Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty

Front Cover
McFarland, Nov 29, 2014 - Performing Arts - 212 pages

Olive Thomas was one of Hollywood's first true movie stars. Born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, in 1894, she moved to New York at age sixteen and began to pursue an acting career. By 1915, she had landed a job as one of Ziegfeld's famous "Follies" girls. Before long her beauty was discovered by Hollywood, where she quickly became one of the biggest names in motion pictures. Her marriage to film star Jack Pickford further enhanced her popularity. Olive's death by poison on September 10, 1920, created a media circus.

This biography begins with Olive's birth, follows her trip to stardom, and covers in detail the circumstances surrounding her mysterious death at age 25. Rare and beautiful photographs and a complete filmography are included.

 

Contents

1Rags to Riches
13
2Follies and Frolics and Film Oh My
24
3Jack and Ollie
35
4Selznick Pictures
48
5Paris
75
6The Investigation
91
7What Jack Told Mary
115
9Memories of a Lost Love
128
Epilogue
139
Stage and Film Appearances
145
Bibliography
195
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About the author (2014)

Film historian Michelle Vogel lives in Victoria, Australia. Her popular blog can be found at mvozus.wordpress.com.

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