Mazie Follette

Mazie Follette was an American actress, dancer, singer, and vaudeville performer who was also known as a Florodora girl and a writer of poetry. Her Broadway career spanned from 1899 to 1907, during which she took on soubrette roles that drew on her abilities as a dancer, actress, and singer. She trained in dance under Filiberto Marcheti.

Follette's stage work encompassed a wide range of productions. In 1900 and 1901 she appeared in Fiddle-dee-dee, and that same period saw her in The Prima Donna and The Strollers. She departed the company of Lulu Glaser in 1901 following accusations that she had been flirting with the audience. Later that year and into 1902 she performed in The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast and The Supper Club. In 1902 she also appeared in Twirly Whirly and The Wild Rose, and took part in the Florodora show at the Winter Garden as one of its celebrated Florodora Girls. The following year she appeared in The Big Little Princess, and from 1903 to 1904 she was part of the musical Winsome Winnie. She starred in The Three Dragoons, and her subsequent Broadway credits included Princess Beggar in 1906 and From Across the Pond in 1907. The Little Princess was among her additional stage appearances during this period.

Beyond the stage, Follette was a figure in New York social circles and had been a confidante of Evelyn Nesbit prior to Nesbit's marriage. She moved within Stanford White's social circle and was called upon by the prosecution during the highly publicized 1907 murder trial of Harry Kendall Thaw, Nesbit's husband, in which she served as a witness. Contemporary accounts described her as someone who possessed particular knowledge of White and of Nesbit's private life.

Following the trial, Follette pursued a plan to organize and train chorus girls. She transitioned into vaudeville in 1908 and continued performing in subsequent years, with stage work including The Gay Musician in 1909 and Shorty McCabe in 1911. She also contributed poetry to publications under a pen name. A showgirl character bearing the name Maizie Follette appeared in the 1915 silent film Betty in Search of a Thrill.