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 era.
Life
Olive Thomas was born in 1894, the eldest of three children of Irish-American working-class family. Her father died when she was young. She was then forced to contribute to the livelihood of the family. She left school and worked as a saleswoman in Pittsburgh. In 1911 she met and married Thomas Bernard him. They were divorced after two years. In 1914 she won the title of "The Most Beautiful Girl in New York City" and thus a portrait of Howard Chandler Christy. The picture appeared on the front pages of the Saturday Evening Post, after Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. was aware of them. He put her in the revue " Ziegfeld Follies The ", a show that was presented late in the evening on the roof garden of the New Amsterdam Theatre for a select audience mainly of wealthy men. Through her appearances increased her visibility and finally she received a contract offer from the Triangle Pictures, which she accepted.
1916 Olive Thomas was her film debut. Within the next four years, she participated in more than 20 films and was a popular actress of her time. Lewis J. Selznick, father of David O. Selznick made them from 1918 to the star of his film studios Selznick Pictures Company. Thomas had the nickname " Everybody's Sweetheart" and became a role model for the flapper after she appeared in a film of the same 1920.
1916 Olive Thomas met in a nightclub in Santa Monica the actor Jack Pickford - brother of movie stars Mary Pickford - and married him in October of the year against the will of Pickfords family. Their marriage was not harmonious. In August 1920, the couple traveled to Europe for film preparation. On the night of the 5th to September 6th 1920 Thomas swallowed - possibly in a drunken state - against three clock 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 died on September 10, its poisoning a few days later. A police investigation and autopsy, which were carried out after the death of the actress came to the conclusion that Thomas ' death was due to an oversight.
Most movies with Olive Thomas listed as missing. However, there are still copies of Love's Prisoner and some other films. The Flapper was published in 2004 together with the documentation The most beautiful Girl in the World on DVD.