George Jack Warren Kerrigan (July 25, 1879 – June 9, 1947) was an American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and film director.

Controversy

In May 1917, Kerrigan was nearing the end of a four-month-long personal appearance publicity tour that had taken him across the United States and into Canada. At one of the final stops, a reporter for ''

The Denver Times The Denver Times was a daily newspaper in Denver, Colorado during 1872 to 1926. It was merged into the ''Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United ...

'' asked Kerrigan if he would be joining the war. Kerrigan replied: Picked up and reprinted in newspapers across the country, this statement stunned his fans and his popularity plummeted, never to fully recover. Family members later claimed in ''Behind the Screen'' (2001) by William J. Mann that his slump in popularity was more due to his living with his mother and partner James Vincent in the same house, and not having a business manager to overcome the negative publicity.

Revival

In the spring of 1924, after

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

bowed out, Kerrigan was assigned the starring role in '' Captain Blood''. While the film was a moderate success, critics were unmoved and Kerrigan found himself working less and less and in smaller roles. In December 1924, Kerrigan was injured in an automobile accident in Illinois. According to the ''Des Moines Tribune'' (page 1, Monday, December 8, 1924) his face was badly scarred and it was stated that "he may never star in films again".

Personal life and death

Kerrigan lived with his domestic partner James Carroll Vincent from about 1914 until Kerrigan's death in 1947.

James Carroll Vincent

James Carroll Vincent (November 9, 1897 – May 15, 1948) was a silent movie actor. He was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and moved to California to be an actor where he met Kerrigan. Vincent moved into Kerrigan's home at 2307 Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles, where they began a long-term relationship. He was listed at various times as Kerrigan's secretary or gardener. Not to be confused with actor

James Vincent James Vincent (July 19, 1882 – July 12, 1957) was an American actor and film director of the silent era. He appeared in 23 films between 1910 and 1951, and directed 18 films from 1915 to 1931. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Vincent ...

, born in 1882 and only three years younger than Kerrigan, while his partner is described as being much younger than Kerrigan; or stage manager James Vincent (who worked with Katharine Cornell and was long-time friend of

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

), born in 1900 who committed suicide in 1953 in New York City. In 1919 Vincent, who was a "juvenile" actor with Bessie Barriscale, appeared in the cast of ''Out of Court'', in 1920 he was in the cast of ''The Coast of Opportunity'' and in 1924 in the cast of ''$30,000'', all three of them movies with or by Kerrigan. In 1924, Kerrigan and Vincent, along with several of their friends, were in an automobile accident in Dixon, Illinois, on the route from Sterling to Chicago. In news reports Vincent was again named as Kerrigan's secretary. On June 9, 1947, Kerrigan died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at the age of 67. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. After Kerrigan's death, Vincent married Mitty Lee Turner (1894-1968) on October 24, 1947. On March 15, 1948, Vincent committed suicide by gas in his bedroom at 14716 Magnolia Boulevard in Van Nuys, California, nine months after the death of Kerrigan. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Filmography

References

External links

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J. Warren Kerrigan
at Virtual History
Early portrait of Kerrigan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerrigan, J. Warren 1879 births 1947 deaths Male actors from Louisville, Kentucky American male film actors American film directors American male silent film actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) American gay actors Deaths from pneumonia in California LGBT people from Indiana Silent film directors Vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors