Malcolm McGregor
Malcom McGregor was born in Newark, NJ, October 13,
1892. Prior to coming to Hollywood, McGregor was an inter-collegiate
swimming champion and a "first class boxer" at Yale
and "has displayed much skill as in instructor in dancing."
(according to the 1924 book "Stars of the Photoplay").
He married after college, and he and his wife, along with some
friends, bought a yacht and sailed around the Pacific for awhile
(McGregor is said to have sailed the first small boat through
the Panama Canal and "spent an adventurous seven months in
the Orient.") His father was a millionaire "manufacturer"
and wanted his son to go into the family business. However, he
ended up in Hollywood after his sailing adventure, met a fellow
Yale graduate, Rex Ingram, and was given an opportunity to act
in films. His first film appearance was in Rex Ingram's "The
Prisoner of Zenda" (1922). His work in this film was well-liked
enough that he was put under contract to Metro. For his second
picture, he was chosen by director Allen Holubar to star opposite
Colleen Moore in "Broken Chains" (1922), a film that
garnered quite a bit of publicity because of its $10,000 Chicago
News prize-winning scenario. For his third picture, he starred
with Billie Dove and Lon Chaney in "All the Brothers Were
Valiant," a prestigious 1923 Metro release. McGregor made
over 40 silent films, sometimes starring, sometimes sharing the
star billing, and sometimes in support of the star. Not as successful
in the sound era, he nevertheless appeared in over a dozen features
between 1929 and 1936. Apparently McGregor continued to enjoy
sailing throughout his life. An October 1933 newspaper article
noted that he and some friends had to be rescued by the Coast
Guard off the coast of South Carolina when their sailing vessel
was disabled in a storm. They were towed into Norfolk, VA. The
boat was owned by Mrs. Lewis Stone. Sadly, McGregor was to die
a tragic death April 29, 1945, when he fell asleep in a chair
with a lit cigarette in his Hollywood home.
Selected films of this star available for viewing:
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)
Lady of the Night (1925)
Smouldering Fires (1925)
The
Circle (1925)
The Vanishing
American (1925)
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