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.

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

Michelle Vogel
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 212
Bibliographic Info: 100 photos, filmography, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2908-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5526-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v

Introduction      1

Prologue      5

1. Rags to Riches      13

2. Follies and Frolics and Film… Oh My!      24

3. Jack and Ollie      35

4. Selznick Pictures      48

5. Paris      75

6. The Investigation      91

7. What Jack Told Mary…      115

8. A Broken Man and His Women      120

9. Memories of a Lost Love      128

10. Ghostly Encounters      132

Epilogue      139

Stage and Film Appearances      145

Bibliography      195

Index      199

“full of beautiful photography and rare candids…this is the perfect tribute to a woman that many have long forgotten”—The Midnight Palace.