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

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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…