Olive Thomas

Olive Thomas
Olive Thomas
Born Oliva R. Duffy
October 20, 1894(1894-10-20)
Charleroi, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died September 10, 1920(1920-09-10) (aged 25)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Cause of death Accidental poisoning
Resting place Woodlawn Cemetery
Nationality American
Occupation Actress, model
Years active 1916–1920
Spouse Bernard Thomas (m. 1911–1913) «start: (1911)–end+1: (1914)»"Marriage: Bernard Thomas to Olive Thomas" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Thomas)
Jack Pickford (m. 1916–1920) «start: (1916)–end+1: (1921)»"Marriage: Jack Pickford to Olive Thomas" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Thomas)

Olive Thomas (October 20, 1894 – September 10, 1920) was an American silent film actress and model. She is best remembered for her marriage to Jack Pickford and her death.[1]

Contents

Early life

Thomas was born Oliva R. Duffy,[2] though sometimes she claimed her birth name was Oliveretta Elaine Duffy.[3] She was born into a working class Irish American family in the Pittsburgh-area steel town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania.[4] Her father, James Duffy, a steelworker, died in 1906. She was forced to leave school at age 15 to help support her mother and two younger brothers, James and Williams. She sold gingham at Joseph Horne's department store for $2.75 per week.[5] In April 1911, aged 16, she married Bernard Krugh Thomas in McKees Rocks, a small mill town. During the two-year marriage, she reportedly worked as a clerk in Kaufmann's department store in Pittsburgh. After her divorce, she went to stay with a family member in New York City, where she found work in a Harlem department store.[6]

In 1914, after answering a newspaper ad, she won "The Most Beautiful Girl in New York City", a contest run by the celebrated commercial artist Howard Chandler Christy. She then modeled for artist Harrison Fisher and eventually landed on the cover of Saturday Evening Post.[4]

Rise to stardom

On a 1916 Midnight Frolic poster

Fisher wrote a letter of recommendation to Flo Ziegfeld resulting in Thomas being hired by the Ziegfeld Follies. However, Thomas later disputed this, claiming she walked right up and asked for the job.[4] She subsequently performed in the much more risqué Midnight Frolic, a show staged after hours in the roof garden of the New Amsterdam Theatre. Unlike in the Follies, the women in the Midnight Frolic maintained a strict decorum on stage no matter how skimpy the costumes. The performers were clad only in balloons, allowing the virtually all male audience the opportunity to burst the balloons with their cigars. Thomas's reputation may be the reason the Pickford family later rejected her. However, the rest of society did not frown on these performers. Former stage performers who took on similar arrangements included Céleste Mogador, who became the Duchess of Chibrillon, Liane de Pougy, who became Princess Ghika, and Sarah Bernhardt, who became a legendary actress.[2]

The Midnight Frolic was primarily a show for famous male patrons with plenty of money to bestow on the young and beautiful female performers. Before long, the attractive Thomas was the center of attention of the in-crowd associated with Condé Nast. She soon found herself being pursued by a number of very wealthy and powerful men. She received expensive gifts from her admirers, with rumors that the German Ambassador had given her a $10,000 string of pearls.[4]

Film career

1920 Alberto Vargas painting of Thomas

As part of her sudden fame, she posed nude for Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas,[7] and signed with International Film Company as the leading lady in the Harry Fox movies.[4] Thomas went on to appear in more than twenty Hollywood films over the next four years. She made her debut under her married name, "Olive Thomas", in the film A Girl Like That. Thomas then appeared in her final short of Beatrice Fairfax. In October 1916, Thomas moved to Triangle Pictures where she worked with Thomas Ince.[8] Shortly after, news broke of her engagement to Jack Pickford, whom she had actually married a year prior. Of her marriage, Thomas said, "I didn't want people to say that I'm succeeding because of the Pickford name."[4] During her time with Triangle, Thomas was referred to as "The Triangle Star".[4]

