Helen Ferguson

Helen Ferguson (July 23, 1901 – March 14, 1977) was an American actress and publicist born in Decatur, Illinois. She attended Nicholas High School in Chicago and the Academy of Fine Arts before working briefly as a newspaper reporter. She appeared on Broadway in 1909 in the play Is Matrimony a Failure? prior to pursuing a career in motion pictures.

Ferguson entered the film industry as a stunt girl at age 12, though her first recorded screen credits date to 1917. By 1920 she had secured starring roles at Fox Film Corporation, and her career gained significant momentum with her appearance in Hungry Hearts (1922), produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Her work during this period was concentrated primarily in westerns, comedies, and serials. In 1922 she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. On June 21, 1925, she married actor William Russell, who died in 1929. She subsequently married businessman Richard L. Hargreaves, and following that marriage she stepped away from film to focus on stage work, though her success in that medium was limited.

In 1933, Ferguson left performing entirely and established herself as a publicity and public relations counselor. She represented a number of prominent Hollywood figures, including Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, and Loretta Young, whom she represented for more than nineteen years. Her role in managing Young's public exposure earned her a reputation as one of Hollywood's leading practitioners of strategic press management. The exterior of her publicity office was photographed by Ansel Adams for the March 1941 issue of Fortune magazine and was later featured in the March 17, 2008 episode of California's Gold. Her second husband died in 1941, and Ferguson retired from publicity work in 1967.

Ferguson died in Clearwater, Florida on March 14, 1977, at the age of 75, and is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. She holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6153 Hollywood Boulevard, honoring her contributions to motion pictures.