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Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty
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.
212 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 28, 2014
Very fast easy read. I was pretty disappointed though. It is poorly written and the author comes to a rather banal and immature conclusion about what happened the night that Olive died. Interesting to see her perspective though. She obviously feels very close to Olive after all of her research and feels that she knows her.
I do have to say that this book is thorough! She found every bit of information that she possibly could about Olive. And really, there's not much out there about a 25 year old girl who died a 100 years ago. I'm thankful that she collected it all into one spot.
Nice reference for primary source material. Lots of good pictures. The filmography is great.
I'm really glad that I read this and did enjoy it. It just could have been better.
I do have to say that this book is thorough! She found every bit of information that she possibly could about Olive. And really, there's not much out there about a 25 year old girl who died a 100 years ago. I'm thankful that she collected it all into one spot.
Nice reference for primary source material. Lots of good pictures. The filmography is great.
I'm really glad that I read this and did enjoy it. It just could have been better.
Want to Read
July 2, 2008IMO the only decent thing Hugh Heffner ever did with his money was help sponsor the documentary about this gorgeous, talented lady. Thank you Google, thank you Netflix, or I'd never have known about Olive: 'Everybody's Sweetheart'. Her legendary beauty reminds me of Simonetta Vespucci's, she was so beautiful women couldn't be jealous, they loved her as much as the men did.
April 28, 2025
"Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty" by Michelle Vogel is a fascinating read. At just sixteen, Olive married Bernard Krug Thomas, but she soon realized the marriage was a mistake. In New York, her life changed dramatically when she entered and won the “Most Beautiful Girl in New York City” competition, quickly becoming a sought-after model.
Olive’s success blossomed as she became a celebrated Ziegfeld girl, admired by men for her beauty, charm, and wit. Her first leading role came in Madcap Madge, and with every success, Olive’s ambitions grew. Her marriage to film star Jack Pickford boosted her fame even further, as the two shared a lively and adventurous spirit. Olive’s combination of acting talent, intelligence, and stunning looks helped her rise quickly in the film world. Sadly, many of her films are now considered lost.
Olive’s life was tragically cut short by mercurial poisoning in Paris, a shocking event that made major headlines in American newspapers. She had tasted fame at a young age, but her story ended far too soon.
The book’s detailed filmography and numerous photos offered a comprehensive look into Olive’s life and career. This well-written biography gives readers an in-depth understanding of Olive Thomas, honoring her brief but brilliant time in the spotlight.
Olive’s success blossomed as she became a celebrated Ziegfeld girl, admired by men for her beauty, charm, and wit. Her first leading role came in Madcap Madge, and with every success, Olive’s ambitions grew. Her marriage to film star Jack Pickford boosted her fame even further, as the two shared a lively and adventurous spirit. Olive’s combination of acting talent, intelligence, and stunning looks helped her rise quickly in the film world. Sadly, many of her films are now considered lost.
Olive’s life was tragically cut short by mercurial poisoning in Paris, a shocking event that made major headlines in American newspapers. She had tasted fame at a young age, but her story ended far too soon.
The book’s detailed filmography and numerous photos offered a comprehensive look into Olive’s life and career. This well-written biography gives readers an in-depth understanding of Olive Thomas, honoring her brief but brilliant time in the spotlight.
March 20, 2012
The fact that this is the only book available about the life of Olive Thomas makes it worthwhile, but it is by no means a definitive resource. The information that is available only made me want to know more, and unfortunately, more is not easy to find. This book includes many photos which are an asset.
Olive Thomas is a mystery in modern times to those who are familiar with her story. She began on the Ziegfeld stage as one of the most talked about beauties. Her looks led her to the silver screen where she was hailed as the princess of Selznick Studios. She married into Hollywood royalty when she wed rambunctious Jack Pickford who eventually was the only source for clues to her demise. Thomas died at age 25 thanks to swallowing mercury bichloride pills in a Paris hotel during their second honeymoon. Whether this was a suicide, a murder, or an accident is left to history.
Also included at the end of Olive's story is a filmography for her career including synopsis, cast lists, and the status of the film today.
One major flaw with this book is that Vogel seems unfocused. There is a lot of information about Jack Pickford and Marilyn Miller, information that really has little to do with Thomas. The story jumps around chronologically and suggests many different conclusions to Thomas' death, but no solid explanation. Also, her early life is barely touched upon; her stage and screen career and early death are the focus. Granted, the information is valuable because so little is available, but the format of the book is disappointing, especially for its price. Vogel seemingly did not intend to create the definitive biography on Thomas as she often isolates her information to a time period. She references the "recent" release of The Flapper on DVD and has a fascination with translating dollar amounts into modern prices.
