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“The face of a beautiful doll and the ways of a playful kitten...no one could wriggle more suggestively than Lotta”. -The New York Times

Lotta Crabtree. (November 7th, 1847 – September 25th, 1924) American actress, comedian, dancer, musician, activist, and painter.
Born in New York City to British immigrants, Lotta would go on to become the first famous and rich American entertainer that there was, and the most beloved entertainer of the 19th century. It has been said that "she started it all”.
Lotta started out as a child entertainer at 6 yrs. old in the old Western towns of the Califorinia gold rush. She was the Shirley Temple of her day. The miners loved her and would throw gold nuggets and gold coins on the stage. Lotta’s mother, her manager, would collect the gold from each performance and put it in a leather pouch, and when the pouch would get too heavy she would use the money to buy real estate in the towns they toured through. Eventually amassing a fortune of over 4 million dollars, which would be equivelant to about 46 million dollars by today’s standards.
When Lotta retired at age 43, she was the richest actor in America, and spent the rest of her life dedicated to being an artist, an animal rights activist, travelling to Europe to study art (at the Acadamie Colorossi in Paris), music and languages, and giving her money away to help needy people and animals. She would walk around Boston putting hats on horses to protect them from the sun. Lotta was a vegetarian for years. She would also take time to visit inmates. In her will, she left instructions to use some of her money to build beautiful drinking fountains all around the country for animals and people. Only a few of these were actually built, some of the most well known fountains are in Boston, and the famous Lotta’s Fountain in San Francisco at the intersection of Market and Kearney Streets.
It was Lotta who started the tradition of putting on daytime performances, for women and children. Now commonly known as the afternoon matinee.
Some of Lotta’s celebrity friends included the magician, the great Harry Houdini, President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant, and actor John Barrymore, who referred to her as “ the queen of the American stage”. President Grant always made it a point to visit her whenever she was performing in Washington DC while he was president.
Lotta has been credited as being an influence for several great female entertainers that came after her, including Mary Pickford, Mae West, Betty Hutton, and Judy Garland.
The Academy Award nominated 1951 movie musical “Golden Girl” was based on Lotta’s exciting life, starring Hollywood Walk-Of-Famer, Mitzi Gaynor as Lotta.
When Lotta was 6, she just happened to live up the street from the famed exotic dancer Lola Montez. They both took a liking for each other, Lola gave Lotta some dance lessons and the rest is history! Lola wanted to take Lotta on her tour of Australia, but Lotta’s mother wouldn’t have it. Lotta was known as the “San Francisco’s favorite” by age 9.
Lotta was born Charlotte Mignon Crabtree. As a child she was billed as “Little Lotta”, through her teen years as “Miss Lotta”, then when she hit superstardom she was thereafter known simply as “Lotta”. She was never billed as “Lotta Crabtree.”
Lotta was also known by many nicknames such as the “Golden Girl”, “The California Diamond”, “The Belle of Broadway”, and “The Nations Darling”.
Lotta was a lively petite redhead who stood just 5’2” as an adult. She used to sprinkle her hair with cayenne pepper to bring out the red. She often played children in her shows, even as an adult, male and female, playing up to six different roles in one play. She often incorporated playing the banjo into her shows. The New York Times called her “The eternal child”, because of her youthful appearance. As for her dancing and movement skills, the New York Times also wrote “What punctuation is to literature, legs are to Lotta”.
Lotta was a bit of a rebel in her day. She wore her skirts way too short, smoked thin black cigars, was an advocate of women’s rights, and never married. Though she was proposed to many times, by everyone from news paper boys to European royalty to lawyers to well known actors, Lotta always turned them down saying “I’m married to the stage”. There was much speculation in the press about Lotta’s love life. The New York Times once featured on their front page “ The Loves Of Lotta”. But nobody really knew.
Lotta was against wars, but very supporting of the members of the military, and America.
Lotta’s mother Mary Ann, was her manager for most of her career. Mary Ann meant everything to Lotta. Mary Ann was largely responsible for Lotta’s fame and fortune, overseeing virtually every move of Lotta’s 30 plus years of success. Mary Ann was a clever business woman. In the days when banks were not very reliable, Mary Ann would invest the money they made to buy everything from real estate in the cities they would tour through, to gold mines to theaters. After Mary Ann’s death, Lotta seriously wanted to have her sainted. But she eventually settled on having a $20,000 stained glass window decorated with angels made for her, which is today in St. Stephen’s church in Chicago. Lotta’s father John wasn’t around all that much. He eventually moved back to England while Lotta, her mother and her brother Jack stayed in the U.S.. Lotta and her mother would spend summers in Newport, Rhode Island, Lakeville Connecticut, and Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, where they later built an estate called Attol Tryst (Attol is Lotta spelled backwards).
