Lottie Briscoe (April 19, 1883 â€" March 21, 1950) was an American
stage and silent screen actress. She began in theatre at the age of
four and as an adult was among the first to find success after making
the transition from the legitimate stage to cinema. Briscoe appeared
in over 94 motion pictures; she is perhaps best remembered for her
time at Lubin Studios with co-star Arthur V. Johnson.Lottie Briscoe
was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Mr. and Mrs. T. D. Briscoe. Her
father may have been involved in theatre work and her mother was known
to the theatre community as a likable stage mother. A sister, Olive
Helen Briscoe, had long a career in vaudeville as a singer and
comedian. At the time of her death The New York Times reported that
Briscoe was 79 years old, which is unlikely, for it is well documented
that she was active as a child actor as late as 1895. A possible
explanation may lie with confusion involving Briscoe’s frail
husband, Harry Mountford, who at the time was 79 and had not long to
live.Briscoe first appeared on stage at the age of four, and by nine
she was touring as Editha in Gus Thomas' adaptation of Frances
Burnett's children's story Editha's Burglar. Three years later, in
June 1895, she was engaged at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, to
play Julian Esmond in the Russ Whytal melodrama For Fair Virginia, but
was replaced after just two nights when the mayor's office determined
that the weather was too hot for a child under sixteen to be working
in. Briscoe eventually did return to For Fair Virginia to play Julian
Esmond over a subsequent road tour that lasted well into the spring of
1897. By October 1897 Briscoe was back at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
with Richard Mansfield's company as Essie in the American debut of
Shaw's The Devil's Disciple. In 1899 she toured with Walter E. Perkins
playing Gertie in a farce-comedy entitled My Friend from India by
Henry A. Du Souchet.
stage and silent screen actress. She began in theatre at the age of
four and as an adult was among the first to find success after making
the transition from the legitimate stage to cinema. Briscoe appeared
in over 94 motion pictures; she is perhaps best remembered for her
time at Lubin Studios with co-star Arthur V. Johnson.Lottie Briscoe
was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Mr. and Mrs. T. D. Briscoe. Her
father may have been involved in theatre work and her mother was known
to the theatre community as a likable stage mother. A sister, Olive
Helen Briscoe, had long a career in vaudeville as a singer and
comedian. At the time of her death The New York Times reported that
Briscoe was 79 years old, which is unlikely, for it is well documented
that she was active as a child actor as late as 1895. A possible
explanation may lie with confusion involving Briscoe’s frail
husband, Harry Mountford, who at the time was 79 and had not long to
live.Briscoe first appeared on stage at the age of four, and by nine
she was touring as Editha in Gus Thomas' adaptation of Frances
Burnett's children's story Editha's Burglar. Three years later, in
June 1895, she was engaged at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, to
play Julian Esmond in the Russ Whytal melodrama For Fair Virginia, but
was replaced after just two nights when the mayor's office determined
that the weather was too hot for a child under sixteen to be working
in. Briscoe eventually did return to For Fair Virginia to play Julian
Esmond over a subsequent road tour that lasted well into the spring of
1897. By October 1897 Briscoe was back at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
with Richard Mansfield's company as Essie in the American debut of
Shaw's The Devil's Disciple. In 1899 she toured with Walter E. Perkins
playing Gertie in a farce-comedy entitled My Friend from India by
Henry A. Du Souchet.
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