The Ghost of Olive Thomas

I’ll admit that I don’t really believe in ghosts. All the fuss people make about haunted houses leaves me shaking my head In disbelief. Nonetheless, I learned that the Ghost of Olive Thomas – a once-famous movie star and legendary beauty –  supposedly haunts a famous Broadway theater. The story intrigued me to the point where I thought you would all enjoy it.

Oliva Duffey was born October 20, 1894, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. After the death of her father, 15-year-old Olive left school. She went to work in a store to help support her mother and two younger brothers. The dreary life of selling gingham was soul-crushing for a free-spirited girl. Olive dreamed of getting out.

Her first chance at escape came when she married Bernard Thomas, even though she was just 16 years old. Olive left her drab life in small-town Pennsylvania to visit an aunt in New York City using her married name. Although she wound up working at another department store, the Big Apple immediately captured Olive’s imagination, giving her free spirit a chance to roam. Olive never went back to Pennsylvania. She simply abandoned her husband and her previous life.

Olive Thomas In New York – Sudden Fame

Olive’s luck and life changed in 1914 (she was 19)  when one of the most famous painters and illustrators in the country, Howard Chandler Christy, held a contest to find” The Most Beautiful Girl in New York City.” Seemingly the moment Olive won the title, she found herself in constant demand as a model. Soon her face and figure graced many magazine covers, advertisements, and portraits.  The most famous was a sensual portrait by the great Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas. She was the first ‘Vargas Girl.” The dreams of fame and luxury that led young Olive to flee Pennsylvania and abandon her marriage were coming true.

Within a year, Olive Thomas was the most popular girl in the legendary “Ziegfeld Follies.” The married impresario, Florenz Ziegfeld, and Olive began an affair. Smitten, Ziegfeld promoted her to the featured star of the men-only, late-night, very risqué “Ziegfeld Frolics.”

Olive Thomas – Movie Star!

The ever-ambitious Olive Thomas left New York City soon after that to pursue a career in silent films. She became the first actress ever to portray a flapper on the screen. Olive Thomas was now a movie star! Although many of her films are lost, those that remain show a very pretty, vibrant, and funny actress who captivated audiences. Click here if you would like to watch her most famous film, “The Flapper” for free.

The juxtaposition of Olive’s stunning looks and her terrific comic timing made her a hit with women, men, and at least one moose!

She secretly married Jack Pickford, the handsome brother of Mary Pickford, the most popular movie star in the world. Olive and Jack were quite the couple. A famous screenwriter, Frances Marion, said about Olive and Jack, “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.”

Olive Thomas – Tumultuous Marriage And Tragic Death

The marriage was tumultuous, filled with arguments, adultery, partying, separations, and lavish reconciliations. In trouble with the law, they decided to go to Europe. That’s where tragedy struck. In Paris, 1920, Olive and Jack had predictably spent the night partying. Accounts of what happened next vary, but this is what we can deduce. Jack had passed out. Olive, quite drunk, stumbled into the bathroom and took a drink from a flask. She may have thought it contained water, alcohol, or a headache powder. She screamed in agony. The flask contained a solution that Jack was taking to deal with his chronic syphilis. Quickly, Jack tried to get her to vomit, called a doctor who pumped Olive’s stomach three times, and then rushed her to the hospital. It was of no avail. Olive Thomas died in the hospital at the age of 25. Despite rumors of suicide, an inquest found her death to be accidental poisoning. Jack brought her remains back to the United States, where she was cremated.

The Reappearance of Olive Thomas

That might be the end of the story, just a sad tale of the tragic death of a beautiful, promising starlet. But our story doesn’t end there. According to numerous accounts, the ghost of Olive Thomas still resides at the famed New Amsterdam Theatre in the Time Square District of Broadway!

The New Amsterdam Theatre had been the home of the Ziegfeld Follies, where Olive Thomas had become famous. Built back in 1902, it was, at one time, the lushest, most opulent Broadway theatre. By the 1930s, the New Amsterdam had fallen into wretched disrepair. The New Amsterdam was a movie theater for a time before being shuttered due to the massive decay inside the building.

When the Disney Theatrical company decided to begin live theater performances in New York City, they bought the crumbling New Amsterdam Theatre. They started a massive fifteen million dollar restoration that brought the old, once beautiful theatre back to life.

However, strange occurrences began to be noted during the absolutely amazing restoration. The stories centered around stagehands who saw a beautiful woman in a green 1920s dress walking around the theater, then abruptly vanishing.

In the most famous story, a security guard woke up Dana Amendola, Vice President of operations for Disney Theatricals, in the middle of the night. The guard had been doing his rounds when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Understandably frightened, the guard did not immediately give chase. He saw a mysterious woman in a flapper dress woman walk through the wall onto 41^st St.

Since that time, the ghost of Olive Thomas has made many appearances at the theater. Click here to read an excellent article from playbill.com about some of her other appearances at the New Amsterdam, 75 years after her death. “This has been going on for 20 years that I remember,” Amendola said. “I think she likes the attention.”

The Ghost of Olive Thomas

The ghost of Olive Thomas never hurts anyone and seemingly appears only when the theater is mostly empty. I toured the new Amsterdam theater (the main theatre for Disney on Broadway) with a Disney historian. As you enter the lobby, the wall is filled with pictures of famous stars who played at the New Amsterdam Theatre from its earliest days.

Some of the pictures were familiar, including Will Rogers and W.C. Fields. The last picture, before you enter the Orchestra seating section, is of a beautiful woman. Sure enough, it is Olive Thomas. Before the Disney
representative let me enter the auditorium, she told me that I had to blow a kiss and say good morning to the picture of Olive Thomas. The Disney historian said to me that a picture of Olive is near every exit to the theater and that all actors say hello and goodbye to her before they leave the theater, just to keep the ghost of Olive Thomas happy!

I certainly didn’t see the ghost. I asked the Disney representative about it, and she said that she had never seen the ghost either – but there was a very specific reason. Ever the flirt, Olive Thomas’s ghost only appears to men! The Disney representative told me she had personally talked to several men who worked at the theater who had seen the ghost of Olive Thomas! She also informed me that by special arrangement, the overnight guards at the New Amsterdam Theatre are always women-just to appease the ghost of Olive Thomas!