May McAvoy
Toronto Daily Star, June 20 1932
May McAvoy (1899-1984) was a star in the silent film era, appearing in movies regularly starting in 1917. She successfully made the transition to sound and coached Al Jolson as he made his film debut in The Jazz Singer in 1929.
Ms. McAvoy retired from movies when she married Maurice J. Cleary, who is variously described as a Los Angeles banker and the treasurer of United Artists (he could well have been both). They divorced in 1940 and remarried in 1971; Patrick, shown above, was their only child. She appeared in some small, uncredited roles in movies in the 1940s.
Created October 28, 2025.