Norman Kerry (born Norman Hussey Kaiser, June 16, 1894 â€" January 12,
1956) was an American actor whose career in the motion picture
industry spanned twenty-five years, beginning in 1916 and peaking
during the silent era of the 1920s. Changing his name from the
unmistakably German "Kaiser" at the onset of World War I, he rose
quickly in his field, becoming "the Clark Gable of the [1920s]." He
often played the heroic dashing swashbuckler or the seductive lothario
and was extremely popular with female fans. On a personal level, Kerry
was known as a prankster and was said to have a wonderful sense of
humor and to be very popular. He also achieved some recognition as a
dog fancier, maintaining kennels at his home that were "known
throughout the world among lovers of aristocratic dogs." As his film
career waned in the 1930s, he became known as an international bon
vivant and adventurer who lived in the French Riviera and even joined
the French Foreign Legion.Kerry made his first film appearance in the
1916 comedy Manhattan Madness, starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed
by Allan Dwan. Dwan needed young people with horses to appear in a
scene and Kerry volunteered himself and his friends to fill that need.
The following year, Kerry rose to leading actor status in A Little
Princess, playing opposite actress Mary Pickford. He again appeared
with Mary Pickford in 1918, in Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley, and
that in turn led to his being chosen by Constance Talmadge as her
leading man in Up the Road with Sallie. He was "on his way!"Kerry's
career flourished from the time of those early successes and
throughout the 1920s--the silent film era. In 1920, he was paid a
salary of $750 per week and by 1930 he had been under contract with
Universal Pictures for twelve years and was thought to be among the
actors who had played the most roles in his career. He wore a fancy
waxed mustache and slicked-back hair, exemplifying the "tall, dark,
and handsome" matinee idol of the time. In 1923, he starred in two of
his most popular films, the enormous box-office success The Hunchback
of Notre Dame, with Lon Chaney and Patsy Ruth Miller and the
controversial Merry-Go-Round, opposite Mary Philbin. In
Merry-Go-Round, Austrian director Erich von Stroheim chose Kerry to
play von Stroheim's alter-ego 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg',
but producer Irving Thalberg replaced von Stroheim with director
Rupert Julian during filming. The film is now considered a
classic.Kerry was again cast with Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin in the
1925 horror classic The Phantom of the Opera, playing Philbin's
love-interest, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. The film was an enormous
financial and critical success and solidified Kerry's position as a
leading actor during the 1920s. That same year Kerry starred with
Philbin in the melodrama Fifth Avenue Models and with Patsy Ruth
Miller in the adventure film Lorraine of the Lions. In 1927, Kerry
again shared the screen with Lon Chaney in The Unknown, also starring
Joan Crawford. By the end of the decade, he had appeared in
high-profile roles opposite Anna Q. Nilsson, Marion Davies, Bebe
Daniels, Mildred Harris, Lillian Gish, and Claire Windsor, among
others.
1956) was an American actor whose career in the motion picture
industry spanned twenty-five years, beginning in 1916 and peaking
during the silent era of the 1920s. Changing his name from the
unmistakably German "Kaiser" at the onset of World War I, he rose
quickly in his field, becoming "the Clark Gable of the [1920s]." He
often played the heroic dashing swashbuckler or the seductive lothario
and was extremely popular with female fans. On a personal level, Kerry
was known as a prankster and was said to have a wonderful sense of
humor and to be very popular. He also achieved some recognition as a
dog fancier, maintaining kennels at his home that were "known
throughout the world among lovers of aristocratic dogs." As his film
career waned in the 1930s, he became known as an international bon
vivant and adventurer who lived in the French Riviera and even joined
the French Foreign Legion.Kerry made his first film appearance in the
1916 comedy Manhattan Madness, starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed
by Allan Dwan. Dwan needed young people with horses to appear in a
scene and Kerry volunteered himself and his friends to fill that need.
The following year, Kerry rose to leading actor status in A Little
Princess, playing opposite actress Mary Pickford. He again appeared
with Mary Pickford in 1918, in Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley, and
that in turn led to his being chosen by Constance Talmadge as her
leading man in Up the Road with Sallie. He was "on his way!"Kerry's
career flourished from the time of those early successes and
throughout the 1920s--the silent film era. In 1920, he was paid a
salary of $750 per week and by 1930 he had been under contract with
Universal Pictures for twelve years and was thought to be among the
actors who had played the most roles in his career. He wore a fancy
waxed mustache and slicked-back hair, exemplifying the "tall, dark,
and handsome" matinee idol of the time. In 1923, he starred in two of
his most popular films, the enormous box-office success The Hunchback
of Notre Dame, with Lon Chaney and Patsy Ruth Miller and the
controversial Merry-Go-Round, opposite Mary Philbin. In
Merry-Go-Round, Austrian director Erich von Stroheim chose Kerry to
play von Stroheim's alter-ego 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg',
but producer Irving Thalberg replaced von Stroheim with director
Rupert Julian during filming. The film is now considered a
classic.Kerry was again cast with Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin in the
1925 horror classic The Phantom of the Opera, playing Philbin's
love-interest, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. The film was an enormous
financial and critical success and solidified Kerry's position as a
leading actor during the 1920s. That same year Kerry starred with
Philbin in the melodrama Fifth Avenue Models and with Patsy Ruth
Miller in the adventure film Lorraine of the Lions. In 1927, Kerry
again shared the screen with Lon Chaney in The Unknown, also starring
Joan Crawford. By the end of the decade, he had appeared in
high-profile roles opposite Anna Q. Nilsson, Marion Davies, Bebe
Daniels, Mildred Harris, Lillian Gish, and Claire Windsor, among
others.
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