A presence lurks in New York City’s New Amsterdam Theatre when the lights go down and the audience goes home. They say she’s 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, Ollie’s ghost tells her story from her early life in Pittsburgh to her tragic death at twenty-five.
After winning a contest for “The Most Beautiful Girl in New York,” 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 Selznick’s new production company, becoming most well known for her work as a “baby vamp,” the precursor to the flappers of the 1920s.
After a stormy courtship, she married playboy Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford’s 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 Paris’ Ritz Hotel in 1920 was one of Hollywood’s first scandals, ensuring that her legend lived on.
The Forgotten Flapper is the first in a series on forgotten actresses of the silent and early sound periods.
Genre: FICTION / Biographical
My book has consistently been ranked between 4 and 5 on Amazon (currently sitting at 4.6). Most reviews are 4's and 5's. Has recently been ranked #1 through #4 in Historical Fiction > Biographical, Genre Fiction > Biographical, and Genre Fiction > Historical > Biographical on Amazon. Have now sold between 10-11,000 copies.
You know, it’s really no fun haunting people who refuse to be afraid of you. When you say, “Boo,” they’re supposed to scream, not say, “Hi Olive.” Just so you know, I’m not one of those chain-rattling, doom-and-gloom ghosts. It’s not my style. Instead, I rearrange the scenery and materialize for the folks who work here. Keeps ‘em on their toes.
I live at 214 West 42nd Street, New York, New York. That’d be the New Amsterdam Theatre for you non-showbiz types. I used to perform here back in 1915. In my day, this was the place to be. Bright lights, hooch, and the girls of the Ziegfeld Follies. The most lavish musical revue of its day, and I was there for it.
See those fixtures up there? Those murals? Fancy, huh? Decades ago, this was the biggest venue in New York. I was just a dumb appleknocker from Charleroi, Pennsylvania. The New Amsterdam was the most glamorous place I’d ever seen. I spent the happiest time of my life here, dancing, singing, and chatting with everyone. What a gay time we all had! Whether it was champagne and roses backstage, dancing ‘til dawn at Bustanoby’s or Murray’s Roman Gardens, dining on oysters Rockefeller at Delmonico’s or even the butter cakes at Childs, it didn’t matter to me. I loved it all.
| Language | Status |
|---|---|
|
German
|
Already translated.
Translated by Roswitha Giesen
|
|
|
Author review: Roswitha was a joy to work with. Unfailingly polite and cheerful through my constant comments and questions, and she even managed to make some song lyrics I included rhyme in German (so impressed with that). Even some of the more complicated slang was no match for her German-fu. I can't wait to work with her again! |
