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May Allison
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May Allison
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May Allison (June 14, 1890 – March 27, 1989) was an American actress whose greatest success was achieved in the early part of the 20th century in silent films, although she also appeared on stage.[1]

Key Information

Life and career

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Allison was born in Rising Fawn, Georgia,[2] the youngest of five children born to John Samuel Allison and Nannie Virginia (née Wise) Allison.[3][4] She made her Broadway debut in 1911 as "Beauty" in Walter Browne's Everywoman before settling in Hollywood, California in the early days of motion pictures.[5][6] Allison's screen debut was as an ingenue in the 1915 star-making Theda Bara vehicle A Fool There Was.[2]

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. The pair starred in approximately twenty-five highly successful features together during the World War I era and became one of the first celebrated on-screen romantic duos.[7]

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 1920, killing 50 to 100 million people globally.[8] Allison's career then faltered markedly without her popular leading male co-star. She 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.[9] Her last film before retiring was 1927's The Telephone Girl, opposite Madge Bellamy and Warner Baxter.[5]

Allison was secretly married to Col. William Stephenson in Santa Ana, California, in December 1919, but the marriage was annulled in February 1920. On Thanksgiving day in 1920,[10] Allison married writer and actor Robert Ellis.[11] Allison filed for divorce from Ellis in December 1923, citing cruelty as the reason. Her filing explained the couple had married on November 25, 1920 in Greenwich, Connecticut and were separated about November 5, 1923.[12] On November 15, 1926, witnessed by Ivan and Adela Rogers St. Johns, she married Photoplay magazine editor James R. Quirk,[13][2] a union that lasted until his death in 1932.[14]

Allison's last marriage, to Cleveland industrialist Carl Norton Osborne, took place on March 2, 1934[15] and lasted until his death in 1982. In her later years, Allison spent much of her time at her vacation home in Tucker's Town, Bermuda, and was a patron of the Cleveland Orchestra.[14]

Death

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Allison died of respiratory failure in Bratenahl, Ohio, in 1989 at the age of 98, survived by a stepdaughter and four stepgrandchildren.[2] She was buried at the Gates Mills South Cemetery in Gates Mills, Ohio.[16]

Selected filmography

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Allison (left) with Helen Taft Manning in 1921
Still of Harold Lockwood and Allison in the 1916 silent drama Big Tremaine.

References

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May Allison

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May Allison is an American silent film actress known for her prolific career during the 1910s and 1920s, particularly her celebrated on-screen partnership with Harold Lockwood in numerous romantic features that made them one of the era's most popular screen couples. Born on June 14, 1890, in Rising Fawn, Georgia, she made her Broadway stage debut in 1914 before transitioning to film with her debut role in A Fool There Was (1915) opposite Theda Bara. That same year she began collaborating with Lockwood, starring together in around two dozen films for Metro Pictures (and earlier Mutual), including titles such as David Harum and Big Tremaine, establishing her as a leading lady in romantic comedies and dramas through World War I. Following Lockwood's death in 1918, Allison continued her career with leading roles in features for studios including First National, appearing in over fifty films total before voluntarily retiring in 1927 after her final picture, The Telephone Girl. In later years, following the death of her husband James R. Quirk in 1932, she contributed articles to magazines including Photoplay. In 1935 she married Cleveland industrialist Carl Norton Osborne (her fourth husband), with whom she resided in Bratenahl, Ohio, for over four decades. There she became a prominent local philanthropist and cultural supporter, serving on the board of the Cleveland Play House and contributing to institutions including the Cleveland Orchestra. Allison died of respiratory failure on March 27, 1989, in Bratenahl at the age of 98.

Early life

Family background and childhood

May Allison was born on June 14, 1890, in Rising Fawn, Georgia, a small community in Dade County. She was the youngest of five children born to John Samuel Allison, a physician, and Nannie Virginia (née Wise) Allison. Allison grew up in this rural Georgia setting as part of a family headed by her doctor father, though specific details about her early home life or family circumstances remain limited in available historical records.

Education and early interests

Following her early childhood in Georgia, she studied at schools in Tennessee. No specific institutions or further details about her schooling are documented in available sources, and there are no recorded accounts of particular early interests in the performing arts or other influences that shaped her later career path during this period.

