In the summer of 1924, Holman left for New York City, where she first lived at the Studio Club. Her first theater job in New York was in the road company of "The Fool". Channing Pollock, the writer of "The Fool", recognized Holman's talents immediately and advised her to pursue a theatrical career. She followed Pollock's advice and soon became a star. Producer Leonard Sillman relates, in his autobiography "Here Lies Leonard Sillman: Straightened Out at Last", that he "liked the name Libby much better than her legal one and under my gentle prodding, 24 hours a day, she changed it.” An early stage colleague who became a longtime close friend was future film star Clifton Webb, then a dancer. He gave her the nickname, "The Statue of Libby".