MURIEL OESTRICH American silent film actress. 1896 MAY 24 - 1989 MAY 3

 

MURIEL OESTRICH 

American silent film actress.

  1896 MAY 24 - 1989 MAY 3

Muriel Ostriche (born Muriel Henrietta Oestrich, May 24, 1896 – May 3, 1989) was an American silent film actress.

Following tryouts with the Biograph and Pathe studios, Ostriche signed with Eclair for $5 per day. After a year and a half with Eclair, she joined Reliance for a higher salary. Following that experienced, she was signed by the Thanhouser Company^[1] based in New Rochelle, New York, and starred in 134 films in her career. Ostriche told author Michael G. Ankerich that A Daughter of the Sea (1915) was her best performance and her favorite film.^[2]

In 1920, Ostriche was featured in advertising for Bonnie-B veils.^[3]

She was living in Florida in the mid-1980s when author Q. David Bowers began researching a biography on Ostriche, which became Muriel Ostriche: Princess of Silent Films. He was shocked to discover that she was still living and a willing interview subject. She enjoyed a revival in her fame in the later portion of her life which she relished and because of this renewed interest, her own insights into her life are preserved today.^[2]: 237

Selected filmography[edit]

• Robin Hood (1912)
• Rick's Redemption (1913)
• The House in the Tree (1913)
• The Ten of Spades (1914)
• The Amateur Detective (1914)
• When Fate Rebelled (1915)
• Check No. 130 (1915)
• Mortmain (1915)
• Kennedy Square (1916)
• The Men She Married (1916)
• The Dormant Power (1917)
• Moral Courage (1917)
• The Good for Nothing (1917)
• A Square Deal (1917)
• Youth (1917)
• The Volunteer (1917)
• The Purple Lily (1918)
• Hitting the Trail (1918)
• Tinsel (1918)
• Merely Players (1918)
• The Road to France (1918)

Douglas Elton Fairbanks SILENT FILM HOLLYWOOD BORN 1883 MAY 23 -1939 DECEMBER 12

Douglas Elton Fairbanks

SILENT FILM HOLLYWOOD BORN 1883 MAY 23 -1939 DECEMBER 12



.டக்ளஸ் ஃபேர் பேங்க்ஸ் - ஹாலிவுட் பேசா பட யுகத்தின் அரசன்

உலக சினிமா உலக வரலாறு
நடிகவேள் எம்.ஆர்.ராதாவை தமிழகத்தின் டக்ளஸ் என்று அழைப்பதுண்டு. யார் அந்த டக்ளஸ் என்று பலருக்குள்ளும் ஒரு கேள்வி எழுந்திருக்கக்கூடும். அது 1920. வாரன் ஜி.ஹார்டிங் அமெரிக்காவின் ஜனாதிபதியாகத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறார். மது விலக்கு அங்கு முழு வீச்சில் அமலாகியிருக்கிறது. 19-வது சட்டத்திருத்தத்தின் மூலம் பெண்களுக்கு வாக்களிக்கும் உரிமை வந்துசேர்ந்திருந்தது. அமெரிக்காவின் முதல் வர்த்தக ரீதியிலான வானொலி நிலையம் காற்றில் தனது அலைவரிசையை முதன்முதலில் பரப்பத் துவங்கியிருந்தது. இந்தச் சூழலில்தான் பேசாப்படம் தனது உச்சக்கட்டப் புகழில் மக்களிடையே ஒருவிதக் கலைக் காய்ச்சலையே உண்டுபண்ணியிருந்தது.

Douglas Fairbanksபழைய நாடக இசை அரங்குகள் சில எஞ்சியிருந்த போதும், புதிய சினிமா மாளிகைகள் மிகுந்த எழுச்சியோடு உதயமாகத் தொடங்கின. முழுமையான மேற்கத்திய இசைக் குழுக்களின் வீரியமிக்க இசையுடனான அமெரிக்காவின் சினிமா முழு வீச்சில் மக்களிடையே பிரபலமாகி விட்டது. தங்களின் சினிமா நாயக-நாயகிகளின் மீதான வெறித்தனமான ஈடுபாடு ரசிகர்களை நோய்போலத் தொற்றிக் கொண்டு ஆட்டிப் படைத்தது. அதிலும் குறிப்பாக ஒரே ஒரு மனிதர் அமெரிக்கப் பேசாப்பட யுகத்தின் சக்கரவர்த்தியாக-பேரரசனாகவே கொடிகட்டிப் பறந்தார்.
‘அவர் பெயரை உச்சரித்த மாத்திரத்திலேயே பெண் ரசிகைகளுக்கு கிறக்கம் வந்துவிடுகிறது’ என்று அன்றையப் பத்திரிகைகள் எழுதின. அவரின் காதல் சாகச நடிப்பும் வீரத்தனமான வெளிப்பாடும் ஆண்களையும் அவரின் ரசிகர்களாக்கி விட்டனவாம். அவர்தான் ஹாலிவுட் பேசாப் படயுகத்தின் மன்னன் எனப் போற்றப்படும் டக்ளஸ் ஃபேர்பாங்க்ஸ்.

டக்ளஸ் 1883-ஆம் ஆண்டு மே 23 அன்று அமெரிக்காவின் கொலொராடோவிலுள்ள டென்வர் எனுமிடத்தில் ஹெசக்கியா சார்லஸ் உல்மான் என்பவரின் மகனாகப் பிறந்தார். உல்மான் நியூயார்க்கின் புகழ்மிக்க வழக்கறிஞராக இருந்தவர். சுரங்கத் தொழிலில் ஆர்வமிக்கவர். தாயார் எல்லா அடிலெய்டு மார்ஷ் வீக் ஒரு பேரழகி.

டக்ளஸ் தந்தை உல்மானுக்கு ஏற்கெனவே திருமணமாகி, குழந்தைகள் இருந்தன. எல்லா அவருக்கு முன்பே அறிமுகமாகியிருந்தவர். எல்லாவின் முதல் கணவர் டி.பி.நோயால் இறந்துவிட, அவரின்

சட்டப்பூர்வ உரிமைகளை எல்லாவுக்கு உல்மான் பெற்றுத் தந்தார்.

அதன் பிறகு எல்லா அட்லாண்டா சென்று அங்கு நீதிபதியாக இருந்த எட்வர்ட் வில்காக்ஸ் என்பவரைத் திருமணம் செய்து கொண்டார். அவரோ எல்லாவைக் கொடுமைப்படுத்தி, தவறாக நடத்தத் தலைப்பட்டார். 1870களில் சட்டப்பூர்வ மணமுறிவு அபூர்வமாகவே வழங்கப்பட்டு வந்த நிலையில் உல்மான் தனது வாதத் திறமையால் எல்லாவுக்கு விவாகரத்து பெற்றுத்தந்தார். வழக்கில் வெற்றிபெற்ற அதே நேரத்தில் எல்லாவின் இதயத்தையும் வென்றவராக ஆகிவிட்டார் உல்மான். அது இருவரையும் தம்பதி களாக்கியது. 1881-ல் அவர்களுக்கு ராபர்ட் எனும் மகனும், 1883-ல் டக்ளசும் பிறந்தனர்.

உல்மான் நாடக ரசிகராக இருந்தார். அடிக்கடி நாடகங் களுக்குத் தன் மகன்களை அழைத்துச் செல்வார். மேடைக்குப் பின்னால் சென்று நாடக நட்சத்திரங்களோடு உரையாடுவார். ஊர் ஊராகச் சென்று கொண்டிருக்கும் அந்த நாளைய நாடகக்குழுக்களை அழைத்துத் தன் வீட்டில் தங்க வைத்து, விருந்து கொடுக்கிற ஆர்வமும் உல்மானிடம் இருந்தது. இதனால் கலை ஆர்வம் டக்ளசுக்கு இயல்பாகவே தொற்றிக் கொண்டது. ஷேக்ஸ்பியரின் நாடக வரிகளை மனப்பாடமாக ஒப்புவிக்க டக்ளசுக்கு அதிக சிரமம் ஏற்படவில்லை. எதிர்கால ஹாலிவுட்டின் அசல் அரசன் இவ்வாறு உருவாகத் தொடங்கினான்.

