From stars of stage & screen to musicians & artists — the cultural contributions of the Allison-Thomas families are vast and varied.
May Allison
(June 14, 1890 – March 27, 1989)
May was a celebrated American actress in the early 20th century, most notably in silent films. She was born in Rising Fawn, Georgia, the youngest of 5 children born to John Samuel Allison and Nannie Virginia Allison. She moved from home to find her own way in life, where she found the stage to be her passion. She started in 1911 on Broadway with “Beauty” before residing in Hollywood, California, where she began her silent movie career.
In 1915, she starred in a role opposite Harold Lockwood in the romantic film, David Harum. There began her rise fame alongside Lockwood during World War 1 era. She starred in over 25 movies before Lockwood succumbed to the Spanish influenza that ravished the world over. Afterword, she starred in many other films, but never reached the notoriety that she once knew without her costar Lockwood.
She settled down near Cleveland in Bratenahl, Ohio with then husband, Carl Norton Osborne and his daughter. After the passing of her husband, she spent most of her time in Tucker’s Town, Bermuda, and she was a patron of the Cleveland Orchestra. She eventually died of respiratory failure in 1989, survived by her stepdaughter and four grand stepchildren, where she was buried at Gates Mills Cemetary.
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