Audrey Minerva Ferris ( Kellar; August 30, 1909 – May 3, 1990) was an American

film actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

of the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era of the late 1920s and into the early 1930s, a singer, and a dancer.

Biography

Born Audrey Minerva Kellar in Detroit, Michigan, Ferris was the only child to Frank M. Kellar, a railway clerk, and Florence Maggie Kellar (née Watson), who were both Canadian immigrants. Ferris was of English, Irish, and German descent. Her parents divorced in 1913. In May 1935, Ferris was a witness in a trial in Los Angeles as her mother sued for more than $3,000 in past-due support payments. Ferris, then 25 years old, testified that she did not remember her father. Her mother remarried in November 1917 to a salesman named David Hamlin Ferris, who adopted Audrey.https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4293716-00252?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=733584 Ferris and her family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in the 1910s, and she attended

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a publ ...

, where she participated in orchestra class as a violinist and was concertmistress. While living in Los Angeles, she began working to pursue a career as an actress. In 1927 she received her first supporting role in ''Woman's Law'', which starred

Lillian Rich Lillian Rose Rich (1 January 1900 – 5 January 1954) was an English-born actress of the silent film, silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1940. Biography Rich was born in Herne Hill, London, on 1 January 1900. I ...

. Her work in sound films included portraying a chorus girl in ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927), and acting in ''Rinty of the Desert'' (1928). She was one of 13 young women named 1927

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

. In 1929 she appeared in only three films, but unlike many silent film stars she did make a successful transition to

talkies A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

in 1930. However, she never received many lead roles, and starred in only one film that year, and another two in 1932. After having a starring role in the 1933 film ''Justice Takes a Holiday'' opposite H.B. Warner and

Huntley Gordon Huntley Ashworth Gordon (October 8, 1879 – December 7, 1956) was a Canadian actor who began his career in the Silent Film era. Profile Gordon was born in Montreal, Quebec, and educated in both Canada and England. He had various jobs includi ...

, she had only one more film acting role. Her last role was in the 1935 film ''The Marriage Bargain'', alongside

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula ...

and

Lila Lee Lila Lee (born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel; July 25, 1905 – November 13, 1973) was a prominent screen actress, primarily a leading lady, of the silent film and early sound film eras. Early life The daughter of Augusta Fredericka App ...

. She retired shortly thereafter. Ferris was married to Archer Huntington. Ferris died on May 3, 1990, in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography

* 1927: ''

Woman's Law ''Woman's Law'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Dallas M. Fitzgerald and starring Pat O'Malley, Lillian Rich, and Audrey Ferris.Munden p. 922 Cast * Pat O'Malley as Trooper Bucky O'Hare * Lillian Rich Lillian Rose Ric ...

'', as Rose La Pierre, produced by Dallas M. Fitzgerald * 1927: ''

The Silver Slave ''The Silver Slave'' is a lost 1927 synchronized sound film drama directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Irene Rich. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitap ...

'', as Janet Randall, produced by

Howard Bretherton Howard Bretherton (13 February 1890, in Tacoma, Washington – 12 April 1969, in San Diego, California) was an American film director and film editor. Career He began his career as a propman and then became a film editor during the early 1920s f ...

* 1927: '' Ginsberg the Great'', as Mary, produced by

Byron Haskin Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he ...

* 1927: ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous ...

'', as a singer, produced by

Alan Crosland Frederick Alan Crosland (August 10, 1894 – July 16, 1936) was an American stage actor and film director. He is noted for having directed the first feature film using spoken dialogue, ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927) and the first feature movie with s ...

* 1927: ''

Sailor Izzy Murphy ''Sailor Izzy Murphy'' is a 1927 synchronized sound comedy-drama film released from Warner Bros. Pictures starring George Jessel, Audrey Ferris, Warner Oland and John Milijan. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synch ...

'', as Marie, produced by

Henry Lehrman Henry Lehrman (30 March 1881 – 7 November 1946) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. Lehrman was a very prominent figure of Hollywood's silent film era, working with such cinematic pioneers as D. W. Griffith and Mack Sen ...

* 1927: ''

Slightly Used ''Slightly Used'' is a 1927 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and written by C. Graham Baker and Jack Jarmuth. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effe ...

'', as Helen Martin, produced by

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

* 1928: '' Women They Talk About'', as Audrey Hughes, produced by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director, he made films in numerous genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and c ...

* 1928: ''

Powder My Back ''Powder My Back'' is a 1928 synchronized sound film comedy directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Irene Rich. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vit ...

'', as Ruth Stevens, produced by

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893 – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) for the pr ...

* 1928: ''

Rinty of the Desert ''Rinty of the Desert'' is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by D. Ross Lederman. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone ...

'', as May, produced by D. Ross Lederman * 1928: ''

The Little Wildcat ''The Little Wildcat'' is a 1928 American sound part-talkie comedy drama directed by Ray Enright and starring Audrey Ferris, James Murray and Robert Edeson. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film feature ...

'', as June, produced by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...

* 1928: ''

The Lion and the Mouse The Lion and the Mouse is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 150 in the Perry Index. There are also Eastern variants of the story, all of which demonstrate mutual dependence regardless of size or status. In the Renaissance the fable was provided wi ...

'' (uncredited), produced by

* 1928: ''

Beware of Bachelors ''Beware of Bachelors'' is a 1928 American part-talkie pre-code comedy drama film produced and released by Warner Bros., and directed by Roy Del Ruth. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a sync ...

'', as May, a woman, produced by

* 1928: '' Beware of Married Men'', as Helene Martin, produced by

* 1928: ''

'', as Audrey, produced by

* 1929: ''

Fancy Baggage ''Fancy Baggage'' is a 1929 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by John G. Adolfi and released by Warner Bros. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sou ...

'', as Naomi Iverson, produced by

Joseph Santley Joseph Mansfield Santley (born Joseph Ishmael Mansfield, January 10, 1890 – August 8, 1971) was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatre, musical theatre, theatrical plays motion pictures and tel ...

* 1929: '' The Glad Rag Dog'', as Bertha Fairchild, produced by

* 1929: ''

Honky Tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

'', as Jean Gilmore, produced by

* 1930: '' Undertow'', as Kitty, produced by

Snub Pollard Harold Fraser (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962), known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s. Career Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 No ...

* 1932: ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' (uncredited), produced by

* 1932: '' That Rascal'', produced by

Al Christie Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, ...

* 1932: ''

Honeymoon Beach A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple's ...

'', as Connie Watts, produced by Harry Edwards * 1933: '' Justice Takes a Holiday'', as Margaret Walker, produced by

Spencer Gordon Bennet Spencer Gordon Bennet (January 5, 1893 – October 8, 1987) was an American film producer and director. Known as the "King of Serial Directors", he directed more film serials than any other director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Benne ...

* 1935: '' The Marriage Bargain'', as Mabel Stanhope, produced by

Albert Ray Albert Ray (August 28, 1897 – February 5, 1944) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He directed more than 70 films between 1920 and 1939. He also appeared in 18 films between 1915 and 1922. He was born in New Rochelle ...

References

External links

*
Stills with Audrey Ferris
at silenthollywood.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Audrey 1909 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American actresses American silent film actresses American film actresses Actresses from Detroit