A presence lurks in New York Cityâs New Amsterdam Theatre when the lights go down and the audience goes home. They say sheâs the ghost of OLIVE THOMAS, one of the loveliest girls who ever lit up the Ziegfeld Follies and the silent screen. From her longtime home at the theater, Ollieâs ghost tells her story from her early life in Pittsburgh to her tragic death at twenty-five.
After winning a contest for âThe Most Beautiful Girl in New York,â shopgirl Ollie modeled for the most famous artists in New York, and then went on to become the toast of Broadway. When Hollywood beckoned, Ollie signed first with Triangle Pictures, and then with MYRON SELZNICKâs new production company, becoming most well known for her work as a âbaby vamp,â the precursor to the flappers of the 1920s.
After a stormy courtship, she married playboy JACK PICKFORD, MARY PICKFORDâs wastrel brother. Together they developed a reputation for drinking, club-going, wrecking cars, and fighting, along with giving each other expensive make-up gifts. Ollie's mysterious death in Parisâ Ritz Hotel in 1920 was one of Hollywoodâs first scandals, ensuring that her legend lived on.