Mazie Follette
American dancer, actress, vaudeville performer
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Mazie Follette was an American dancer, actress, vaudeville performer, and Florodora girl. She also wrote poetry, and was a witness in the murder trial of Harry Kendall Thaw.
Mazie Follett
Mazie Follette | |
|---|---|
Mazie Follette, from a 1901 publication. | |
| Other names | Mazie Folette Mazie Follett |
| Occupations | Showgirl, dancer, actress, poet |
| Known for | Florodora girl, Testified at the Harry K. Thaw trial (1907) |
Career
Mazie Follette studied dance with Filiberto Marcheti.[1][2]
Follette danced, acted, and sang in soubrette roles. She left the company of Lulu Glaser in 1901, after she was accused of flirting with the audience.[1][3] She was a "Florodora Girl", in the Florodora show at the Winter Garden in 1902.[4] Broadway appearances by Follette included roles in Fiddle-dee-dee (1900–1901),[5] The Prima Donna (1901), The Strollers (1901),[6] The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast (1901–1902), The Supper Club (1901–1902),[5] Twirly Whirly (1902),[5] The Wild Rose (1902),[7][8] The Big Little Princess (1903), Winsome Winnie (1903–1904),[9] Princess Beggar (1906),[10] and From Across the Pond (1907).[11]
The Thaw trial and aftermath
Follette was known for an extravagant social life; she once took a train from Chicago to New York with two young businessmen, to have a lobster dinner.[12] She also tried to adopt a baby hippopotamus as a pet.[13] "Flippant to strangers, the heroine of many humorous Broadway stories, unfortunately and unjustly mentioned in connection with several unpleasant escapades," Follette was part of Stanford White's social circle,[14] and a confidante of Evelyn Nesbit before Nesbit married.[15][16] She was sought[17] to assist the prosecution at the highly publicized trial[18] of Nesbit's husband, Harry Kendall Thaw, in 1907.[19] "It is believed she knows more of Stanford White and the inner life and workings of Evelyn Thaw than any living person," reported one account.[16][20][21]
After the trial, for a time, she worked on a plan to organize and train chorus girls.[22] Follette also wrote poetry for publications, under a pen name.[14] She was in vaudeville in 1908.[23] Other works in her later career included The Gay Musician (1909), and Shorty McCabe (1911).[24]
A showgirl character in the 1915 silent film Betty in Search of a Thrill is named "Maizie Follette".[25]