In December 1918, Thomas was persuaded by Myron Selznick to sign with Selznick Pictures Company. She hoped for more serious roles, believing that with her husband signed to the same company, she would have more influence. She soon became the first Selznick star and created the image of the "baby vamp". In 1920, Thomas once again played a teenager in the Frances Marion movie The Flapper. In a time when actors were defined by the type of role they played, Thomas felt she had no film type, saying, "But I want to create a certain role, you see Mary is the kid in pictures; Norma does drama; Constance is the flippant, flighty wife; Dorothy the hoyden; Nazimova is exotic and steeped in mystery, my Jack does boys, while I--I--why don't you see, I am just nothing at all!"[4]

Thomas was one of the first actresses to be described by the term flapper, along with Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, and Joan Crawford.[2] She would go on to play the flapper roles in her final films including A Youthful Folly, and her final film Everybody's Sweetheart. The formula proved successful and by the time of her death, Thomas was making $3,000 a week.[4]

Personal life

Autographed photo of Olive Thomas, circa 1916

Thomas was always close to her mother, speaking of her desire to see her on her death bed. Her mother remarried to Harry VanKirk giving Thomas a half sister, Harriet Duffy, born in 1914. She had two brothers: James Duffy (born 1896) and William Duffy (born 1899). She helped James set up an electrical shop while William was in the Marines. Later, William worked as a cameraman. By the time of her death, both brothers were employed with Selznick Productions.[4]

Thomas was known for her partying and wild ways which was also increased after marrying Pickford. Alcohol began playing a large role in Thomas' life (alcoholism ran in the Pickford family), fueling most of the drama with her husband and possibly car crashes as well.[2] She had three automobile accidents in two years, one seriously injuring a 9 year old. She eventually hired a chauffeur.[9]

Thomas met actor Jack Pickford, brother of one of the most powerful silent stars Mary Pickford, at a beach cafe on the Santa Monica Pier. Pickford was known for his wild partying and together the pair were a lot of trouble. Screenwriter Frances Marion remarked, "...I had seen her often at the Pickford home, for she was engaged to Mary's brother, Jack. Two innocent-looking children, they were the gayest, wildest brats who ever stirred the stardust on Broadway. Both were talented, but they were much more interested in playing the roulette of life than in concentrating on their careers."[10]

Thomas eloped with Pickford on October 25, 1916 in New Jersey. None of their family was present, with only actor Thomas Meighan as their witness. The couple would never have children of their own, and in 1920, they adopted her then six year old nephew when his mother died.[4]

By most accounts, she was the love of Pickford's life, the marriage was stormy and filled with highly-charged conflict, followed by lavish making up through the exchange of expensive gifts. In a March 1920 issue of Motion Picture magazine, Thomas said of the drama-fueled relationship, "He's always sending me something and then I send him something back. You see, we have to bridge the distance in some way. At first I just couldn't get used to the idea of living this way, but I suppose one gets used to anything, given time. When we were together we used to use up the time fighting over things. I'd say, 'You were out with this person or that person,' and he'd come back at me in the same way, and we'd have a lively time of it, but we're over that now. We know that we can't sit home by the fireside ALL the time just because we cannot be together."[4]

Pickford's family did not always approve of Thomas though most of the family did attend her funeral. In Mary Pickford's 1955 autobiography Sunshine and Shadow, she wrote, "I regret to say that none of us approved of the marriage at that time. Mother thought Jack was too young, and Lottie and I felt that Olive, being in musical comedy, belonged to an alien world. Ollie had all the rich, eligible men of the social world at her feet. She had been deluged with proposals from her own world of the theater as well. Which was not at all surprising. The beauty of Olive Thomas is legendary. The girl had the loveliest violet-blue eyes I have ever seen. They were fringed with long dark lashes that seemed darker because of the delicate translucent pallor of her skin. I could understand why Florenz Ziegfeld never forgave Jack for taking her away from the Follies. She and Jack were madly in love with one another but I always thought of them as a couple of children playing together..."[11]

Death

For many years, the Pickfords had intended to vacation together. Both Pickford and Thomas were constantly traveling and had little time to spend together. With their marriage on the rocks, the couple decided to take a second honeymoon.[4] In August 1920, the pair headed for Paris, France, hoping to combine a vacation with some film preparations.[12]

