Lottie Lyell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell, c. 1915
Born	Charlotte Edith Cox (1890-02-23)23 February 1890 Balmain, New South Wales, Australia
Died	21 December 1925(1925-12-21) (aged 35) Roseville, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium
Occupation	Actress screenwriter editor film producer
Years active	1911–1925
Partner(s)	Raymond Longford (1912–1925)

Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was a very important Australian actress. She was also a screenwriter, editor, and filmmaker. Many people see her as Australia's first film star. She helped shape the early Australian film industry during the silent movie era.

Lottie worked closely with director and writer Raymond Longford. Their teamwork created some of the most important Australian films. She was born in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Lottie Lyell passed away in 1925 from tuberculosis. She is buried next to Raymond Longford at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium.

Lottie Lyell's Early Career

Charlotte Cox began her acting journey at just 17 years old. She chose the stage name Lottie Lyell. By 1910, at age 20, she had a big breakthrough in theatre. She played Maggie Brown in a play called An Englishman's Home.

This play toured all over Australia, including Tasmania, and even New Zealand. The tour visited 85 towns. It finally ended when a flood stopped the show in Murtoa, Victoria. Lottie Lyell continued her theatre success by joining the Clark and Meynell Company.

Working with Raymond Longford

Graves of Lottie Lyell and Raymond Longford at Macquarie Park.

In 1911, Lottie Lyell moved from live theatre to the exciting new world of film. She first appeared in Alfred Rolfe's Captain Midnight, The Bush King. Later that year, her main role in Raymond Longford's The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole (1911) made her Australia's first international film star. The famous British magazine Punch called the film "the best that has been made in Australia."

Lottie Lyell and Raymond Longford became one of the most important teams in Australian film history. They worked together on many projects. In 1913, Lyell starred as Eileen Delmont in Neath Austral Skies. She even did her own stunts in this film! This included riding a horse with a knife in her teeth and diving into the sea.

Another film they made in 1913 was Australia Calls. This movie used early 'special effects'. For example, cardboard planes flew down wires to show them destroying Sydney landmarks.

Key Film Achievements

Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery and Lyell during the filming of The Sentimental Bloke

In 1919, Lottie Lyell played the character Doreen in The Sentimental Bloke. This film is now seen as the most important work from the Longford/Lyell partnership. People believe Lottie also helped write the script, design the sets, edit the film, and produce it.

In 1921, Lyell wrote, edited, and helped direct The Blue Mountains Mystery. This film received great reviews. In 1922, Longford and Lyell started their own company, Longford-Lyell Australian Motion Picture Productions. Lyell also returned to acting that year in Rudd's New Selection.

She continued to work until her death in 1925. Two of her screenplays, Peter Vernon's Silence and The Pioneers, were made into films the year after she passed away.

Lottie Lyell's Final Years

In the early 1920s, Lottie Lyell's health began to get worse. Her sister, Lynda Cox, died in September 1925. Lottie Lyell herself passed away from tuberculosis on 21 December of the same year. She was buried at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium. Raymond Longford died many years later in 1959 and was buried next to her.

Filmography

Lottie Lyell was involved in many films throughout her career. Here are some of the movies she worked on:

Actress Roles

Writer Credits

• Australia Calls (1913)
• The Mutiny of the Bounty (1916)
• The Sentimental Bloke (1919)
• On Our Selection (1920)
• Ginger Mick (1920)
• Rudd's New Selection (1921)
• The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921)
• The Dinkum Bloke (1923)
• Australia Calls (1923)
• The Bushwhackers (1925)
• The Pioneers (1926)
• Sons of Australia, screened as Peter Vernon's Silence (1926)

Editor Credits

• The Mutiny of the Bounty (1916)
• The Sentimental Bloke (1919)

Producer Credits

• The Dinkum Bloke (1923)

Assistant Director Credits

• The Dinkum Bloke (1923)

Director Credits

• The Blue Mountains Mystery (1921)

Theatre Performances

Before her film career, Lottie Lyell performed in several theatre productions:

• The Land of Gold by George Darrell (1907)
• Vaudeville shows (1908)
• Geach touring company (1909)
• An Englishman's Home (1909)
• The Midnight Wedding (1910) – tour
• Why Men Love Women by Walter Howard (1910)
• The Fatal Wedding (1910) – tour with Raymond Longford and Gilbert Emery
• Her love against the world