He was born on Brookline Street in Boston, Massachusetts, one of 10 children of Andrew Ferguson and Mary McIntire.

His big break came when he joined the Richard Bennett's theatre company performing in the controversial play, Damaged Goods, which told the story of a prominent man diagnosed with syphilis.

In 1915, he was cast in Bennett's production of Eugène Brieux's Maternity, which ran for 21 performances at the Princess Theatre on Broadway.

By the time of America's involvement in World War I, Ferguson was working at A.M. Home Music Company in Boston, as a piano salesman.

He served for 12 months in the U.S. Army and was stationed in France with the rank of ammunition sergeant for the 301st Field Artillery.