Stage debut and early career

May Allison made her Broadway debut in 1914, playing the role of Mrs. Newhouse in the play Apartment 12-K. This production marked her entry into professional theater on Broadway. Her early stage career appears to have been limited, with this production serving as her only documented Broadway credit before her transition to film. She subsequently settled in Hollywood, California, during the formative years of the motion picture industry.

Film career

Entry into motion pictures and early roles

After establishing herself on stage and relocating to Hollywood, May Allison entered motion pictures in 1915. Her screen debut came in a supporting role as the wife's sister in the Fox Film Corporation production A Fool There Was, directed by Frank Powell and starring Theda Bara as the seductive "vampire." In the film, Allison portrayed a young, innocent, and appealing character who provided contrast to Bara's dominant role. Later that same year, Allison advanced to a leading role in David Harum, playing Mary Blake opposite Harold Lockwood as John Lenox and William H. Crane in the title part. ) This romantic drama marked her shift to principal parts, with audiences quickly responding positively to her onscreen presence.

Partnership with Harold Lockwood

May Allison's highly successful on-screen partnership with Harold Lockwood began in 1915 with the romantic film David Harum, directed by Allan Dwan. Audiences quickly became enamored with the duo's chemistry, leading to their rapid rise as one of the earliest celebrated screen romantic teams. During World War I, Allison and Lockwood starred together in about twenty-five highly successful features, establishing them as a popular romantic pairing of the era. Notable examples of their collaborations include Big Tremaine (1916) and The Promise (1917). The partnership ended abruptly in 1918 when Lockwood died at age 31 after contracting Spanish influenza during the global epidemic. His death marked the conclusion of one of early cinema's most prominent romantic screen teams.

Post-1918 career and final films

Following the death of her frequent co-star Harold Lockwood in 1918 from the Spanish influenza pandemic, which ended their highly popular romantic screen partnership, May Allison transitioned to independent starring roles in silent films. She continued working steadily into the 1920s, appearing in several features that showcased her as a leading lady in romantic and dramatic stories. Among her notable post-1918 appearances were In for Thirty Days (1919), where she portrayed Helen Corning, a wealthy widow entangled in comedic circumstances, and two 1921 releases: The Marriage of William Ashe, an adaptation of the Mary Augusta Ward novel in which she played Lady Kitty Bristol, and Extravagance, a melodrama centered on marital and financial strains. In the mid-1920s, she took supporting or character roles in films such as The Greater Glory (1926) and Men of Steel (1926), reflecting a shift toward ensemble casts in larger productions. Allison's final film role came in The Telephone Girl (1927), a silent drama directed by Herbert Brenon and released by Paramount Pictures, where she appeared as Grace Robinson alongside Madge Bellamy and Warner Baxter. This marked the conclusion of her acting career in motion pictures after more than a decade of work following the end of her earlier teaming with Lockwood.

Retirement from acting

May Allison retired from acting after completing her final film, The Telephone Girl, in 1927. She had no further credits in motion pictures or on stage after that year. Following her departure from the industry, Allison transitioned to private life.

Personal life

Marriages

May Allison was married four times. Her first marriage was a secret wedding to Colonel J.L. (William) Stephenson in December 1919, which was annulled in February 1920. She next married actor and writer Robert Ellis on November 25, 1920. The marriage ended in divorce in December 1923 on grounds of cruelty. On November 15, 1926, Allison married James R. Quirk, editor of Photoplay magazine, in a ceremony at Hotel El Mirasol. This union lasted until Quirk's death in 1932. Her fourth marriage, to Cleveland industrialist Carl Norton Osborne, took place in 1935. It endured until Osborne's death in 1982.

Later residences and activities

After her marriage to Cleveland industrialist Carl Norton Osborne in 1935, May Allison relocated to Ohio and resided in Bratenahl during her later years. She and her husband maintained a winter vacation home in Tucker's Town, Bermuda, where they spent considerable time and were members of local clubs including the Mid-Ocean Club, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, and Coral Beach and Tennis Club. Allison was a benefactor and patron of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Death

Final years and passing

May Allison spent her final years residing in Bratenahl, Ohio, where she had made her home following her 1935 marriage to Cleveland industrialist Carl Norton Osborne. She died of respiratory failure on March 27, 1989, at her home in Bratenahl, Ohio, at the age of 98. She was buried at Gates Mills South Cemetery in Gates Mills, Ohio. Allison was survived by a stepdaughter and four stepgrandchildren.
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