# May Tully

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{{Short description|Canadian actress, writer, director and producer (1880s–1924)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = May Tully
| image              = MayTully1912.jpg
| alt                = May Tully, from a 1912 newspaper.
| caption            = Tully, from a 1912 newspaper
| birth_name         = Mary Gertrude Tully
| birth_date         = 1880s (sources give various dates)
| birth_place        = [Nanaimo](/source/Nanaimo), [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), Canada
| death_date         = {{death date|1924|3|9}}
| death_place        = [New York City](/source/New_York_City), United States
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = Actress, writer, producer
| years_active       = 
| known_for          = 
| notable_works      = 
}}

'''May Tully''' (born 1880s – March 9, 1924) was a Canadian actress, writer, director, and producer in theatre and film, and, according to sportswriter [Damon Runyon](/source/Damon_Runyon), "perhaps the greatest woman baseball fan that ever lived."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198669/may_tully_1924/|title=Says Damon Runyon: May Tully Dead, Was a Great 'Fan'|last=Runyon|first=Damon|date=March 14, 1924|work=The Dayton Herald|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=19|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Mary Gertrude Tully was born in [Nanaimo](/source/Nanaimo), [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), the daughter of Frank Tully and Nancy Hague Tully.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198747/may_tully_1919/|title=Miss May Tully Nanaimo Native Daughter|date=February 6, 1919|work=Nanaimo Daily News|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After her father died in the [1887 Nanaimo mine explosion](/source/1887_Nanaimo_mine_explosion) when May was a girl, she and her widowed mother moved to [Victoria, British Columbia](/source/Victoria%2C_British_Columbia),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198628/may_tully_on_baseball_1912/|title=Victoria Comedienne Strong on Baseball|date=June 11, 1912|work=The Victoria Daily Times|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=7|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> where her mother remarried. May Tully attended [McGill University](/source/McGill_University), and [Mrs. Wheatley's Dramatic School](/source/Mrs._Wheatley's_Dramatic_School) in New York.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFnfnKg6BcAC&q=May+Tully&pg=PA1132|title=Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America|last1=Cullen|first1=Frank|last2=Hackman|first2=Florence|last3=McNeilly|first3=Donald|date=2007|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780415938532|pages=1132–1133|language=en}}</ref>
thumb|A scene from May Tully's play ''Mary's Ankle'' (1916), starring Irene Fenwick.

== Career ==
Tully was credited as a writer on eight silent films: ''[The Winning of Beatrice](/source/The_Winning_of_Beatrice)'' (1918),<ref name=":3" /> ''[Mary's Ankle](/source/Mary's_Ankle)'' (1920), ''His Wife's Money'' (1920), ''Bucking the Tiger'' (1921), ''[The Old Oaken Bucket](/source/The_Old_Oaken_Bucket_(film))'' (1921), ''Chivalrous Charley'' (1921), ''Kisses'' (1922), and ''That Old Gang of Mine'' (1925). In addition, she directed ''That Old Gang of Mine'' and ''The Old Oaken Bucket'', and had producer credit on ''The Old Oaken Bucket''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12774713/may_tullys_old_oaken_bucket/|title=Old Oaken Bucket is Princess Feature|date=May 8, 1922|work=Hot Springs New Era|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=6|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

On stage, Tully acted in shows such as ''The Christian'' (1900), ''In the Good Old Summer Time'', and ''The Two Mr. Wetherbys'' (1906). She wrote the play ''Mary's Ankle'' (1916),<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/marysankle00tull|title=Mary's ankle ..|last=Tully|first=May [from old catalog|date=1916|publisher=New York, Samuel French|others=The Library of Congress}}</ref> "an improbable but delectable farce"<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Richardson|first=Anna Steese|date=December 1917|title=Lady Broadway: How the Woman Playwright Has Captured the Great White Way|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EulMAQAAIAAJ&q=May+Tully&pg=RA1-PA13|journal=McClure's Magazine|volume=50|pages=13}}</ref> starring [Irene Fenwick](/source/Irene_Fenwick), [Zelda Sears](/source/Zelda_Sears), and [Bert Lytell](/source/Bert_Lytell) on Broadway;<ref>{{Cite news|title="Mary's Ankle," May Tully's Farce, Lets Irene Fenwick Score A Hit|last=Allen|first=Eugene Kelcey|date=August 7, 1917|work=Women's Wear Daily|page=8|id={{ProQuest|<!-- ProQuest data goes here --> }} }}</ref> it was also a success in other cities.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=May 11, 1918|title=Mary's Ankle Continues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_FHAQAAMAAJ&q=May+Tully&pg=RA19-PA17|journal=Town Talk|volume=32|pages=17}}</ref>

