WOMEN OF THE WEST' -- Part 7

ABBEY

Posted By: David (email)
Date: 2/15/2005 at 12:14:35

LOTTA CRABTREE (Con't)

'Fairy Star Of The Mother Lode'
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She continued to receive gifts of gold watches, lockets, jewels of all kinds
and shapes, and various other keepsakes. She met the Grand Duke Alexis of
Russia during an engagement in New Orleans. He was making a celebrated
visit to the United States. He chose to visit the theatre and was
captivated by tiny Lotta and her charming performance. Afterwards, the
seven-foot-tall Duke invited her aboard his ship. He was so enthralled with
her that a week later she was presented with a bracelet of dazzling diamonds
opals, and pearls.

Lotta received many other honors as well and was proud of medals and awards
presented to her from baseball clubs, bellboys, and newspaper boys. Playing
a stage urchin, clothed as a homeless newspaper boy, she captivated this
group, and soon she had a national following.

She and Mary Ann traveled abroad, sometimes with brother Jack and younger
brother John Jr. Lotta spent time studying French as well as visiting art
galleries. It was during one of these European visits that she took up
painting, a hobby she pursued for the rest of her life.

As her success mounted, she began to perform in more and more charity
benefits, gaining the enduring gratitude of fire companies. Her interest
changed to doing plays such as Frederic Marsden's "Musette" and "Little
Bright Eyes." Playwrights wrote plays for her, and "Zip," "Little Nell,"
and "Firefly" became personal favorites. Yet it seems that the audiences
liked the Cinderella plays most. Lotta found the longer plays difficult to
memorize quickly and took to improvising, much to the dismay of the cast.
The audiences, however, loved this.

After Bolt Hulme's death, Lotta was frequently entertained by Francis L.
Wellman, the son of a proud Boston family. He never married her. Newspaper
gossip columnists claimed this was because his father did not want him
married to an actress. However, they remained lasting friends.

In 1875 Lotta commissioned a Philadelphia company to cast a large statue for
her. It was to be a symbolic gesture toward the city of San Francisco and
their love for her. Costing $10,000, the giant 30-foot "Watering Spot", as
it was called, was shipped west in sections and erected at the intersections
of Geary, Market, and Kearny Streets. A magnificent piece of work, its
fluted shaft is decorated with the heads of griffins, bears, and seals and
is surrounded by wrought-iron lilies. These, in turn, support a large
lantern crowned with streams bearing three groups of golden balls. The
people loved it. Four years later Lotta came west for its dedication.

To Be Continued . . . Henry E. Abbey.
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Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
February 9, 2005
iggy29@rnetinc.net