 13
Enchanted Cottage - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 8
Everything for Sal - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 9
Forbidden Valley - stills.
ca. 1920.
Box 5, Folder 10
Happy Ending (The) - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 11
Hate - group photograph.
ca. 1918.
Box 5, Folder 12
House of the Tolling Bell (The) - still.
no date.
Box 5, Folder 13
If I Were Single - stills.
no dates.
Box 5, Folder 14
Irish Hearts - stills.
no dates.
Box 2, Folder 1
Jazz Singer (The) - stills.
ca. 1920s.
General note
With portraits crediting Preston Duncan.
Box 2, Folder 2
Kick In - stills.
no dates.
Box 2, Folder 3
Lady Windemere's Fan - stills.
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 4
Lion and The Mouse (The) - script pages.
no date.
General note
With letter not related to script pages.
Box 2, Folder 4
Lion and the Mouse (The) - stills.
no dates.
Box 2, Folder 5
Little Snob (The) - stills.
no dates.
Box 7, Folder
Morals of Marcus - stills and press notices.
no dates.
General note
No press notices included.
Box 2, Folder 6
Morals of Marcus (The) - stills.
no dates.
Box 2, Folder 7
My Husband's Other Wife - stills.
ca. 1919.
Box 4, Folder 1
Perfect Lady (A) - stills.
no dates.
Box 4, Folder 2
Private Scandal (A) - stills.
no dates.
Box 4, Folder 3
Reno Divorce (A) - stills.
no dates.
Box 4, Folder 4
Sentimental Tommy - stills.
no dates.
Box 4, Folder 5
Slightly Used - stills.
no dates.
Box 4, Folder 6
Sporting Duchess (The) - stills.
no dates.
Box 4, Folder 8
Three Women - stills.
no dates.
General note
Appears to be from Three Women.
Box 4, Folder 9
Through a Glass Window - stills.
no date.
Box 4, Folder 7
To Hell with the Kaiser - stills.
ca. 1918.
Box 4, Folder 10
Truth About Husbands (The) - stills.
ca. 1920.
Box 4, Folder 11
Way of a Woman (The) - stills.
ca. 1919.
Box 6, Folder
Photographs and leather scrapbook with clippings.
1920s-1970s.
General note
Clippings and scrapbook separated for preservation reasons.
Box 3, Folder 1
Photographs of Others.
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 11
Photographs of others inscribed to McAvoy.
no dates.
Box 1, Folder 3
Notes to May McAvoy.
1920, 1980, no date.
Box 3, Folder 4
Pasadena Tournament of Roses - photographs.
1920s-1980s.
General note
With press release dated 1960.
Box 8, Folder 1
Press book pages.
no dates.
General note
For Silver City Bonanza, Shadow Man, Shadow of a Woman, and Sheriff of Wichita.
Box 8, Folder 2
Sheet Music.
1920s-1940s.
Box 1, Folder 1
Tournament of Roses materials.
1950s, 1980s.