After becoming a success in the West, playing such places as San Francisco, Virginia City, and the famous Bird Cage Theater in Tombestone, Arizona . Lotta and her mother decided to move up to the next level and go back to New York and give Broadway a shot. It took a little while for Broadway to warm up to Lotta. But Lotta seeing how some of the more risque acts were drawing the big crowds, and being as “spicy” as she was, Lotta decided to use the bad swear words “damn it” on stage in one of her shows. The clergy caused quite a stir, and the controversary helped launch Lotta into superstardom. Even in those days a little controversary could be good for a career! The next time Lotta went back to San Francisco she sold out The California Theater for 6 weeks straight, and was swamped with stacks of love letters and expensive gifts. And the city set aside November 6th as “Lotta Crabtree Day”. Fans had a statue of Lotta placed in Portsmouth Square, the original city center.
“Lotta” was soon a household name. Selling out 3 and 4 thousand seat theaters on a regular basis. Having sell out tours all across America and then England. Lotta was now the most rich and famous actress in America. Getting mobbed wherever she went. Travelling to Europe regularly, visiting Africa, and so forth. But Lotta appealed to all, the rich and the poor. Lotta never forgot where she came from and was pleasant to everyone. She would often give free tickets to her shows to the young boys that sold newspapers on the city streets. And they all loved her for that.
Once when performing in London to a standing room only crowd, an actual riot broke out!
Lotta’s admirers included Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, and Brigham Young. Her mother kept a close eye on Lotta’s suitors and would not let anyone get too close, especially when Lotta was young.
Lotta was known for her “natural acting style”, and since almost all her plays were written FOR her, or she bought the rights to it, she often improvised on stage. She could do whatever she wanted. One of her most famous stage moves was when Lotta would be off in the wings of the stage and stick just her ankle outside of the curtain, teasing the audience. The crowds loved this, as even this was considered risque for those days. She was credited as having “the most beautiful ankle in the world “.
Lotta could also laugh at her self. She once slipped in the street and called out “prima donna in the gutter“.She was always a child at heart.
Lotta would have been a great dramatic actress, but that is something she definitely was not into. Almost everything she did was light, fun and upbeat.
In New Orleans Lotta had “ The Lotta Baseball Club”. When Lotta came to visit they presented her with a gold medal and a beautiful banjo, it meant a lot to her.
For years after Lotta retired in 1892, at age 43, she could be seen painting seascapes in Gloucester and Rockport, Massachusetts with a cigar in her mouth and a dog at her feet. She held an exhibit of her artwork in Boston in 1922.
Lotta was one of the first women to own and drive her own car. She called her car the “Red Rose” and was quite a spectacle when seen driving it around.
Lotta was the queen of the stage, but she retired before the days of Hollywood, and movies being a common form of entertainment. Though, she did live to experience the advent of radio and cinema, and became a big fan of the movies, so much that Lotta and her brother Jack opened up the first big movie theater in Boston.
Money was Lotta’s consuming passion until her death. But, unlike her mother Mary Ann, Lotta was not obsessed with getting it as she was with giving it away! Lotta was constantly bombarded with requests for donations from people that simply needed and/or just wanted money, and Lotta often gave it. Usually no less than $1000 at a time. That could buy a lot back then.
Lotta was very particular when making out her will, and made a lot “friends and relatives” unhappy by giving about half of her fortune to charities for things as “anti-animal experimentation”, “trust to provide food, fuel and hospitalization for the poor”, “help for released convicts”, “support for poor, needy actors”,” aid to young graduates of agricultural colleges”, “relief for needy vets of WWI”. As well as the instructions to place beautiful drinking fountains for animals and people throughout the country. Many of her funds and trusts are still operating today.
After Lotta’s death in 1924 at age 77. Many people, claiming to be relatives contested her will and a long series of court hearings followed. Even the famed Wyatt Earp testified at one of the hearings. He was a friend of the family.
Dozens of books, plays, and songs have been written about Lotta. The movie Golden Girl, about Lotta’s life, actually does capture the lively spirit that was Lotta.
Lotta’s influence is all around us today. Whether it be the effects of the money and support she has given to farmers, animals, prisoners, soldiers, and actors. Or her ground breaking performance style that helped shape entertainment to the way it is today. To her shaping society forever after with her strong influence on animal rights, women’s rights, and human rights. To her love of spreading beauty with fountains, paintings, and promoting the arts. Lotta will forever be with us in spirit and influence!