Tully performed in [vaudeville](/source/vaudeville) in sketches she wrote, ''Stop! Look! and Listen!'' (1907),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198839/may_tully_1906/|title=Clever and Winsome May Tully|date=December 8, 1906|work=The Buffalo Times|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=5|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> ''The Late Mr. Allen'' (1912), ''The Battle Cry of Freedom'' (1912),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12774657/may_tully_at_orpheum_vaudeville/|title=May Tully at Orpheum|date=June 30, 1912|work=The Oregon Daily Journal|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=36|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and ''Mona Lisa'' (1914).<ref name=":1" />   "She has long been recognized as the over-time worker of the vaudeville world," explained another writer in 1917, adding "She is perhaps the most businesslike of all the lady playwrights."<ref name=":2" /> She was the sketch writer for the [Palace Theatre](/source/Palace_Theatre_(New_York_City)) in New York, and in 1915 produced a fashion show there, with models, expensive gowns, and jewelry;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31200402/may_tully_1915/|title=Talented Victorian Talks of her Work|date=December 29, 1915|work=The Victoria Daily Times|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=14|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> a popular attraction, ''The Fashion Show'' toured the [Keith circuit](/source/B._F._Keith_Circuit) for months, and was refreshed with new fashions in later seasons.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schweitzer|first=Marlis|date=December 2008|title=Patriotic Acts of Consumption: Lucile (Lady Duff Gordon) and the Vaudeville Fashion Show Craze|journal=Theatre Journal|volume=60|issue=4|pages=585–608|doi=10.1353/tj.0.0111|s2cid=191481377}}</ref>

In ''Curves'' (1911–1912), a vaudeville sketch she wrote about baseball,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198017/may_tully_1911/|title=May Tulley is Baseball Fan with Sporting Blood|date=October 6, 1911|work=The Buffalo Times|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=13|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> she co-starred with off-season professional players [Christy Mathewson](/source/Christy_Mathewson) and [Chief Meyers](/source/Chief_Meyers),<ref>{{Cite news|title=Matty and Meyers Off|date=February 26, 1911|work=The New York Times|page=C5|id={{ProQuest|<!-- ProQuest data goes here --> }} }}</ref> bringing sports fans to the theatre.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31197512/may_tully_1912/|title=May Tully at the Big Game|last=Kingsley|first=Grace|date=August 7, 1912|newspaper=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=32|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12774750/may_tully_teaches_baseball_players/|title=Woman Taught Ball Stars How to Become Actors|date=September 10, 1911|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=43|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Her love of baseball was often noted in reports about the show.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12781841/may_tully_and_baseball/|title=Greatest Woman Fan in Portland|date=July 3, 1912|work=The Oregon Daily Journal|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=12|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31199784/may_tully_1913/|title=May Tully is Real Baseball Fan|date=February 27, 1913|work=Wisconsin State Journal|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=9|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> "She knows more inside baseball than 99 percent of the fans," acknowledged [New York Giants](/source/History_of_the_New_York_Giants_(baseball)) coach [Muggsy McGraw](/source/John_McGraw).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31197512/may_tully_1912/|title=Orpheum Star Sees Game|last=Tully|first=May|date=August 7, 1912|newspaper=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=32|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
May Tully died from [nephritis](/source/nephritis) in 1924, aged about 40 years, in New York City.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/11/archives/may-tully.html|title=May Tully|date=1924-03-11|newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|url-access=subscription|access-date=2019-05-03|page=19|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Headlines after her death highlighted her love and knowledge of baseball.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12774790/may_tullys_obit/|title=Baseball Loses Arden Fan in Passing of May Tully|date=March 12, 1924|work=The Akron Beacon Journal|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=17|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> "She had a wide acquaintance among baseball men, players, managers, magnates, and writers," noted Damon Runyon, and was accepted into their company "because of her understanding of the game and its atmosphere."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198347/may_tully_1924/|title=Press Comment Eulogistic of Late May Tully|date=March 21, 1924|work=Nanaimo Daily News|access-date=May 3, 2019|page=4|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|id=0876438}}
* {{IBDB name|id=7682}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, May}}
Category:1880s births
Category:1924 deaths
Category:Canadian film actresses
Category:Canadian stage actresses
Category:Silent film producers
Category:Canadian silent film directors
Category:Canadian women screenwriters
Category:Canadian vaudeville performers
Category:Actresses from Victoria, British Columbia
Category:People from Nanaimo
Category:Film directors from Victoria, British Columbia
Category:Writers from Victoria, British Columbia
Category:20th-century Canadian screenwriters
Category:20th-century Canadian actresses
Category:20th-century Canadian women writers
Category:Screenwriters from British Columbia

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [May Tully](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Tully) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Tully?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.