Interesting, that last comment about so many stars not remembered
today. Seems to me that celebrities of any sort -- entertainment,
sports, politics, whatever -- generally don't pass the "memory" test
for more than three generations or so. Of course, the "major stars"
are remembered, but with time, people basically recognize the names
but aren't necessarily sure why... they just know that the person
was "big" in their time. Even the big names fade. Then a movie or a
book is written about major star or a "forgotten" name, and
they're "big" again, for a time. It will be interesting to see if
Olive Thomas is of general interest again when the movie comes out
this spring. Who knows, our group may even add new members (and how
many remain past a few months). Then the names fade again as new
movies and books are introduced. There's probably authoritative
research that's been done on this subject (how long people are
remembered past their deaths or eras). I'd be interested to learn
if anyone in our group knows anything about that or has any thoughts
on it.
Think about it -- there are very few people left alive today who
even saw a FIRST RUN Olive Thomas movie in a theatre (or remember
it, if they did). Other than groups like ours, there's nobody out
there to keep the flame alive. We are a curious band, but thank god
there are folks like us out there. The internet definitely makes it
much easier, of course.
When I tell my friends about Olive Thomas and the things I've
learned or read on this group page, or why I visited her grave in
NYC last fall and posted the pix on our site, they just kind of roll
their eyes and go off into never-neverland. They listen politely,
but I know there's no real interest. While it's their loss, I
realize that not everyone shares such interests. Fortunately,
there's this group...
You are right, there are so many that aren't remembered. I'm sure
that within our group, there are many reasons for belonging -- a
sense of history, an interest in silent films and their stars, a
taste for the macabre -- whatever. I enjoy being a part of it, and
look forward to the postings and e-mails, no matter how sporadic.
Sorry for rambling, just the random thoughts of an Ollie fan on a
snowy Friday morning in Cleveland, Ohio.

--- In TheNewCovenOfOliveThomas@yahoogroups.com, "ollieofthefollies"
<ollieofthefollies@y...> wrote:
>
> In the Florence Lawrence biography by Kelly R.Brown,Olive's death
is
> mentioned along with Robert Harron's as bringing on an "awareness
of
> how others viewed the film industry," and how the "problem
continued
> as the insiders did not like what they saw when they peered into
the
> mirror." Florence Lawrence preceded Ollie and was known as the
first
> movie star and the Biograph Girl. She ended up committing suicide
at
> age 52, long after her career and popularity ended. Very good read
> about a little known star and one who was immensely popular BEFORE
> Mary Pickford came along and literally took her place in the
> public's affections. So many sad stories.....and so many very
early
> stars not remembered today.