Mamie Lamarr

Mary "Mamie" Lamarr, also known as Madame Ghostlight, is a Drama and French teacher at Maillardet's Academy and a former crime fighter. She is the adoptive daughter of Vincent Maillardet and Rajmund Jelen and has been a part of the school since its founding. Her power of hypnotic manipulation allows her to control subjects through voice commands.
==Biography==
After being given away by her parents as a young child, Mamie became a ward of St Rita's parish, where her posthuman power of hypnotic manipulation was seen as a form of "devilment". Mamie was ill treated, subjected to "moral lessons" intended to "break" the Devil's hold on her, and succeeding only in convincing her that she was evil and wicked.Foundation
By the age of ten,quipquipquip: "How old are the kids in Foundation? she had fallen into the clutches of Ollie and Elwood Ellis, the crooked proprietors of a travelling freak show, who supplemented their earnings with thieving and con artistry. Against her will, Mamie became their new star act as "Miss Mary Labelle, the girl scared half to death". The brothers found more than one use for her power, forcing her to help them rob houses in each town they passed through, using her power to keep people silent and docile even as their possessions were stolen and their homes burned down around them. In between times they kept her muzzled and beat her cruelly when she so much as hesitated to obey a command.
Salvation came in the form of Vincent Maillardet, who himself had been led to Mamie by a long-ago prediction from his posthuman daughter Beatrice. Vincent helped both Mamie and her friend Atam Petrov escape from the Ollie and Elwood, offering them a new home with his family on his isolated Oregon property. Unfortunately, the Ellis brothers pursued them, intent on reclaiming Mamie and taking revenge against Vincent. Tragedy ensued; the brothers set fire to a barn, killing Atam and the other two children inside, and Mamie - trapped and facing the prospect of losing her newfound family - used her power to compel Ollie to kill himself.
The family slowly recovered, rebuilt and transformed their home into a secure school and haven for posthumans. Vincent legally adopted Mamie, and both he and his partner Rajmund treated her as their own daughter. By 1939, she and her fellow Foundation posthumans were operating as vigilante heroes, with newspapers christening them the Maillardet Five.
In the present day, the elderly Mamie continues to teach at Maillardet's Academy, despite being in her late nineties. Her students know her only as a former actress and crime fighter, apparently with a long and distinguished career behind her, although she is not well-known and her name appears in no history books.Origins, Issue #3, p. 99 Although she has long since retired from active duty and the stage, she still asks that students refer to her by her old moniker of Madame Ghostlight.Origins, Issue #3, p. 98
Ghostlight's acting classes have a reputation for being the easy option because she spends so much time talking about her craft and her glory days, leaving little time for actual teaching. Nevertheless, she introduces students to some valuable tactics: Where other acting classes focus on espionage, lying under pressure and social manipulation, Ghostlight favors what she calls "the light touch", regarding a subtle approach as the most effective one.Origins, Issue #3, p. 100
She had taken a particular shine to Maks Petrov, the great-nephew of her long-dead friend Atam, and Ida Mae Sullivan, for whom she has become an unofficial mentor.
==Physical appearance==
Even as a child, Mamie's hair was fine and snow white. In the present day, she is very elderly and dresses like "an ancient spirit of the theater", with long flowing skirts and shimmery scarves and shawls. She has white hair and fair skin.Origins, Issue #3, pp. 98-99
==Powers and abilities==
Mamie has the power of hypnotic manipulation, allowing her to control any subject through voice commands, provided the individual is capable of understanding her. Once Vincent and Rajmund realised this limitation, Ray resolved to teach her every language he knew.quipquipquip: What were the powers of the Maillardet-Jelen family?
==Moniker==
A ghost light is a light that is left energized on the stage of a theater when the theater is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark. It is usually mounted on a portable stand and placed near center stage. The purpose of the light is mainly for safety, allowing one to navigate a darkened theater without falling into the orchestra pit or tripping into set pieces. There are a number of superstitions associated with ghost lights, and some hold that ghost lights provide opportunities for ghosts to perform onstage, thus appeasing them and preventing them from sabotaging the show.
==Appearances==
*Origins
*Target Practice
*Foundation (POV character)
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Purple-bands
Category:Unknown strength
Category:Foundation characters
Category:Target Practice characters
Category:Origins characters
Category:Maillardet Five