டக்ளஸ் தனது தந்தையுடன் மலையேறுவது வழக்கமானது. அவரது குழந்தைப் பருவம் பல வகைகளிலும் மகிழ்ச்சிகரமாகத்தான் சென்றது. ஆனால் அவரது தந்தை உல்மான் குடிப்பழக்கத்துக்கு அடிமை யானார். தொழிலில் பெரும் சரிவு ஏற்பட்டது. குடும்பத்தை விட்டுப் பிரிந்துபோக நேர்ந்தது.

டக்ளசுக்கு ஐந்து வயதுதான் முடிந்திருந்தது. அதற்குள் அவரது வாழ்க்கையில் இவ்வளவும் நடந்து முடிந்துவிட்டது. என்ன நடந்தாலும் டக்ளசிடம் அவரது தந்தையால் ஏற்பட்ட கலைத் தாகம் மட்டும் குறைத்து மதிப்பிடத்தக்கதாக இல்லை. அதன் காரணமாக டக்ளஸ் நடிப்புத் துறையைத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்தார். சமூகத்தில் உயர்ந்த அந்தஸ்து பெற்று அரசர்களோடும், அரசியரோடும், அதிபர்களோடும் தோளோடு தோள் உரசும் பெரு விருப்பம் அவரைக் கவ்வியிருந்தது.

தாயின் சிறகுக் கதகதப்பிலேயே அந்தப் பிள்ளைகள் வளர்ந்தன. தந்தை உல்மான் பிரிந்து போனபின் எல்லா அந்தக் குழந்தைகளை பெரும் பாடுபட்டு வளர்த்தார். எல்லாவின் முதல் கணவனுக்குப் பிறந்த ஜான் ஃபேர்பாங்க்ஸ் மற்றும் டக்ளஸின் அண்ணன் ராபர்ட் மற்றும் டக்ளஸ் ஆகியோர் மிகுந்த சிரமத்திற்கிடையிலும் நன்கு வளர்ந்தனர். தனது மூத்த கணவரின் கௌரவமிக்கதாகக் கருதப்பட்ட ஃபேர் பாங்க்ஸ் எனும் குடும்பப் பெயரையே எல்லா தன் மற்ற இரு குழந்தை களின் பெயர்களோடும் சேர்த்தார். டக்ளஸ் எல்டன் தாமஸ் உல்மான் ‘டக்ளஸ் ஃபேர்பாங்க்ஸ்’ ஆனார்.

டக்ளஸ் தனது 11 வயதில் மேடையேறத் தொடங்கினார். பிரபலமாக இருந்த எலிட்ச் கார்டன்ஸ் தியேட்டரில் தனது பதின் பருவத்தில் டக்ளஸ் தனது உணர்ச்சிப் பூர்வமான நடிப்பால் முக்கிய கவனம் பெற்றார். ஒரு நடிகராக நல்ல வரவேற்பைப் பெற்ற டக்ளஸ் அதனால் தனது உயர்நிலைப்பள்ளிப் படிப்பைக் கை கழுவ நேர்ந்தது. அதற்காக அவர் எந்தக் கவலையும் படவில்லை.

1900 ல் அவர் நியூயார்க் சென்றார். அங்கு 1902 ல் பிராட்வே நாடக அரங்கில் தனது முதல் தடம் பதிக்கிற வரையில் வயிற்றுப் பிழைப்பிற் காகக் கால்நடைகளை ஓரிடத்திலிருந்து இன்னோர் இடத்திற்குக் கொண்டு செல்லும் கூலியாகவும், வால் ஸ்டிரீட்டில் குமாஸ்தாவாகவும் கிடைக்கிற வேலைகளையெல்லாம் செய்ய நேர்ந்தது. பிரடெரிக் வார்ட் கம்பெனி தயாரித்த ‘தி டியூக்ஸ் ஜெஸ்டர்’ அவருக்குப் பெயர் வாங்கித் தந்த முதல் நாடகமானது. டக்ளஸ் லட்சியப்பூர்வ மாக உழைத்தார், நடிப்பின் உன்னத உயரங்களைத் தொடுமளவு கடுமையாக உழைத்தார். இருப்பினும், உண்மையி லேயே ஒரு இமாலய வெற்றி அவரை வந்தடைய நீண்ட காலம் பிடித்தது.

1907 ல் அன்னா பெத் சல்லி என்ற அழகிய மங்கையை டக்ளஸ் மணந்தார். ‘பருத்தி அரசர்’ எனப் புகழ் பெற்றிருந்த பெரிய தொழிலதிபர் டேனியல் சல்லி யின் அன்பு மகள் அன்னா. டேனியல் தன் மருமகனை நாடகத்தை விட்டு விட்டுத் தன்னோடு தொழிலுக்கு வந்து விடும்படி வேண்டினார். டக்ளஸ் மறுத்தார். ஆனால், வறுமை காரணமாக பின்னர் புச்சானன் சோப் கம்பெனி அலுவலக வேலைக்கு அவர் போக நேர்ந்தது. அதுவும் நீடிக்கவில்லை. 6 மாதங்களில் டக்ளஸ் மீண்டும் பிராட்வே நாடக அரங்கம் நோக்கித் திரும்பினார்.

1909 டிசம்பர் 9 அன்று டக்ளஸ் மனைவி ஒரு ஆண் குழந்தையைப் பெற்றெடுத்தார். அந்தக் குழந்தைக்கு டக்ளஸ் பெயரே சூட்டப்பட்டது. பின்னாளில் அந்தக் குழந்தையும் டக்ளஸ் போலவே ஜுனியர் டக்ளஸ் என்ற பெயரில் பெரிய நடிகனானது தனிக் கதை. டக்ளஸ் தனது நாடக வருவாயில் குடும்பத்தை நடத்துவதற்கே மிகவும் சிரமப்பட்டார். அமைதியாக ஓடக்கூடிய சலனப்படம் எனும் அன்றைய சினிமாவின் மீது டக்ளஸ் உள்ளிட்ட நாடகக் கலைஞர்களுக்கு ஒரு விதப் பரிகாசப் பார்வைதான் இருந்தது.

1914-ல் ஒரு மிகப் பெரிய அதிர்ஷ்டம் அவரின் வீட்டுக் கதவைத் தட்டியது. டிரை ஆங்கிள் ஃபிலிம் கார்ப்பரேஷன் எனும் சினிமா நிறுவனம் அவருக்கு அப்போதே ஒரு லட்சத்து 4 ஆயிரம் டாலர் சம்பளமாகத் தந்து தனது சினிமாவில் நடிக்க அழைத்தது. டக்ளஸ் எனும் அந்த நாடகக் கலை மேதை என்ன செய்தார் தெரியுமா?

அன்றைய நிலையில், நாடகம்தான் மிகச்சிறந்த கலை எனும் எண்ணமும், பெருமிதமும் ஓங்கியிருந்த சூழலில் டக்ளஸ் தனக்கு வந்த வாய்ப்பை மறுத்தார். அவர் சொன்னார்: “இது மிகப்பெரிய தொகைதான் என்று எனக்கும் தெரிகிறது. ஆனாலும் என்னை சினிமாவில் அல்லவா நடிக்க அழைக்கிறீர்கள்?” - சினிமாவை அன்று எவ்வளவு கேவலமாகப் பார்த்திருக்கிறார்கள் பாருங்கள்!

1915-இல் நிலைமை கொஞ்சம் மாறியிருந்தது. டக்ளஸ் விருப்பமில்லாத ஒரு விருந்தாளிபோல ஹாலிவுட் போய்ச் சேர்ந்தார். அதற்குள் நாடகத்துறையில் நடிப்பில் புலமை பெற்று, புகழ்பெற்ற கலைஞராகிவிட்டிருந்தார் டக்ளஸ். அப்போது அவருக்கு வயது 31.