This book is certainly entertaining, though brief, but hardly stands as a worthy evaluation of Olive Thomas' career.
Olive Thomas is a mystery in modern times to those who are familiar with her story. She began on the Ziegfeld stage as one of the most talked about beauties. Her looks led her to the silver screen where she was hailed as the princess of Selznick Studios. She married into Hollywood royalty when she wed rambunctious Jack Pickford who eventually was the only source for clues to her demise. Thomas died at age 25 thanks to swallowing mercury bichloride pills in a Paris hotel during their second honeymoon. Whether this was a suicide, a murder, or an accident is left to history.
Also included at the end of Olive's story is a filmography for her career including synopsis, cast lists, and the status of the film today.
One major flaw with this book is that Vogel seems unfocused. There is a lot of information about Jack Pickford and Marilyn Miller, information that really has little to do with Thomas. The story jumps around chronologically and suggests many different conclusions to Thomas' death, but no solid explanation. Also, her early life is barely touched upon; her stage and screen career and early death are the focus. Granted, the information is valuable because so little is available, but the format of the book is disappointing, especially for its price. Vogel seemingly did not intend to create the definitive biography on Thomas as she often isolates her information to a time period. She references the "recent" release of The Flapper on DVD and has a fascination with translating dollar amounts into modern prices.
This book is certainly entertaining, though brief, but hardly stands as a worthy evaluation of Olive Thomas' career.
February 2, 2009
Oddly, this book picked up after the death of Thomas. Felt as though the author was straining a bit to stretch the narrative of Thomas's brief life. Illustrations were great, if you ignore the sappy captions.
November 30, 2017
The good things first: there are lots of awesome pictures. She was an adorable girl. Also, there was a very good filmography of Thomas' work, complete with synopses and contemporary reviews. And there were extensive excerpts from contemporary newspaper and magazine articles which were fun to read, although fan stories (especially in the early years of Hollywood) are notoriously suspect as to credibility.
The bad things: everything else, I'm afraid. Having recently read and loved a fictionalized biography of Olive Thomas, I really wanted to like this book, which is the only biography of Thomas in existence. But it just isn't very good. It was disjointed, reading as if it were a series of blog entries strung together without any attempt to make them flow. Lots of redundancy. The author's theory about Olive's death was flimsy, and way too much space was wasted on stories of Olive's 'ghost,' and her supposed encounter with a psychic.
Still, if you're interested in Thomas, I have to give this a limited thumbs-up for no other reason than that it is all there is.
The bad things: everything else, I'm afraid. Having recently read and loved a fictionalized biography of Olive Thomas, I really wanted to like this book, which is the only biography of Thomas in existence. But it just isn't very good. It was disjointed, reading as if it were a series of blog entries strung together without any attempt to make them flow. Lots of redundancy. The author's theory about Olive's death was flimsy, and way too much space was wasted on stories of Olive's 'ghost,' and her supposed encounter with a psychic.
Still, if you're interested in Thomas, I have to give this a limited thumbs-up for no other reason than that it is all there is.
March 10, 2021
Despite some of the negative reviews of this book I found it interesting and informative, it's difficult to make any account interesting when the majority of the references are a hundred years old but, Vogel, in my opinion managed to do so. There was no "magical" conclusion about Olive's death which is as it should be, opinions continue to differ but perhaps the mystery is part of the charm.
The summary of each of Olive's films was interesting as were the various reviews from the time and gave a better understanding of her films and their plot, or lack of one.
Having read Laini Giles's "The Forgotten Flapper" I didn't feel the same connection with Olive but that's the difference between a biography and a novel.
Overall I enjoyed "Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty" hence my rating.
The summary of each of Olive's films was interesting as were the various reviews from the time and gave a better understanding of her films and their plot, or lack of one.
Having read Laini Giles's "The Forgotten Flapper" I didn't feel the same connection with Olive but that's the difference between a biography and a novel.
Overall I enjoyed "Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty" hence my rating.
August 19, 2023
What Could Have Been...
I stumbled across Olive Thomas's picture on social media. My first thought upon seeing her was, "she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Knowing nothing about her, I assumed the picture was recent and that she was a model of some sort.
