Olive Thomas
Olive Thomas , as Oliveretta Elaine Duffy , (born October 20, 1894 in Charleroi , Pennsylvania , † September 10, 1920 in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France ) was an American actress of the silent film era .
Life
Olive Thomas was born in 1894, the oldest of three children in an Irish-American working-class family. Her father died when she was young. She was then forced to contribute to the family's livelihood. She dropped out of school and worked as a saleswoman in Pittsburgh. In 1911 she met Bernard Thomas and married him. The marriage ended in divorce after two years. In 1914 she won the title "The Most Beautiful Girl in New York City" and with it a portrait of Howard Chandler Christy. The picture appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post , whereupon Florenz Ziegfeld junior became aware of her. He used it in the revue "The Ziegfeld Follies ", a show that was presented late in the evening in the roof garden of the New Amsterdam Theater for a select audience of mostly wealthy men. Through her appearances, her popularity increased and she finally received a contract offer from Triangle Pictures , which she accepted.
In 1916 Olive Thomas made her film debut. Within the next four years she appeared in more than 20 films and became a popular actress of her time. Lewis J. Selznick , father of David O. Selznick , made her the star of his film studio Selznick Pictures Company from 1918 . Thomas was nicknamed "Everybody's Sweetheart" and became the role model for the flapper after she appeared in a film of the same name in 1920.
In 1916 Olive Thomas met the actor Jack Pickford - brother of the movie star Mary Pickford - in a nightclub in Santa Monica and married him against the will of Pickford's family in October of that year. Their marriage was not harmonious. In August 1920, the couple traveled to Europe for film preparations. In the night of 5 to 6 September 1920 Thomas swallowed - possibly in a drunken state - three in the morning in the bathroom a lethal dose of mercury (II) chloride . Jack called for help and Olive was taken to the American Hospital in Neuilly , where she succumbed to poisoning a few days later on September 10th. A police investigation and autopsy carried out after the actress died concluded that Thomas' death was accidental.
Most of the films starring Olive Thomas are considered lost . However, there are still prints of Love's Prisoner and a few other films. The Flapper was released on DVD in 2004 along with the documentary The most beautiful Girl in the World .
Filmography
- 1916: Letters to Beatrice
- 1917: A Girl Like That
- 1917: Madcap Madge
- 1917: An even break
- 1917: Broadway Arizona
- 1917: Indiscreet Corinne
- 1917: Tom Sawyer
- 1918: Betty Takes a Hand
- 1918: Limousine Life
- 1918: Heiress for a Day
- 1919: Toton the Apache
- 1919: The Follies Girl
- 1919: Upstairs and Down
- 1919: Love's Prisoner
- 1919: Prudence on Broadway
- 1919: The Spite Bride
- 1919: The Glorious Lady
- 1919: Out Yonder
- 1920: Footlights and Shadows
- 1920: Youthful Folly
- 1920: The Flapper
- 1920: Darling Mine
- 1920: Everybody's Sweetheart
literature
- Michelle Vogel: Olive Thomas. The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty. McFarland & Co, Jefferson NC et al. 2007, ISBN 978-0-7864-2908-0 .
- Laini Giles: The Forgotten Flapper. The story of Olive Thomas. From the American by Roswitha Giesen. Milainia Giles, 2018, ISBN 978-1-5071-9603-8 .
Web links
- Background information at Silents are Golden
- Olive Thomas in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thomas, Olive |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Duffy, Oliveretta Elaine (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actress of the silent film era |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 20, 1894 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Charleroi , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 10, 1920 |
| Place of death | Neuilly-sur-Seine , France |