டி.டபிள்யூ. கிரிஃபித் என்ற நம்பிக்கை வறட்சி கொண்ட ஒரு நபரின் பாதுகாப்பில் அவர் வேலை செய்ய நேர்ந்தது. டக்ளஸ் பற்றி அந்த நபர் இப்படிச் சொன்னார். “இவர் தலை ஒரு பூசணிக்காய் மாதிரி இருக்கிறது, இவரால் நடிக்க முடியாது”. இப்படிப்பட்ட எத்தனை யோ தடைகள் வந்த போதிலும் டக்ளஸ் தனது விடாமுயற்சியின் பயனாக பேசாப் படயுகத்தின் முன்னணி நகைச்சுவை நடிகர்களுள் ஒருவராக உயர்ந்து காட்டி னார். அன்று அவரைப்போலவே முன்னணி நகைச்சுவை நடிகர்களாக பஸ்டர் கீடன், ஹெரால்டு லாய்ட் மற்றும் டக்ளசின் ஆப்த நண்பர் சார்லி சாப்ளின் ஆகியோர் இருந்தனர்.

அவருடைய முதல் 26 படங்கள் காதல் முதல் முறைகேடுகள் வரை அனைத்து விதமான மேற்குலக சமுதாயப் போக்கு களையும் பகடி செய்யும் நகைச்சுவைப் படங்களாக இருந்தன.

1916-ல் தனது புகழின் உச்சத்திலிருந்த டக்ளஸ் ஃபேர் பாங்க்ஸ் சொந்தமாக திரைப்படங்களைத் தயாரிக்க எண்ணி ஒரு புதிய நிறுவனத்தைத் தொடங்கினார். புனைபெயரில் அவரே அடிக்கடி சினிமா வுக்குக் கதைகள் எழுதினார். முதல் உலகப் போரின்போது மனம் பதைத்திருந்த மக்களுக்கு தொடர்ந்து வெளிவந்த டக்ளசின் படங்களால் கவலை மறந்து சிரிக்க முடிந்தது.

Douglas Fairbanks and Danielleயுத்த வீரர்களுக்கு மக்களின் உற்சாக ஆதரவு வேண்டி டக்ளஸ் பிரச்சாரம் செய்தார். செஞ்சிலுவைச் சங்கத்திற்காகவும் அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் கனடா நாடுகளின் விடுதலை மற்றும் வெற்றிக்காகவும் சார்லி சாப்ளினை இணைத்துக் கொண்டு நிதி திரட்டும் பொருட்டு யுத்தப் பத்திரங்களை விற்பனை செய்யும் பயணத்தை 1918 ல் மேற்கொண்டார். அந்தச் சமயத்தில்தான் ‘அமெரிக்காவின் இனிய இதயம்’ எனப் புகழப் பட்ட முன்னணி நடிகையான மேரி பிக்ஃபோர்டு உடன் அவருக்கு இரகசியக் காதல் பிறந்தது. மேரி இப்போது டக்ளசின் இனிய இதயமா னார். அவரின் மனைவி பெத் இதனைக் கேள்விப்பட்டு நீதி மன்றத்தில் விவாகரத்து வழக்கு தாக்கல் செய்தார்.

மேரிக்கும் ஏற்கெனவே திருமணம் ஆகியிருந்தது. இந்தச் சமயத்தில் டக்ளஸ் தன்முன்னேற்ற நூல்கள் பலவற்றை எழுதி வெளியிட்டார். பத்திரிகைகளில் ஏராளமான சிறுகதைகளையும், கட்டுரைகளையும் எழுதினார். எல்டன் தாமஸ் எனும் தனது தந்தையின் நினைவாக, அந்தப் பெயரிலேயே நிறைய திரைக்கதைகளை எழுதினார். அவரது எழுத்துக்கள் மக்களிடையே பெரும் வரவேற்பைப் பெற்றன. மிகச்சிறந்த படைப்பாளியாக அவை அவரை அடையாளம் காட்டின.

சினிமாத் துறையிலும் அவர் தன்னை ஒரு முக்கியமானவராக நிலைநிறுத்திக் கொண்டார். 1919 ல் தனது காதலி மேரி பிக் ஃபோர்டு, சார்லி சாப்ளின் மற்றும் தனக்கு முதலில் அடைக்கலம் தந்து, தன் மீது அவநம்பிக்கையும் கொண்டிருந்த டி.டபிள்யூ. கிரிஃபித் ஆகியோருடன் இணைந்து ஐக்கிய கலைஞர்கள் கழகத்தை நிறுவினார். அதன் நோக்கம் சொந்தப்படம் எடுக்கும் கலைஞர்களுக்கு விநியோகத்தில் உதவுவது என்பதாக இருந்தது.

மேரியும், டக்ளசும் தங்களது முதல் திருமண பந்தங்களை சட்டப் படி முறித்துக் கொண்டு இணைய 1920-இல் முடிவெடுத்தனர். மேரி பிக்ஃபோர்டு - டக்ளஸ் ஃபேர் பாங்க்ஸ் திருமணம் அமெரிக்கா முழுவதும் சிலிர்ப்பூட்டும் நிகழ்வானது. அந்த இருவரையும் நேசிக்கும் ரசிகர்கள் அந்தத் திருமணநாளைத் தங்களது திருவிழாபோல எண்ணி மகிழ்ந்து போனார்கள்.

மேரிக்காக அழகிய பிவர்லி மலைப்பிரதேசத்தில் டக்ளஸ் ஒரு மாளிகையை வாங்கினார். அதை மேலும் அழகுறச் செப்பனிட்டார். அதைப் பத்திரிகை நிருபர் ஒருவர் ‘Pick fair’ என்று இருவர் பெயரையும் இணைத்துப் பெயர் சூட்டி அழைத்தார். அமெரிக்க ரசிகர்களின் இதயங்களில் தங்களின் மதிப்புமிகு அரண் மனையானது அந்தப் பிக் ஃபேர். அதற்கு அடுத்த இடத்திற்குத் தள்ளப்பட்டு, தன் முக்கியத்துவத்தை இழக்கிற நிலைக்குப்போனது வெள்ளை மாளிகை. டக்ளஸ் மீது அமெரிக்க மக்கள் வைத்திருந்த அளப்பரிய அன்பு அத்தகையதாக இருந்தது. டக்ளஸ் நகைச்சுவை வேடங்களிலிருந்து வரலாற்று நாயகர்கள் வேடங்களை ஏற்கத் தொடங்கினார். மிடுக்கும், கம்பீரமும், நுட்பம் நிறைந்த நடிப்பும் அவருக்கு எந்தப் பாத்திரத்திலும் வெற்றியையே பெற்றுத் தந்தது.

தனது 44வது வயதில், 1927 ஆம் ஆண்டு தனது நீண்ட, அனுபவ மிக்க நடிப்புக் கலைக்கு ஒரு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்க எண்ணினார் டக்ளஸ். இனி, வயதான காலத்தில் எப்படி மாவீரனாக வந்து சண்டை-சாகசங்கள் செய்வது என எண்ணினார். ஆனாலும் அவர் தன் கலைப் பயணத்தை நிறுத்திக் கொள்ள விரும்பவில்லை. சலனப்படக் கலை மற்றும் அறிவியல் அகாடமியை நிறுவினார். அதன் முதல் தலைவராகவும் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டார்.

கிராமானின் சீன நாடக அரங்கை ஹாலிவுட்டில் திறக்கிற பணியில் பிரதான பங்கு வகித்தார். அது உலகின் முன்னணி சினிமா மாளிகையானது. மரபார்ந்த வழக்கப்படி டக்ளசும், மேரியும் தங்களது கை மற்றும் கால்களை அந்த மாளிகை முகப்பில் உலராமல் இருந்த சிமெண்ட்டில் பதித்துப் பெருமை சேர்த்தனர். முதல் அகாடமி விருதுகள் 1929 ல் வழங்கப்பட்டன.

ஒரு தலைமுறைக்கும் அதிகமான காலம் டக்ளசும், மேரியும் ஹாலி வுட்டின் அரசனாகவும், அரசியாகவும் கலை ஆட்சி புரிந்தனர். அவர் கள் காலத்திய மிக முக்கியமான படங்களை அவர்களே தந்தனர். இருந்தபோதும் அவர்கள் இருவரும் சேர்ந்து ஒரு படத்தைக்கூட உருவாக்கியதில்லை. ஷேக்ஸ்பியரின் கதையொன்றை வைத்து 1929 ல் அப்படியொரு முயற்சி செய்த அவர்கள் அந்தப்படம் தந்த தோல்வி யால், ஒருவர் மீது ஒருவர் புகார் செய்யத் தொடங்கினர். மேரி குடிக்கு அடிமையானார். இருவரிடையே கசப்பு முதன்முதலாக ஏற்பட்டு அது விரிசலாக விரிந்தது.

