150: The White Elephant: The Disappearance of Irene Silverman, Pt 1

Before Irene Silverman was a missing woman, she was a ballerina, a wife, a hostess, and the owner of one of Manhattan's most unusual homes: a home that would become the centerpiece of her missing persons case. Irene grew up in New Orleans and became a ballet dancer before moving to New York City. There, she joined the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall. In 1941, she married a businessman with a mysterious past: Samuel Silverman. And in the 1950s, the couple brough a six-story mansion on East 65th Street. Sam called it a "white elephant" but would come to admire the building, too. After his death in 1980, Irene made it her own.She renovated the mansion into apartments and filled it with an eclectic cast of tenants and guests, creating a kind of private Parisian salon in the heart of Manhattan. Irene entertained artists, businesspeople, intellectuals, and strangers. There she told stories about a life that sometimes seemed almost too colorful to be true.But the mansion that gave Irene a place to build a life would eventually make her a target. In Part 1 of our three-part series on Irene Silverman, we get to know the woman behind the headlines and the house at the center of her story.📍 Manhattan, New York | July 5, 1998 📖 Featuring an original poem written and read in her honor by Kate Hewlett. ➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women—subscribe and share this episode. 📍 Find us on Instagram & Facebook and Patreon. 📚 Get Aimee’s book, Doe, now available via University of Akron Press, Bookshop.org, and Amazon. 📰 For more women-centered true crime content, subscribe to Aimee’s newsletter, GIRLHUNT. More about Kate Hewlett: Kate is a screenwriter, actor and songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Her feature film based on her play The Swearing Jar premiered at TIFF in 2022 and received both a Canadian Screen Award and a Writer’s Guild Award nomination. Kate’s favourite TV-writing credits include: Malory Towers, Corner Gas Animated, The LA Complex, Backstage and InSecurity. As an actor, Kate currently has a recurring role on The Testaments and select screen credits include: The Girlfriend Experience, Degrassi, Stargate Atlantis, Holly Hobbie, Murdoch Mysteries as well as upcoming seasons of St. Pierre, Hudson & Rex and Law & Order Toronto. Kate is a graduate of the National Theatre School (Acting), Queen’s University (BA) and the Canadian Film Centre (TV writing). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices