An Ugly Ending for the World’s Most Beautiful
By: C.S. Voll
Tags: True Crime, Film, History, Culture, Hollywood

Tragedy in the city of lights

The Hollywood couple arrived in Paris on the 20th of August 1920, whereafter they checked into the prestigious Hotel Ritz (Vogel 2007: 75). They didn’t spend their time at the usual tourist spots though, such as the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, but chose to tour the partying spots of Montmartre (Whitfield 1997: 224). During the early morning hours of 5 September, they wandered back from one of their favorite watering holes, the Dead Rat. Jack Pickford recounted what happened in their room (Vogel 2007: 82):

She was in the bathroom. Suddenly she shrieked: ‘My God!’ I jumped out of bed, rushed towards 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!’…She took the poison by mistake.

The actress had swallowed a solution of alcohol containing twelve grams of mercury bichloride, which was only intended for external treatment. Despite the best efforts of physicians, the ingestion of the chemicals damaged the actress’s internal organs. In interviews, Jack didn’t disclose the existence of the mercury bichloride, a contemporary treatment of syphilis, since there must have been fears it could tarnish his public image.

“Memories of Olive” painted by Alberto Vargas (1920). From Wikimedia (Public Domain).

Olive would cling to life for another excruciating five days but would pass away on the 10th of September in the American Hospital in Paris (Whitfield 1997: 224). The press went into a frenzy of speculation, noting that Olive had made a will leaving Jack all her money, as rumors of orgies, drug addiction, and venereal disease took hold. French police were particularly interested in a former American army captain named Spalding, who was in jail for selling cocaine, since they found Olive Thomas among his contacts (Sacramento Union 1920: 1 & Kohn 2001: 379). Authorities would ultimately rule the death an “accidental poisoning” (Paymar 2016).

A life after death

In October 1920, Jack sailed back to the USA with Olive’s body. His wife’s death would impact his life, seen in how he would be in frequent trouble with the law because of reckless driving (once having his driving license revoked), but made even more problematic by his continuing struggle with alcoholism (Berkeley Daily Gazette 1933: 1).

Jack Pickford and Marilyn Miller. By George Grantham Bain Collection from Wikimedia (Public Domain).

Jack Pickford would marry Ziegfeld musical star Marilyn Miller in 1922, although five years later they divorced; in 1930, he would marry Mary Mulhern, the third Ziegfeld star, ending in divorce two years later. He would often say (Berkeley Daily Gazette 1933: 1):

I have lived more than most men and I am tired.

On 3 January 1933, Jack Pickford was hospitalized at the American Hospital of Paris (the same hospital Olive had died) because of a nervous breakdown. The actor would pass away at around 4 pm the same day. It was reported that the cause of death was a combination of diseases affecting the nerve centers, but alcohol abuse was likely a major factor (Whitfield 1997: 280).

Elusive explanations

The exact sequence of events taking place in the four walls of the room in the Hotel Ritz on 5 September 1920 is a mystery. Whatever it was, it haunted Jack Pickford for the rest of his life. Florenz Ziegfeld, Olive’s former boss, was quick to blame Jack for the death and swore he’d kill him if he ever saw him (Vogel 2007: 22). The rumors were enough to create Hollywood’s first serious scandal, tarnishing the image of the golden couple, while also dimming the fledgling film industry’s reputation. Either through accident, foul play, or a decision to take her own life, Olive Thomas would pass away at age twenty-five, before she could fulfill all of her ambitions.