On the night of September 5, 1920, the Pickfords went out for a night of entertainment and partying at the famous bistros in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris. Returning to their room in the Hotel Ritz around 3:00 a.m., Pickford either fell asleep or was outside the room for a final round of drugs. It was rumored that Thomas may have taken cocaine that night though it was never proven. An intoxicated and tired Thomas accidentally ingested a large dose of a mercury bichloride liquid solution, which had been prescribed for her husband's chronic syphilis. Being liquid it was supposed to be applied topically, not ingested.[4]

She had either thought the flask contained drinking water or sleeping pills; accounts vary. The label was in French which may have added to the confusion. She screamed, "Oh, my God!", and Pickford ran to pick her up in his arms. However, it was too late, she had already ingested a lethal dose.[10] She was taken to the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where Pickford, together with her former in-law Owen Moore, remained at her side until she succumbed to the poison a few days later. Soon after her death, rumors began that she tried to commit suicide or had been murdered. A police investigation followed as well as an autopsy, and Thomas' death was ruled accidental.[4]

Pickford gave his account of that night to The Los Angeles Examiner on September 13, 1920:

"...We arrived back at the Ritz hotel at about 3 o'clock in the morning. I had already booked airplane seats for London. We were going Sunday morning. Both of us were tired out. We both had been drinking a little. I insisted that we had better not pack then, but rather get up early before our trip and do it then. I went to bed immediately. She fussed around and wrote a note to her mother. ... She was in the bathroom.
Suddenly she shrieked: 'My God.' I jumped out of bed, rushed toward her and caught her in my arms. She cried to me to find out what was in the bottle. I picked it up and read: 'Poison.' It was a toilet solution and the label was in French. I realized what she had done and sent for the doctor. Meanwhile, I forced her to drink water in order to make her vomit. She screamed, 'O, my God, I'm poisoned.' I forced the whites of eggs down her throat, hoping to offset the poison. The doctor came. He pumped her stomach three times while I held Olive.
Nine o'clock in the morning I got her to the Neuilly Hospital, where Doctors Choate and Wharton took charge of her. They told me she had swallowed bichloride of mercury in an alcoholic solution, which is ten times worse than tablets. She didn't want to die. She took the poison by mistake. We both loved each other since the day we married. The fact that we were separated months at a time made no difference in our affection for each other. She even was conscious enough the day before she died to ask the nurse to come to America with her until she had fully recovered, having no thought she would die.
She kept continually calling for me. I was beside her day and night until her death. The physicians held out hope for her until the last moment, until they found her kidneys paralyzed. Then they lost hope. But the doctors told me she had fought harder than any patient they ever had. She held onto her life as only one case in fifty. She seemed stronger the last two days. She was conscious, and said she would get better and go home to her mother. 'It's all a mistake, darling Jack,' she said. But I knew she was dying.
She was kept alive only by hypodermic injections during the last twelve hours. I was the last one she recognized. I watched her eyes glaze and realized she was dying. I asked her how she was feeling and she answered: 'Pretty weak, but I'll be all right in a little while, don't worry, darling.' Those were her last words. I held her in my arms and she died an hour later. Owen Moore was at her bedside. All stories and rumors of wild parties and cocaine and domestic fights since we left New York are untrue...[4]

Funeral and legacy

The mausoleum of Olive Thomas Pickford

Pickford brought her body back to the United States. Several accounts state Pickford tried to commit suicide en route but was talked out of it. According to Mary Pickford's autobiography, "Jack crossed the ocean with Ollie's body. It wasn't until several years later that he confessed to Mother how one night during the voyage back he put on his trousers and jacket over his pajamas, went up on deck, and was climbing over the rail when something inside him said: 'You can't do this to your mother and sisters. It would be a cowardly act. You must live and face the future.'"

