aPAR@ ` ╔TEXT ` ╗Crabtree, Lotta1847╨1924actorBorn in New York City on November 7, 1847, Charlotte Crabtree grew up from the age of four in California, where her father went in the Gold Rush of the early 1850s. At the Grass Valley mining camp she met Lola Montez, who taught her a bit of dancing and stagecraft, and in 1855 she first performed before an audience of miners. Her lively, diminutive figure immediately captivated the audience, and, with her mother, she began touring the wild camps of California. In 1859 she began appearing in variety theaters in and around San Francisco, where her singing, dancing, and melodramatic roles, many written for her, kept her in the limelight. Crabtree╒s first acting role was in Loan of a Lover, performed in Petaluma. She made her New York debut at Niblo╒s Garden in June 1864 with little success. After three years of touring the country, however, she returned to Wallack╒s Theatre in Little Nell and the Marchioness, adapted for her from Dickens╒s The Old Curiosity Shop, and was a sensation. From then until her retirement she enjoyed huge popularity at home and in England. Her infectious gaiety, perennially winsome, childlike appearance, and occasionally saucy and sweetly risquÄ manner made her a versatile performer and ranked her in the forefront of the emerging theater of burlesque extravaganza. From 1870 she toured with her own company in plays that showcased her unique talents. Among her most popular roles were those she played in Firefly, Hearts Ease, Topsy, The Little Difference, Musette, Mam╒zelle, Nitouche, and Zip. Most often known simply as ╥Lotta,╙ Crabtree left the stage in 1891 and lived in quiet retirement at her estate on Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. She was honored by a special day at the Panama╨Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, and during World War I she made a few appearances for soldiers and veterans. She died in Boston on September 25, 1924, leaving an estate of some $4 million. fstyl ` ! ¬ 5¬ 5¬ ! !I ∩ !I ▐ · !I ⌐ 5¬ ¬ !I ╬ !I ▌ !I á !I ┐ !I α !I ÷ !I ╒ !I ▄ !I ▐ !I Θ !I δ !I ≡ !I ≥ !I !I !I !I !I !I !I % !I + !I . !I link ` HYPR ∩ ·
