Silent film actress, art model, and photo model. Born Olivia Duffy in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, she began posing for famous artists such as Harrison Fisher and Howard Chandler Christy. She was then introduced to dancer Florenz Ziegfeld, which led to wide acclaim in Broadway theatre, where she then changed her name to Olive Thomas. "Thomas" was the surname of her first husband Bernard Krug Thomas; they divorced in 1915. Olive's notoriety with Ziegfeld landed her a movie contract with the International Film Company in 1916. In March of that year, she met actor Jack Pickford at a dance on the Santa Monica pier. They were married in October 1916. She would continue making films, signing with the Triangle Film Corporation in 1917. She and Pickford would often be separated by their careers and their marriage appeared rocky at times. After over a year of making motion pictures together in California, the couple sailed from New York City, New York to Paris, France on August 12, 1920, for a planned second honeymoon. On the evening of September 5, they went out on the town, not returning to their room until after 3 am. Olive then accidentally took a large quantity of mercury bichloride, which had been prescribed to Pickford to treat his chronic nefritis. The solution turned out to be poisonous, and Olive was rushed to the American Hospital in Paris. The mistake turned out to be fatal; she died on September 10. Her remains were returned to the United States for interment in the Pickford Mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.
Silent film actress, art model, and photo model. Born Olivia Duffy in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, she began posing for famous artists such as Harrison Fisher and Howard Chandler Christy. She was then introduced to dancer Florenz Ziegfeld, which led to wide acclaim in Broadway theatre, where she then changed her name to Olive Thomas. "Thomas" was the surname of her first husband Bernard Krug Thomas; they divorced in 1915. Olive's notoriety with Ziegfeld landed her a movie contract with the International Film Company in 1916. In March of that year, she met actor Jack Pickford at a dance on the Santa Monica pier. They were married in October 1916. She would continue making films, signing with the Triangle Film Corporation in 1917. She and Pickford would often be separated by their careers and their marriage appeared rocky at times. After over a year of making motion pictures together in California, the couple sailed from New York City, New York to Paris, France on August 12, 1920, for a planned second honeymoon. On the evening of September 5, they went out on the town, not returning to their room until after 3 am. Olive then accidentally took a large quantity of mercury bichloride, which had been prescribed to Pickford to treat his chronic nefritis. The solution turned out to be poisonous, and Olive was rushed to the American Hospital in Paris. The mistake turned out to be fatal; she died on September 10. Her remains were returned to the United States for interment in the Pickford Mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.
Bio by: Marta Monk
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