30 களின் ஆரம்ப நாட்களில் ஹாலிவுட் முற்றிலுமாக மாறியிருந்தது. புதுமுகங்கள் ஏராளமாக திரையில் உருவாகியிருந்தனர், டக்ளஸ் மகன் ஜுனியர் டக்ளஸ் உள்பட. 1931-இல் சினிமா தொழிலின் புதிய மனிதா பிமானமற்ற போக்கைப் பிடிக்காத டக்ளஸ் தொலைதூரப் பயணங்களை மேற்கொள்ளத் துவங்கினார். அது ஆவணப் படமாக-‘80 நிமிடங்களில் உலகைச் சுற்றி’ (Around the world in 80 minutes) என்ற பெயரில் 1931 ல் வெளியானது.

1933-ல் டக்ளசும், மேரியும் சினிமாவிலிருந்து விலகிக் கொள்வதாக அறிவித்தனர். அதோடு அவர்கள் தங்கள் காதல் மணவாழ்விலிருந்தும் பிரிந்தனர். பின்பும் 1934-ல் இறுதியாக ஒரு படத்தை டக்ளஸ் எடுத்தார்.

1939-ல் மீண்டும் ஒரு சினிமா சிந்தனை வந்து, கதையை எழுதத் துவங்கினார். ஆனால், அது முடிவுறுமுன்பே, அவரின் வாழ்க்கை ஒரு முடிவுக்கு வந்துவிட்டது. டிசம்பர் 12, 1939 அன்று டக்ளஸ் ஃபேர் பாங்க்ஸ் எனும் அந்த பேசாப்பட உலகின் அரசன் உண்மையிலேயே பேசாது போய்விட்டான். தூக்கத்திலேயே டக்ளஸ் உயிர் பிரியும்போது அவருக்கு 56 வயதே முடிந்திருந்தது.

தமிழில் ஈடிணையற்ற நடிகவேள் எம்.ஆர். ராதாவை தென்னாட் டின் டக்ளஸ் என்று அழைப்பதுண்டு என்று பார்த்தோம். டக்ளசின் நாடகத்தின் மீதான காதல் போன்றதே நமது நடிகவேளின் நாடக ஈடுபாடும். டக்ளஸ் வெளிப்படுத்திய நவரச நடிப்பும் ராதாவின் நடிப்பும் பல வகைகளிலும் ஒத்தமைந்திருந்தன. டக்ளஸ் பல ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்னர், பேசாப்பட காலத்தைச் சார்ந்தவர் என்ற போதிலும் நடிகவேள் எம்.ஆர்.ராதாவுக்கு ‘தென்னகத்தின் டக்ளஸ்’ என்ற பெயர் பொருத்தமானதாகவே நிலைத்து விட்டது.

நடிகராக, திரைக்கதை ஆசிரியராக, இயக்குநராக, தயாரிப்பாளராக சாகசங்கள் ததும்பி வழிந்த வாழ்க்கை டக்ளசுடையது. சினிமாவின் துவக்க காலத்திலேயே அதன் ஆன்மாவைப் புரிந்துகொண்டு, அதற் கொரு உன்னத சிம்மாசனத்தைப் பெற்றுத்தந்த டக்ளஸ் எனும் அந்தக் கலைஞன் உலக சினிமா வரலாற்றில் என்றும் ஒளி வீசும் ஒரு தாரகைதான்!

Douglas Elton Fairbanks[1] (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.[2] He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro, but spent the early part of his career making comedies.

Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists. He was also a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929. With his marriage to actress and film producer Mary Pickford in 1920, the couple became 'Hollywood royalty', and Fairbanks was referred to as "The King of Hollywood",[3] a nickname later passed on to actor Clark Gable.

Though widely considered as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood during the 1910s and 1920s, Fairbanks' career rapidly declined with the advent of the "talkies". His final film was The Private Life of Don Juan (1934).

Early life
Fairbanks was born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman (spelled "Ulman" by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in his memoirs) in Denver, Colorado, the son of Hezekiah Charles Ullman (September 15, 1833 – February 23, 1915) and Ella Adelaide (née Marsh; 1847–1915). He had two half-brothers, John Fairbanks, Jr. (born 1873) and Norris Wilcox (February 20, 1876 – October 21, 1946),[4] and a full brother, Robert Payne Ullman (March 13, 1882 – February 22, 1948). His father was born in Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, and raised in Williamsport. He was the fourth child in a Jewish family consisting of six sons and four daughters. Charles' parents, Lazarus Ullman and Lydia Abrahams, had immigrated to the U.S. in 1830 from Baden, Germany.

When he was 17, Charles started a small publishing business in Philadelphia. Two years later, he left for New York to study law.

Charles met Ella Adelaide Marsh after she married his friend and client John Fairbanks, a wealthy New Orleans sugar mill and plantation owner. The couple had a son, John, and shortly thereafter John Senior died of tuberculosis. Ella, born into a wealthy southern Roman Catholic family, was overprotected and knew little of her husband's business. Consequently, she was swindled out of her fortune by her husband's partners. Even the efforts of Charles Ullman, acting on her behalf, failed to regain any of the family fortune for her.[citation needed]

Distraught and lonely, she met and married a courtly Georgian, Edward Wilcox, who turned out to be an alcoholic. After they had another son, Norris, she divorced Wilcox, with Charles acting as her own lawyer in the suit. She soon became romantically involved with Charles, and agreed to move to Denver with him to pursue mining investments. They arrived in Denver in 1881 with her son John. (Norris was left in Georgia with relatives and was never sent for by his mother.) They were married; in 1882 they had a son, Robert, and then a second son, Douglas, a year later. Charles purchased several mining interests in the Rocky Mountains, and re-established his law practice. After hearing of his wife's philandering, he abandoned the family when Douglas was five years old. Douglas and his older brother Robert were brought up by their mother, who gave them the family name Fairbanks, after her first husband.[citation needed]

Career
Early career

Fairbanks in the Broadway production A Case of Frenzied Finance, 1905
Douglas Fairbanks began acting at an early age, in amateur theatre on the Denver stage, performing in summer stock at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, and other productions sponsored by Margaret Fealy, who ran an acting school for young people in Denver.[5] He attended Denver East High School, and was expelled for cutting the wires on the school piano.[5]

He left school in the spring of 1899, at the age of 15.[5] He variously claimed to have attended Colorado School of Mines and Harvard University, but neither claim is true. He went with the acting troupe of Frederick Warde, beginning a cross country tour in September 1899. He toured with Warde for two seasons, functioning in dual roles, both as actor and as the assistant stage manager in his second year with the group.[5]

After two years he moved to New York, where he found his first Broadway role in Her Lord and Master, which premiered in February 1902. He worked in a hardware store and as a clerk in a Wall Street office between acting jobs.[6] His Broadway appearances included the popular A Gentleman from Mississippi in 1908–09. On July 11, 1907, Fairbanks married Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist Daniel J. Sully, in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. They had one son, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., also a noted actor. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1915.[citation needed]

Hollywood

D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin (seated) and Fairbanks at the signing of the contract establishing United Artists in 1919
After moving to Los Angeles, Fairbanks signed a contract with Triangle Pictures in 1915 and began working under the supervision of D. W. Griffith. His first film was titled The Lamb, in which he debuted the athletic abilities that would gain him wide attention among theatre audiences.[7] His athleticism was not appreciated by Griffith, however, and he was brought to the attention of Anita Loos and John Emerson, who wrote and directed many of his early romantic comedies.

