As always, a very illuminating entry from rancidcheeshead.? Your insight never
fails to amaze.? I'd give anything to see a film of one of the Frolics with
Ollie starring.? I had no idea that these shows were nearly three hours long.?
And any act entitled Don the Inebriate Dog has got to be seen to be believed.







-----Original Message-----
From: rancidcheesehead <rancidcheesehead@...>
To: TheNewCovenOfOliveThomas@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 12:11 pm
Subject: [TheNewCovenOfOliveThomas] A few notes on the Frolic...

























The recent postings of photos of Ollie and dogs is a superb

collection that should interest any fan of Olive Thomas.



One minor criticism is the posting of Don the Inebriate Dog with

Ollie from the Frolic of 1915. It was from 1916 and the circumstances

might prove interesting.



The Frolic was really a continuous show that changed over time. It

really wasn't the same show week after week but there were times the

Frolic was completely revamped. Remember, one of the goals of the

Frolic was to develop new talent for Ziegfeld's other shows. From the

beginning, Olive Thomas was a sensation and a huge draw.



By the summer of 1916 and after the end of her public relationship

with Flo Ziegfeld, Ollie made it known that she was bored with the

roles she had. (Gene Buck promised that all she had to do was stand

there!) Ollie admitted this in an 1919 interview with Florence

Lawrence that she developed an "overblown case of higher ambition".

This is when Ollie became part of the opening scene singing in a duet

in a gypsy costume. The act following her was Don the Inebriate Dog.

Ollie had two other parts in the Frolic at this time, the most

important being the Midnight Frolic Girl raised over other girls

representing various countries and praised as the epitome of all

forms of beauty. It was the closing scene of the show.



The Frolic started at midnight and ended close to three in the

morning. During this period, Ollie was also appearing in promotional

films produced by Ziegfeld and distributed by William Randolph

Hearst. This may explain why Ollie is listed as being offered a

better part in the Follies of 1917 before leaving for Hollywood. The

difficulty in this is that Ollie had to be at a studio on 27th street

at 8 am to do this. At the University of Texas' Ransom Research

Center, there is a similar candid shot of Ollie sleeping in a chair

with Don the dog in a similar position. Unfortunately, Ollie is

falling out of her costume and her right breast is exposed. The poor

girl was just plain tired.



Is it any wonder that Charles Higham in his biography of Ziegfeld

suggesed that drugs use was not uncommon among the girls and would

haunt Ollie to this day? At the every least, this should suggest that

Ollie worked very hard for Ziegfeld despite being his paramour and

moments when she threw tantrums about rehersals. It should also

suggest that Triangle was less work. Still Ollie's parts were

important. When Marjorie Cassidy, Ollie's traveling partner to

California, failed to be offered a contract, she returned to the

Frolic... as the newest Miss Midnight Frolic in a show where everyone

came to see Don the Inebriate Dog.



Your Partner in Limburger






















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