J. Warren Kerrigan

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George Jack Warren Kerrigan (25 July 1879, Louisville, Kentucky - 9 June 1947, Balboa Beach, California) was a popular American silent film actor.

1 Background
2 Controversy
3 Revival
4 Filmography
5 External links

[edit] Background

While barely in his teens, Kerrigan worked as a warehouse clerk until a chance arrived to appear in a vaudeville production. He continued to act in traveling stock productions, though he took a brief time away from the stage to attend the University of Illinois.

By the time he was 30 years old, he had begun to make appearances in films for Essanay and Biograph. A contract with the American Film Corporation opened the door to leading roles, often as a modern man of the age. He starred in over 300 films up to 1924.

Kerrigan with Lois Wilson on set of The Covered Wagon (1923)

[edit] Controversy

An tactless remark about his refusal to enlist in the American army after the U.S. entry into World War I cost him both sympathy with audiences and the support of the studios. This affected his career around 1917 and he began to work less frequently and for more minor studios.

[edit] Revival

However when director James Cruze cast him as the rugged lead in The Covered Wagon (1923), Kerrigan found himself back on top, appearing in dashing leads in several important pictures over the next season. However, within a year, he decided to abandon his film career while at its peak in 1924. His stardom had given him the freedom to live freely and easily without working, which is how he lived out the rest of his life. It was reported that he made a few small appearances in supporting roles just before his death in June 1947 when he died from pneumonia.