In 1916, Fairbanks established his own company, the Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation,[8] and would soon get a job at Paramount.[8]

Fairbanks speaking in front of a crowd at a 1918 war bond drive in New York City
Fairbanks met actress Mary Pickford at a party in 1916, and the couple soon began an affair. In 1917, they joined Fairbanks' friend Charlie Chaplin[7] selling war bonds by train across the United States. Pickford and Chaplin were the two highest paid film stars in Hollywood at that time. To curtail these stars' astronomical salaries, the large studios attempted to monopolize distributors and exhibitors. By 1918, Fairbanks was Hollywood's most popular actor,[9] and within three years of his arrival, Fairbanks' popularity and business acumen raised him to the third-highest paid.

In 1917, Fairbanks capitalized on his rising popularity by publishing a self-help book, Laugh and Live which extolled the power of positive thinking and self-confidence in raising one's health, business and social prospects.[10]

To avoid being controlled by the studios and to protect their independence, Fairbanks, Pickford, Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1919, which created their own distributorships and gave them complete artistic control over their films and the profits generated.


The Mark of Zorro

Sully was granted a divorce from Fairbanks in late 1918, the judgment being finalized early the following year. After the divorce, the actor was determined to have Pickford become his wife, but she was still married to actor Owen Moore. Fairbanks finally gave her an ultimatum. She then obtained a rapid divorce in the small Nevada town of Minden on March 2, 1920. Fairbanks leased the Beverly Hills mansion Grayhall and was rumored to have used it during his courtship of Pickford. The couple married on March 28, 1920. Pickford's divorce from Moore was contested by Nevada legislators, however, and the dispute was not settled until 1922. Even though the lawmakers objected to the marriage, the public widely supported the idea of "Everybody's Hero" marrying "America's Sweetheart". That enthusiasm, in fact, extended far beyond the borders of the United States. Later, while honeymooning in Europe, Fairbanks and Pickford were warmly greeted by large crowds in London and Paris. Both internationally and at home, the celebrated couple were regarded as "Hollywood Royalty" and became famous for entertaining at "Pickfair", their Beverly Hills estate.


Fairbanks in the title role in Robin Hood (1922)

By 1920, Fairbanks had completed twenty-nine films (twenty-eight features and one two-reel short), which showcased his ebullient screen persona and athletic ability. By 1920, he had the inspiration of staging a new type of adventure-costume picture, a genre that was then out of favor with the public; Fairbanks had been a comic in his previous films.[3] In The Mark of Zorro, Fairbanks combined his appealing screen persona with the new adventurous costume element. It was a smash success, and parlayed the actor into the rank of superstar. For the remainder of his career in silent films he continued to produce and star in ever more elaborate, impressive costume films, such as The Three Musketeers (1921), Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), The Black Pirate (1926), and The Gaucho (1927). Fairbanks spared no expense and effort in these films, which established the standard for all future swashbuckling films.

In 1921, he, Pickford, Chaplin, and others, helped to organize the Motion Picture Fund to assist those in the industry who could not work, or were unable to meet their bills.

During the first ceremony of its type, on April 30, 1927, Fairbanks and Pickford placed their hand and foot prints in wet cement at the newly opened Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. (In the classic comedy Blazing Saddles, Harvey Korman's villain character sees Fairbanks' prints at Grauman's and exclaims, "How did he do such fantastic stunts...with such little feet?")

Fairbanks was elected first President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year, and he presented the first Academy Awards at the Roosevelt Hotel. Today, Fairbanks also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.

Career decline and retirement

Fairbanks in The Private Life of Don Juan, 1934

While Fairbanks had flourished in the silent genre, the restrictions of early sound films dulled his enthusiasm for film-making. His athletic abilities and general health also began to decline at this time, in part due to his years of chain-smoking.[11] On March 29, 1928, at Pickford's bungalow, United Artists brought together Pickford, Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, Gloria Swanson, John Barrymore, D.W. Griffith and Dolores del Río to speak on the radio show The Dodge Brothers Hour to prove Fairbanks could meet the challenge of talking movies.[12]

Fairbanks' last silent film was the lavish The Iron Mask (1929), a sequel to the 1921 release The Three Musketeers. The Iron Mask included an introductory prologue spoken by Fairbanks. He and Pickford chose to make their first talkie as a joint venture, playing Petruchio and Kate in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1929). This film, and his subsequent sound films, were poorly received by Depression-era audiences. The last film in which he acted was the British production The Private Life of Don Juan (1934), after which he retired from acting.[citation needed]

Fairbanks and Pickford separated in 1933, after he began an affair with Sylvia, Lady Ashley. Pickford had also been seen in the company of a high-profile industrialist. They divorced in 1936, with Pickford keeping the Pickfair estate.[13] Fairbanks and Ashley were married in Paris in March 1936.[14]

He continued to be marginally involved in the film industry and United Artists, but his later years lacked the intense focus of his film years. His health continued to decline. During his final years he lived at 705 Ocean Front (now Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica, California, although much of his time was spent traveling abroad with his third wife, Lady Ashley.

Death
On December 12, 1939, Fairbanks suffered a heart attack. He died later that day at his home in Santa Monica at the age of 56.[15] His last words were reportedly, "I've never felt better."[16] His funeral service was held at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather Church in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery where he was placed in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum.


Fairbanks' tomb at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Two years following his death, he was removed from Forest Lawn by his widow, Sylvia, who commissioned an elaborate marble monument for him featuring a long rectangular reflecting pool, raised tomb, and classic Greek architecture in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.[17] The monument was dedicated in a ceremony held in October 1941, with Fairbanks's close friend Charlie Chaplin reading a remembrance. The remains of his son, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., were also interred there upon his death in May 2000.[18]

Legacy

Reissued film poster for 1916 "cocaine comedy" The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

In 1992 Douglas Fairbanks was portrayed by actor Kevin Kline in the film Chaplin.

In 1998, a group of Fairbanks fans started the Douglas Fairbanks Museum in Austin, Texas. The museum building was temporarily closed for mold remediation and repairs in February 2010.[19]

In 2002, AMPAS opened the "Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study" located at 333 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The building houses the Margaret Herrick Library.[20]

On November 6, 2008, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrated the publication of their "Academy Imprints" book Douglas Fairbanks, authored by film historian Jeffrey Vance, with the screening of a new restoration print of The Gaucho with Vance introducing the film.[21]

The following year, opening on January 24, 2009, AMPAS mounted a major Douglas Fairbanks exhibition at its Fourth Floor Gallery, titled "Douglas Fairbanks: The First King of Hollywood". The exhibit featured costumes, props, pictures, and documents from his career and personal life.[22] In addition to the exhibit, AMPAS screened The Thief of Bagdad and The Iron Mask in March 2009. Concurrently with the Academy's efforts, the Museum of Modern of Art held their first Fairbanks film retrospective in over six decades, titled "Laugh and Live: The Films of Douglas Fairbanks" which ran from December 17, 2008, to January 12, 2009. Jeffrey Vance opened the retrospective with a lecture and screening of the restoration print of The Gaucho.[23]

Recently, due to his involvement with the USC Fencing Club, a bronze statue of Fairbanks was erected in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Courtyard of the new School of Cinematic Arts building on the University of Southern California campus. Fairbanks was a key figure in the film school's founding in 1929, and in its curriculum development.[24][citation needed]

The 2011 film The Artist was loosely based on Fairbanks, with the film's lead portraying Zorro in a silent movie featuring a scene from the Fairbanks version.[citation needed] While thanking the audience in 2012 for a Golden Globe award as Best Actor for his performance in the film, actor Jean Dujardin added, "As Douglas Fairbanks would say," then moved his lips silently as a comedic homage. When Dujardin accepted the 2011 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Fairbanks was cited at length as the main inspiration for Dujardin's performance in The Artist.[citation needed]

An important accolade given to the Douglas Fairbanks legacy was a special screening of his masterpiece, The Thief of Bagdad, at the 2012 edition of the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. On April 15, 2012, the festival concluded with a sold-out screening of the Fairbanks film held at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The evening was introduced by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance.[25]

The nickname for the sports teams of the University of California-Santa Barbara is The Gauchos in honor of Fairbanks' acting in the eponymous film.[26]

OLIVE THOMAS , AMERICAN SILENT FILM ACTRESS 1894 OCTOBER 20-SEPTEMBER 10,1920

OLIVE THOMAS ,

AMERICAN SILENT FILM ACTRESS 

1894 OCTOBER 20-SEPTEMBER 10,1920

Olive Thomas (born Oliva R. Duffy[1]; October 20, 1894 – September 10, 1920) was an American silent-film actress and model.

