Helen Ferguson

Biography

Illinois-born Helen Ferguson is thought to have made her film debut at age 13 in 1914, although her first recorded credits are in 1917. She played opposite such action stars as Hoot Gibson and Harry Carey, and when she went to Fox in the early 1920s to star opposite Buck Jones, her career really took off. She went to Pathe in 1925 and was featured in several serials, westerns and comedies. She had married actor William Russell in 1925 but he died in 1929. The next year she married a wealthy banker, and left films to concentrate on stage work. Though she achieved some success in that medium, she gave up acting altogether in 1933 to concentrate on publicity work, and it was here where she achieved her greatest success. She soon became a major power in Hollywood, representing the top stars of the day, such as Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor and Jeanette MacDonald, to name a few. She remained in that business until 1967, when she retired.