May Irene McAvoy was born on September 8, 1899, in New York City to Julia Agnes McAvoy (née Reilly) and James Patrick McAvoy, who were both first generation Irish-Americans. The 1910 census lists her as living with her maternal grandparents in Sussex, New Jersey.[citation needed]
In addition to acting in The Jazz Singer, McAvoy coached Al Jolson as he made his film debut.[3] Although her voice was not heard in The Jazz Singer, she spoke in several other films, including the second sound film 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.[4] In truth, she married the treasurer of United Artists, who asked her not to work.[4]
Later, she returned to films and played small, uncredited roles during the 1940s and 1950s, making her final film appearance in a small part of the 1959 version of Ben-Hur. Most of her later uncredited work was performed for MGM.[5]
McAvoy was the Rose Queen in the Rose Parade in 1923.[6]
Personal life
McAvoy married banker Maurice Cleary on June 26, 1929,[7] with whom she had a son named Patrick,[1] and divorced him in 1940.[8] They remarried on December 10, 1971. She was a registered Republican.[9] McAvoy was a lifelong Roman Catholic.[10]
Copies are held at the Library of Congress and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison The Vitaphone soundtracks partially survive at the UCLA Film and Television Archive