Thomas began her career as an illustrator's model in 1914, and moved on to the Ziegfeld Follies the following year. During her time as a Ziegfeld girl, she also appeared in the more risqué show The Midnight Frolic. In 1916, she began a successful career in silent films and would appear in more than 20 features over the course of her four-year film career. That year she also married actor Jack Pickford, the younger brother of fellow silent-film star Mary Pickford.

On September 10, 1920, Thomas died in Paris five days after ingesting her husband's syphillis medication, mercury bichloride, that brought on acute nephritis. Although her death was ruled accidental, news of her hospitalization and subsequent death were the subject of speculation in the press. Thomas' death has been cited as one of the first heavily publicized Hollywood scandals

Early life
Oliva R. Duffy was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, but often claimed her birth name was Oliveretta Elaine Duffy.[2] She was the eldest of three children born to James and Rena Duffy, both of whom were of Irish descent. She had two brothers: James (born 1896) and William (born 1899).[3] Thomas later helped both of her brothers to secure work in the film industry; after serving in the Marines in France during World War I, William worked as a cameraman, and James worked as an assistant director.[4] At the time of her death, both brothers were employed by Selznick Productions.[5]

Her father, James Duffy, a steelworker, died in a work-related accident in 1906. After his death, the family moved to McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, a small mill town. Thomas and her brothers often stayed with their grandparents while her mother Rena worked in a local factory. Rena Duffy later married Harry M. Van Kirk, a worker on the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. The two had a daughter, Harriet, who was born in 1914 and died in a car accident in 1931.[3]

Thomas left school at the age 15 to help support her siblings. She got a job selling gingham at Joseph Horne's department store for $2.75 per week (equivalent to $73.95 in 2018).[6] In April 1911, aged 16, she married Bernard Krug Thomas in McKees Rocks. During the two-year marriage, she reportedly worked as a clerk in Kaufmann's, a major department store in Pittsburgh. After their separation in 1913, Thomas moved to New York City and lived with a family member. She later found work in a Harlem department store.[2]

Career
Modeling

Between Poses by Penrhyn Stanlaws, 1915
In 1914, Thomas entered and subsequently won the "Most Beautiful Girl in New York City" contest held by Howard Chandler Christy, a commercial artist. Winning the contest helped establish her career as an artists' model, and she would later pose for Harrison Fisher, Raphael Kirchner, Penrhyn Stanlaws, and Haskell Coffin. Thomas was featured on many magazine covers, including that of the Saturday Evening Post.[7][8]

Stage
Fisher wrote a letter of recommendation to Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., resulting in Thomas' being hired for the Ziegfeld Follies. However, Thomas later disputed this, claiming she "walked right up and asked for the job".[8] She made her stage debut in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1915 on June 21, 1915. Thomas' popularity in the Follies led to her being cast in Ziegfeld's more risqué Midnight Frolic show. The Frolic was staged after hours in the roof garden of the New Amsterdam Theatre. It was primarily a show for famous male patrons who had plenty of money to bestow on the young and beautiful female performers. Thomas received expensive gifts from her admirers; it was rumored that German Ambassador Albrecht von Bernstorff had given her a $10,000 string of pearls.[9]

During her time in The Follies, Thomas began an affair with Florenz Ziegfeld.[10] Ziegfeld, who was married to actress Billie Burke, had affairs with other Ziegfeld girls, including Lillian Lorraine and Marilyn Miller (who would later marry Thomas' widower Jack Pickford).[11][12] Thomas ended the affair with Ziegfeld after he refused to leave Burke to marry her.[13]

Memories of Olive by Alberto Vargas, 1920
Thomas continued modeling while appearing in the Follies. She became the first "Vargas Girl" after she posed for a portrait painted by Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas.[14] The portrait, titled Memories of Olive, features Thomas nude from the waist up while clutching a rose. The portrait was reportedly commissioned by Florenz Ziegfeld but Vargas later denied this claim. Ziegfeld purchased and hung the portrait in his office at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Vargas, who called Thomas "one of the most beautiful brunettes that Ziegfeld ever glorified," kept a copy of the painting for his personal collection.[15]

Silent films
In July 1916, Thomas signed with the International Film Company.[16] She made her on-screen debut in "Episode 10" of Beatrice Fairfax, a film serial. In 1917, she made her full-length feature debut in A Girl Like That for Paramount Pictures.[17]

Thomas in Out Yonder, 1919
That same year, she signed with Triangle Pictures.[18] Shortly after, news broke of her engagement to actor Jack Pickford, whom she had married a year prior. Thomas and Pickford, who was the younger brother of Mary Pickford, kept the marriage secret because Thomas did not want people to think her success in film was due to her association with the Pickfords.[19] Her first film for Triangle, Madcap Madge, was released in June 1917. Thomas' popularity at Triangle grew with performances in Indiscreet Corrine (1917) and Limousine Life (1918). In 1919, she portrayed a French girl who poses as a boy in Toton the Apache.[20] Thomas later said that she felt her work in Toton was "the first real thing I've ever done."[17] She made her final film for Triangle, The Follies Girl, that same year.

After leaving Triangle, Thomas signed with Myron Selznick's Selznick Pictures Company in December 1918 for a salary of $2,500 a week. She hoped for more serious roles, believing that with her husband signed to the same company, she would have more influence. Her first film for Selznick, Upstairs and Down (1919), proved successful and established her image as a "baby vamp". She followed with roles in Love's Prisoner and Out Yonder, both in 1919.[17][21] In 1920, Thomas played a teenage schoolgirl The Flapper, who yearns for excitement beyond her small Florida town. Thomas was the first actress to portray a lead character who was a flapper and the film was the first of its kind to portray the flapper lifestyle. Frances Marion, who wrote the scenario, was responsible for bringing the term into the American vernacular.[22][23] The Flapper proved to be popular and became one of Thomas' most successful films.[21] On October 4, 1920, Thomas' final film, Everybody's Sweetheart, was released.

Personal life
Thomas' first marriage was to Bernard Krug Thomas, a man she met at age 15 while living in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. They married on April 1, 1911, and lived with his parents in McKees Rocks for the first six months of their marriage. The couple later moved into their own apartment. 

Krug Thomas worked as a clerk at the Pressed Steel Car Company while Olive took care of the home.[24] In 1913, the couple separated and Olive moved to New York City to pursue a career as a model. She was granted a divorce on September 25, 1915, on the grounds of desertion and cruelty.

[25] In 1931, Bernard Krug Thomas gave an interview to The Pittsburg Press, detailing his marriage to Olive, implying that a cause of the demise of their marriage was her ambition, a desire to obtain a life of "luxury", and "improve her station".[24]

Autographed photo of Thomas, c. 1916
In late 1916, Thomas met actor Jack Pickford, brother of one of the most successful silent stars, Mary Pickford, at a beach cafe on the Santa Monica Pier. Both Thomas and Pickford were known for their partying. Screenwriter Frances Marion remarked, "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."[26] Thomas eloped with Pickford on October 25, 1916, in New Jersey. None of their family was present, with only actor Thomas Meighan as their witness. Although the couple never had any children of their own, in 1920, they adopted Thomas' six-year-old nephew, the son of one of her brothers, after his mother died.[17]

By most accounts, Thomas was the love of Pickford's life. However, the marriage was tumultuous and filled with highly charged conflict, followed by lavish making up through the exchange of expensive gifts.[17] Pickford's family did not always approve of Thomas, though most of the family did attend her funeral. In Mary Pickford's 1955 autobiography Sunshine and Shadow, she wrote:

I regret to say that none of us approved of the marriage at that time. Mother [i.e., Charlotte Hennessey] thought Jack was too young, and Lottie and I felt that Olive, being in musical comedy, belonged to an alien world. Ollie had all the rich, eligible men of the social world at her feet. She had been deluged with proposals from her own world of the theater as well. Which was not at all surprising. The beauty of Olive Thomas is legendary. The girl had the loveliest violet-blue eyes I have ever seen. They were fringed with long dark lashes that seemed darker because of the delicate translucent pallor of her skin. I could understand why Florenz Ziegfeld never forgave Jack for taking her away from the Follies. She and Jack were madly in love with one another, but I always thought of them as a couple of children playing together.[27]

Death
For many years, Thomas and Pickford had intended to vacation together. Both were constantly traveling and had little time to spend together. With their marriage on the rocks, the couple decided to take a second honeymoon.[17] In August 1920, the pair headed for Paris, hoping to combine a vacation with some film preparations.[21]

On the night of September 5, 1920, they went out for a night of entertainment and partying at the famous bistros in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris. Returning to their room in the Hotel Ritz around 3 a.m., Pickford either fell asleep or was outside the room.[28] An intoxicated and tired Thomas ingested mercury bichloride liquid solution. It had been prescribed to Pickford to topically treat sores caused by his chronic syphilis.[29]

Thomas had either thought the flask contained drinking water or sleeping pills; accounts vary. The label was in French, which may have added to her confusion. After drinking the liquid she screamed, "Oh, my God!" and Pickford ran to pick her up. She was taken to the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where Pickford and his former brother-in-law Owen Moore remained at her side until she died five days later.[17]

Controversy and death ruling
While Thomas lay in the American Hospital dying, the press began reporting on the various rumors that began to arise about the circumstances of the incident. Some papers reported that Thomas had attempted suicide after having a fight with Pickford over his alleged infidelities, while others said she attempted suicide after discovering Pickford had given her syphilis. There were rumors that Thomas was plagued by a drug addiction, that she and Pickford had been involved in "champagne and cocaine orgies," or that Pickford tricked her into drinking poison in an attempt to murder her to collect her insurance money.[30][31][32] Owen Moore, who accompanied Pickford and Thomas in Paris, denied the rumors, saying that Thomas was not suicidal and that she and Pickford had not fought that evening.[33] Jack Pickford also denied the rumors, stating, "Olive and I were the greatest pals on Earth. Her death is a ghastly mistake."[31]

On September 13, 1920, Pickford gave his account of that night to the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner:

We arrived back at the Ritz hotel at about 3 o'clock in the morning. I had already booked airplane seats for London. We were going Sunday morning. Both of us were tired out. We both had been drinking a little. I insisted that we had better not pack then, but rather get up early before our trip and do it then. I went to bed immediately. She fussed around and wrote a note to her mother. ... She was in the bathroom.

Suddenly she shrieked: 'My God.' I jumped out of bed, rushed toward her and caught her in my arms. She cried to me to find out what was in the bottle. I picked it up and read: 'Poison.' It was a toilet solution and the label was in French. I realized what she had done and sent for the doctor. Meanwhile, I forced her to drink water in order to make her vomit. She screamed, 'O, my God, I'm poisoned.' I forced the whites of eggs down her throat, hoping to offset the poison. The doctor came. He pumped her stomach three times while I held Olive.

Nine o'clock in the morning I got her to the Neuilly Hospital, where Doctors Choate and Wharton took charge of her. They told me she had swallowed bichloride of mercury in an alcoholic solution, which is ten times worse than tablets. She didn't want to die. She took the poison by mistake. We both loved each other since the day we married. The fact that we were separated months at a time made no difference in our affection for each other. She even was conscious enough the day before she died to ask the nurse to come to America with her until she had fully recovered, having no thought she would die.

She kept continually calling for me. I was beside her day and night until her death. The physicians held out hope for her until the last moment, until they found her kidneys paralyzed. Then they lost hope. But the doctors told me she had fought harder than any patient they ever had. She held onto her life as only one case in fifty. She seemed stronger the last two days. She was conscious, and said she would get better and go home to her mother. 'It's all a mistake, darling Jack,' she said. But I knew she was dying.

She was kept alive only by hypodermic injections during the last twelve hours. I was the last one she recognized. I watched her eyes glaze and realized she was dying. I asked her how she was feeling and she answered: 'Pretty weak, but I'll be all right in a little while, don't worry, darling.' Those were her last words. I held her in my arms and she died an hour later. Owen Moore was at her bedside. All stories and rumors of wild parties and cocaine and domestic fights since we left New York are untrue.[17]

After Thomas' death, the police initiated an investigation and an autopsy was performed. Thomas' death was attributed to acute nephritis caused by mercury bichloride absorption.[34] On September 13, 1920, her death was ruled accidental by the Paris physician who conducted her autopsy.[35]

Funeral

Olive Thomas Pickford's mausoleum in New York
Jack Pickford brought Thomas' body back to the United States. Several accounts state that Pickford tried to commit suicide en route but was talked out of it. In her autobiography, Mary Pickford recalls her brother's disclosure that he had made such an attempt during the return trip:
Jack crossed the ocean with Ollie's body. It wasn't until several years later that he confessed to Mother how one night during the voyage back he put on his trousers and jacket over his pajamas, went up on deck, and was climbing over the rail when something inside him said: "You can't do this to your mother and sisters. It would be a cowardly act. You must live and face the future."[36]

On September 29, 1920, an Episcopal funeral service for Thomas was held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City.[37] According to The New York Times, police escorts were needed at the event, for the entire church was crowded with “hundreds” of fellow actors, other invited attendees, as well as a horde of curious onlookers. Several women are reported to have fainted during the ceremony, and several men had their hats crushed in the rush to view the casket.[38] Thomas is interred in a crypt at the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.[39]

Estate
Thomas did not leave a will upon her death.[40] Her estate, which was later valued at $27,644,[41] was split between her mother, her two brothers, and husband Jack Pickford. Adjusted for inflation, that amount would be the equivalent to $348,323 in 2018.[42] Pickford later relinquished his right to a portion of the money, choosing instead to give his share to Thomas' mother.[43]

Advertisement for Toton in Moving Picture World, 1919

On November 22, 1920, the bulk of Thomas' personal property was auctioned off in an estate sale, which netted approximately $30,000. Lewis Selznick bought Thomas' town car for an undisclosed sum.[44] Mabel Normand bought a 20-piece toilet set, a 14 karat gold cigarette case, and three pieces of jewelry, including a sapphire pin.[14]

Aftermath
The press coverage of Olive Thomas' death was one of the first examples of the media sensationalism related to a major Hollywood star. Her death has been cited as one of the first major Hollywood scandals.[45][46]

Other scandals including the Fatty Arbuckle trial in 1921, the murder of William Desmond Taylor in 1922, and the drug-related death of Wallace Reid caused many religious and morality groups to label Hollywood as "immoral". The public outcry prompted Hollywood studios to begin writing contracts with "morality clauses" or "moral turpitude clauses," allowing the dismissal of contractees who breached them.[47][48]

In popular culture

Lobby card for Everybody's Sweetheart, 1920

A legend that Thomas's ghost haunts the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City arose in the years following her death.[49]
In 2004, with funding from Timeline Films, and with the help of Hugh Hefner and his film preservation organization, Sarah J. Baker premiered her documentary on Olive Thomas' life, titled Olive Thomas: Everybody's Sweetheart.
In 2007, Michelle Vogel wrote a biography titled, Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty, published by McFarland Publishing Company.
Ghostlight, a musical about the life of Olive Thomas, was written by Matthew Martin and Tim Realbuto. Ghostlight opened in New York City at the Signature Theatre on September 26, 2011, and was presented by the New York Musical Theatre Festival. It starred Drama Desk Award winner Rachel York as Billie Burke, Tony nominee Michael Hayden as Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., Tony Award winner Daisy Eagan as Molly Cook, Kimberly Faye Greenberg as Fanny Brice, Matt Leisy as Jack Pickford, and newcomer Rachael Fogle in the leading role of Olive Thomas.[50]
In 2015, novelist Laini Giles released a fictionalized biography of Olive called The Forgotten Flapper.[51] Based completely on factual information, it goes from her poor roots in Pennsylvania to her death, and is narrated by her ghost, now haunting the New Amsterdam Theatre.







Oliva R. Duffy was born on October 20, 1894, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Ollie, as she was known to family and friends, did not have much of a childhood. Life in industrial Pittsburgh was depressing and grim, with its smoky factories and hard living. Olive's father, James Duffy died while she was still very young, forcing her to leave school to help earn her keep. In April 1911 at the age of 16 she married Bernard Krug Thomas in nearby McKees Rock. During this time she reportedly worked as a sales clerk. The marriage was an unhappy one, and after two years Olive filed for divorce. She soon moved to New York and stayed with relatives while again working in a department store. In 1914 she answered a newspaper ad and won the title of "The Most Beautiful Girl in New York City". The contest was run by the celebrated commercial artist Howard Chandler Christy. After winning, Thomas modeled for artist Harrison Fisher and eventually landed on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

Either on a recommendation or her own brazen approach, Thomas impressed Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and immediately went to work in his famed Ziegfeld Follies. Thomas would become a Follies favorite, working in The Midnight Frolic as well as many of the revues. Stunningly gorgeous, she soon found herself being pursued by a number of very wealthy and powerful men who frequented the follies. Thomas received expensive gifts from her admirers, with rumors that the German Ambassador had given her a $10,000 string of pearls. Her beauty would lead to a sitting with famed Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas.

Thomas' entry into films is slightly sketchy, as it is hard to trace when or why it happened. Her first contract was with International Film Company as the leading lady in the studio's Harry Fox movies, although this never resulted in any actual films. Her acting debut was a small yet key role in an episode of Beatrice Fairfax (1916). Oddly, she then made one film for Famous Players-Lasky before signing with Triangle Pictures to make a string of light comedies similar to those of Mabel Normand and Mary Pickford. Many of these films did well, including Madcap Madge (1917), A Girl Like That (1917), Broadway Arizona (1917) and Indiscreet Corinne (1917).

Thomas met Jack Pickford, brother of Mary, in 1916 while dancing at Nat Goodwin's Cafe located on the Santa Monica Pier. The relationship was rocky but very passionate. Thomas and Pickford claimed to have married in 1916, though they did not announce the "marriage" until 1917 when Thomas was already a film star in her own right. Recently found marriage records prove the couple did not marry until 1918. In 1918, she signed with Selznick Pictures, where her star grew. During her Triangle days she had played teenager types, causing people to term her a "baby vamp". Selznick capitalized on this image, which would eventually give way to the flapper, Thomas being the first to portray a flapper in The Flapper (1920). It was so successful that Thomas' follow-up films followed a similar pattern, including Youthful Folly (1920) and Everybody's Sweetheart (1920).

Thomas had never been fully accepted by the Pickford family, with Mary resenting her. However, Lottie Pickford befriended her. Despite the stormy relationship, Olive and Jack married in 1918. In 1919 they began proceedings to adopt her nephew, as his mother had passed away (a common practice at the time). Thomas adored children and could not wait to be a mother. Making what is seen as a last-ditch effort to fix her relationship with Jack, she and Pickford went on a "second honeymoon" in August 1920.

In Paris, following a heavy night of drinking and partying, they returned to their hotel at 3:00 a.m. Pickford headed for bed, and Thomas wrote a letter to her mother. After concocting what she thought was a sleeping potion (sleeping medicine at the time was in a powder form, to be mixed with a liquid for consumption) and starting to drink it, Thomas screamed violently. Pickford ran in to see what was wrong and discovered that she had misunderstood the French labels and drank a solution of mercury bichloride instead (which, when mixed in that fashion, was used as bathroom cleaner). She was immediately rushed to a hospital. Blinded and unable to talk due to burned vocal chords, it was hard for her to communicate with the French police, who were investigating the incident. In any case, the police left satisfied the event was an accident. Thomas passed away a day later, with her husband and brother-in-law Owen Moore at her side. She was 25 years old.

Thomas' death was the first big celebrity scandal, and the first death of a star at the height of her fame and youth (only one other major film star had died unexpectedly at the height of fame, the elderly comedian John Bunny in 1915). Rumors swirled that she had killed herself, or was poisoned by a crazed American captain or murdered by Pickford himself. After an autopsy and an American and French investigation, her death was ruled accidental. Thomas was buried in New York in a tiny mausoleum marked "Pickford". Though the relationship had been rocky most agree she was the love of Jack's life, so much so that he was said to have contemplated suicide upon returning to America. Two marriages later (both to Ziegfeld Girls), Jack was said to call out for Olive while in the midst of his drunken stupors.

Olive's final film, Everybody's Sweetheart (1920), was released after her death. Her name lives on, steeped in her scandal, enhanced by fabrications in Hollywood Babylon. Many of her films still reportedly exist (about 12 complete and some in fragments), though they have not as of yet been released on DVD or home video. In 2005 a documentary, "Everybody's Sweetheart" was released, along with "The Flapper".
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Hala Pickford (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous and R. Sieger)

Spouse (2)
Jack Pickford (25 October 1916 - 10 September 1920) ( her death)
Bernard Krug Thomas (1 April 1911 - 25 September 1915) ( divorced)
Trade Mark (1)
Playing teenage types, first as a baby vamp and later as a flapper
Trivia (8)
Found poisoned in her room after consuming mercury bichloride tablets dissolved in alcohol. The circumstances around this event were mysterious but were officially determined to be accidental. She died five days later in the American Hospital in Neuilly.
Sister-in-law of Mary Pickford and Lottie Pickford.
Daughter-in-law of Charlotte Smith.

Her personal belongings were sold at auction in New York for $26,931. Fellow screen star Mabel Normand bought a 14-karet gold cigarette case for $50, a 20-piece toilet set for $1,425, a diamond pearl brooch and sapphire pin for $500 and a platinum set with star sapphire for $425 (22 November 1920).
Her ghost has been said to haunt the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City.
Discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. for his "Follies of 1915". He also cast her in the "Ziegfeld Midnight Frolics", which was a racier, after-hours show atop the New Amsterdam Theater for mostly male audiences. She often wore nothing but balloons, which the gents would eagerly burst with their cigars. She also became Ziegfeld's mistress.
Only daughter in a family of three. Her brothers were Michael James (born February 1893) and William L. (born May 1898).
Was the first actress to play a 'Flapper' which would become a huge fad in the coming years.

Personal Quotes (2)
I think that you die when your time comes and not until then. I feel the same about other things as I do about death. I don't think you can change anything that is going to happen to you any more than you can change anything that has happened to you. That's why I never worry, and that is why I don't think people should get conceited and think themselves better than others

Life's too short and fate too funny to get upstage, Today they may be showering us with roses on Broadway and tomorrow some fool director who used to be a waiter may be rejecting us as atmosphere in a five reel five cent feature...

Filmography[edit]

Advertisement for Toton in Moving Picture World, 1919

Lobby card for Everybody's Sweetheart, 1920

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1916	Beatrice Fairfax	Rita Malone	Episode 10: Playball
1917	A Girl Like That	Fannie Brooks	Lost film
1917	Madcap Madge	Betty
1917	An Even Break	Claire Curtis
1917	Broadway Arizona	Fritzi Carlyle
1917	Indiscreet Corinne	Corinne Chilvers
1917	Tom Sawyer	Choir Member	Uncredited
1918	Betty Takes a Hand	Betty Marshall
1918	Limousine Life	Minnie Wills	Lost film
1918	Heiress for a Day	Helen Thurston	Lost film
1919	Toton the Apache	Toton/Yvonne	Lost film
1919	The Follies Girl	Doll
1919	Upstairs and Down	Alice Chesterton	Alternative title: Up-stairs and Down Lost film
1919	Love's Prisoner	Nancy, later Lady Cleveland
1919	Prudence on Broadway	Prudence	Lost film
1919	The Spite Bride	Tessa Doyle
1919	The Glorious Lady	Ivis Benson
1919	Out Yonder	Flotsam
1920	Footlights and Shadows	Gloria Dawn	Lost film
1920	Youthful Folly	Nancy Sherwin	Writer Lost film
1920	The Flapper	Ginger King
1920	Darling Mine	Kitty McCarthy	Lost film
1920	Everybody's Sweetheart	Mary	Released posthumously