New Amsterdam Theatre New York

Famous and flamboyant for their times, the Ziegfeld Follies broke new ground.
Scantily glad girls in glittering costumes and towering headdresses have since been copied in Paris and New York, but the Ziegfeld Follies where the showgirls and celebrities of their day.

Recently renovated the New Amsterdam Theatre is at present home to a production of Walt Disney's production of The Lion King, once again fantastic costumes and headdresses are appearing on this stage.

During the construction involved in the refurbishment, many of the workers saw a woman wearing a Follies costume, sometimes carrying a glass.
Perhaps because of the work, the ghost looked confused and lost as she wondered around.
Said to be beautiful and wearing a sash with the name Olive, it is believed the ghost seen by the men is in fact that of Olive Thomas who died in the 1920's and was a Ziegfeld girl, tragically she died of syphilis.
Her appearance once caused all the men to down tools and leave, but they must have become use to her.
She is friendly and is said to have spoken to one of the construction workers, working alone in the lobby, he heard someone call out 'How you doing Handsome?', turning to answer this greeting the man found himself alone.
Olive Thomas must have loved her time at the New Amsterdam, because she died in Paris.


There is a picture of Olive Thomas on this website, I found it will researching another story.
As you can see she was a beautiful girl. You can also see a picture of David Belasco who is mentioned in the other theatre thread.
theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2007/10/ghost-stories-witch-of-staten-island.html -

I've found a slightly different version of Olive's death and appearances at the New Amsterdam theatre.
It's interesting that in this version the guard was able to positively identify Olive.


www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173960,00.html -

It seems once you look into one story you can find out more about the person involved.

Olive Thomas was also a film actress, and she married the famous Mary Pickford's brother, who was suspected of poisoning her.

It seems that Jack Pickford had a thing for 'Showgirls and singers' he married a singer who was a Star of Broadway called Marilyn Miller, she died not too long after him, it is believed she caught syphillis from him.
Perhaps this was the reason that Olive died.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Pickford

Jack Pickford would have had the backing of the studios because of his famous sister and anything that would have made him look bad could have been covered up as the studios were always covering up stuff that there stars did or family etc. Its seems very odd that she died from taking the wrong pills and when they were away on vacation as well very fishy me thinks.

Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Snr and Charlie Chaplin formed United Artists so there is no doubt he had the backing of a big studio behind him.


On a side point Mel, the actress he married before his death, has a statue on a building in Times Sqaure.

Here's the link

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16266

Thanks Mags that was interesting and a lovely building I had heard of Ethel Barrymore and Mary Pickford but had not heard of the others before.

I think Rosa Ponsella was an opera singer, I have heard of her before and I know Norma is an opera.
It just shows you how fleeting fame can be.
Marilyn Miller did not make the transition to talkies so she is not well known but in her heyday she would have been as well known as Elaine Page on Broadway.

Even today if you are not on the telly you are considered a 'has-been' yet thousands of actors are touring up and down the country.

Yes your right about that Mags and some of the best actors etc will never see fame and they want it that way. Just look at the very sad news of Natasha Richardson I could not get my head around it this morning when Kev told me first thing she had such a talent but you hardly ever saw her in mainstream films etc.

I know, she was very critically accepted in Theatre on both sides of the Atlantic, her whole family is like that though.
A few mainstream films but on the whole theatre and independent productions. Her cousin Gemma was in Bramwell.

It's like Ruthie Henshaw she has been a leading lady in musical theatre for years, but I bet if anyone asked the average person they would not know who she was until she did Dancing on Ice.