On September 29, 1920, an Episcopalian funeral service was held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York for Thomas. According to the New York Times a police escort was needed and the entire church was jammed. Several women fainted at the ceremony and several men had their hats crushed in the rush to view the coffin. Thomas was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York. Her effects were later sold off for her estate on November 20, 1920. The sale netted $26,931 with Mabel Normand and Lewis Selznick buying several items.[4]

In popular culture

Thomas' ghost is said to haunt the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City.[13]

In 2004, with funding from Timeline Films, and with the help of Hugh Hefner and his film preservation organization, Sarah J. Baker premiered her documentary on Olive Thomas' life titled Olive Thomas: Everybody's Sweetheart.

In 2007, McFarland Publishing Company released a biography entitled Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty, written by Michelle Vogel.

A musical entitled Ghostlight about the life of Olive Thomas was written by Matthew Martin and Tim Realbuto. Ghostlight opened in New York City at the Signature Theatre on September 26th, 2011 and was presented by the New York Musical Theatre Festival. It starred Drama Desk Award winner Rachel York as Billie Burke, Tony nominee Michael Hayden as Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., Tony Award winner Daisy Eagan as Molly Cook, Kimberly Faye Greenberg as Fanny Brice, Matt Leisy as Jack Pickford and newcomer Rachael Fogle in the leading role of Olive Thomas.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1916 Beatrice Fairfax Rita Malone Alternative title: Letters to Beatrice
1916 Beatrice Fairfax Episode 10: Playball Rita Malone
1917 A Girl Like That Fannie Brooks
1917 Madcap Madge Betty
1917 An Even Break Claire Curtis
1917 Broadway Arizona Fritzi Carlyle
1917 Indiscreet Corinne Corinne Chilvers
1917 Tom Sawyer Choir Member Uncredited
1918 Betty Takes a Hand Betty Marshall
1918 Limousine Life Minnie Wills
1918 Heiress for a Day Helen Thurston
1919 Toton the Apache Toton/Yvonne
1919 The Follies Girl Doll
1919 Upstairs and Down Alice Chesterton Alternative title: Up-stairs and Down
1919 Love's Prisoner Nancy, later Lady Cleveland
1919 Prudence on Broadway Prudence
1919 The Spite Bride Tessa Doyle
1919 The Glorious Lady Ivis Benson
1919 Out Yonder Flotsam
1920 Footlights and Shadows Gloria Dawn
1920 Youthful Folly Nancy Sherwin Writer
1920 The Flapper Ginger King
1920 Darling Mine Kitty McCarthy
1920 Everybody's Sweetheart Mary

References

  1. ^ Lowe, Denise (2005). An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films, 1895-1930: 1895-1930. Haworth Press. pp. 526. ISBN 0-789-01843-8. 
  2. ^ a b c d Memories of Olive. The E Pluribus Unum Project: Assumption College. Worcester, MA.
  3. ^ Golden, Eve (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. pp. 181. ISBN 0-786-40834-0. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Long, Bruce. Editor. The Life and Death of Olive Thomas. Taylorology Newsletter. Issue 33, September 1995.
  5. ^ Pitz, Marylynne (September 26, 2010). "Olive Thomas, the original 'Flapper' and a Mon Valley native, still fascinates". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10269/1090121-60.stm. Retrieved September 28, 2010. 
  6. ^ Golden, Eve (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. pp. 181. 
  7. ^ Cawthorne, Nigel (1997). Sex Lives of the Hollywood Goddesses. Prion. pp. 4. ISBN 1-853-75250-9. 
  8. ^ Golden, Eve (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. pp. 182. ISBN 0-786-40834-0. 
  9. ^ Vogel, Michelle (2007). Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty. McFarland. pp. 39. ISBN 0-786-42908-9. 
  10. ^ a b Lussier, Tim. "The Mysterious Death of Olive Thomas". http://www.silentsaregolden.com/articles/lpolivethomasdeath.html. 
  11. ^ Pickford, Mary (Doubleday). Sunshine and Shadow. 1955. pp. 330. 
  12. ^ Golden, Eve (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. pp. 183. 
  13. ^ Neibaur, James L.. "The Olive Thomas Collection". http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/dvd/olive_thomas/. 

External links


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