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

She Goes by Jane: A True Crime Podcast · Sep 1, 2026 · 44m

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…