Helen Ferguson
| 23 Jul 1901 | Decatur - Illinois - USA
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Death date: 14 Mar 1977
Biography
From Wikipedia
Helen Ferguson (July 23, 1901 – March 14, 1977) was an
American actress later turned publicist.
Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1901, she graduated from
Nicholas High School of Chicago and the Academy of Fine Arts. Ferguson was a
newspaper reporter before entering the motion picture field.
It is thought she made her debut in films in 1914, although
her first recorded credits are in 1917. She soon starred in roles for Fox Film
Corporation by 1920, which is when her career really took off with films such
as Hungry Hearts (1922) for Samuel Goldwyn. She was cast mostly in westerns,
comedies, and serials. She was selected as a WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1922.
She married actor William Russell in 1925, but he died in
1929. The following year, she married wealthy banker Richard L. Hargreaves.
Following her second marriage, she left films to concentrate on stage work,
though she only received minimal success in this medium.
In 1933, she left acting altogether to focus on publicity
work, a job she became very successful in and which made her a major power in
Hollywood, because she was representing such big name stars as Henry Fonda,
Barbara Stanwyck, and Robert Taylor, among others. Ferguson represented actress
Loretta Young for more than nineteen years. She kept reporters from needlessly
disturbing Young and was considered one of the foremost "suppress agents"
in Hollywood.
In 1941, her second husband died, and she retired from
publicity work in 1967. She died in Clearwater, Florida in 1977, aged 75. She
is buried at Forest Lawn Glendale in Glendale, California.
Helen Ferguson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for
her contributions to Motion Pictures at 6153 Hollywood Blvd.