Miss Vogel's book is meticulously
researched, and Olive's story is woven together by quotes from newspapers, biographies, legal documents, and other sources to paint as complete a picture of Olive's life as can be gotten 88 (now 103 years) later. Her early death agonizes and frustrates me to no end, and I'm left to ponder what could've, should have been had she lived. Thanks for telling her story, Miss Vogel.
I stumbled across Olive Thomas's picture on social media. My first thought upon seeing her was, "she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Knowing nothing about her, I assumed the picture was recent and that she was a model of some sort.
Miss Vogel's book is meticulously
researched, and Olive's story is woven together by quotes from newspapers, biographies, legal documents, and other sources to paint as complete a picture of Olive's life as can be gotten 88 (now 103 years) later. Her early death agonizes and frustrates me to no end, and I'm left to ponder what could've, should have been had she lived. Thanks for telling her story, Miss Vogel.
December 31, 2023
I am currently working on a small book on Olive’s life and this is a great resource. While I think Michelle did a fantastic job, I am writing a more linear version of her history. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting.
October 11, 2012
Large portions of this book are reprints of interviews and articles from Hollywood magazines to newspapers that date back to the early 1920s. Anyone knows periodicals of that era generally were not accurate; or that they usually glossed over the truths if not outright lied about Hollywood and its stars. That is why further research was seriously needed here. I don’t mind if an author makes references to dated articles or even republishes them in their entirety, but it is when they become the primary source of the story that I consider lazy, pointless and poorly researched.
My conclusion is that the book lacks any proper substance to be called a true biography. Author Michelle Vogel claims that everything that is known about Olive Thomas and her death are within these pages. If that is the case then the book should have been titled “Olive Thomas: her life and death according to popular media”, then feasibly my expectations would have been less.
Even so, some portions of the book are somewhat interesting, and the photographs are nice, but none are adequate enough for me to rate it above the 2 stars nor justify its cost.
My conclusion is that the book lacks any proper substance to be called a true biography. Author Michelle Vogel claims that everything that is known about Olive Thomas and her death are within these pages. If that is the case then the book should have been titled “Olive Thomas: her life and death according to popular media”, then feasibly my expectations would have been less.
Even so, some portions of the book are somewhat interesting, and the photographs are nice, but none are adequate enough for me to rate it above the 2 stars nor justify its cost.
July 8, 2012
A fascinating story and the pictures of Olive were stunning. She really was beautiful. But A LOT of the book isn't directly about Olive, which was disappointing, although I was interested in some of the other Hollywood scandals described. The chronology is hard to follow, because the author tackles her life by topic rather than in the order she lived it. Some important details were glossed over - such as whether the poison she took was in tablet or liquid form. It makes a big difference! Although the author did offer a very sensible explanation of her own to explain the discrepancies in the reports. It makes sense. It's elegant in its simplicity. And I can see why her husband would've glossed over it, because his carelessness puts him at fault.
The cost of this book, even in Kindle form, is puzzling. If everything that wasn't directly about Olive was stripped out, it would be quite short.
The cost of this book, even in Kindle form, is puzzling. If everything that wasn't directly about Olive was stripped out, it would be quite short.
October 10, 2013
As the only biography of Olive Thomas this deserved a few stars, however there could be more info on just how Olive moved into film, her interest in directing and her and Jack Pickford's addictions or problems. I am also not really convinced by the author's account of Thomas' likely death - and it would really have been interesting to have more from Jack's account and the autopsy if the author really wanted to examine that. Still, it's great to have something about this sparky and bright but largely forgotten star.
March 14, 2012
This could have been much better, but it is still an outstanding resource for information. In places Vogel assumes facts that were not true (Jack Pickford being in Washington, DC vs the Brooklyn Navy Yard).
The filmography in the back was the most helpful feature for me, as I myself am writing a fictional account of Olive's life.
The filmography in the back was the most helpful feature for me, as I myself am writing a fictional account of Olive's life.
May 1, 2015
Very short read but easy to read. Olive Thomas had an incredibly short life yet she should still be remembered for her life then her death. She seemed like a fun girl to be around. I will always remember Olive, though I was born 61 years after her death.
July 28, 2009
The material is poorly organized and the text is badly written.
February 25, 2013
Excellent book...a bit pricey for paperback $40...but since this is the only OLIVE THOMAS book...it was well worth it.
November 2, 2015
Good book I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews