Charlotte (Smith) Pickford (1893 - 1936)

Born 9 Jun 1893 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Wife of Alan (Fisher) Forrest — married 7 Jan 1922 (to about 1928) in Los Angeles, California, USA

Died 9 Dec 1936 at age 43 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: J. Salsbery [send private message]

Biography

Lottie (Smith) Pickford is Notable.

Lottie Pickford (June 9, 1893 – December 9, 1936) was a Canadian-born silent film actress, and socialite. She was the sister of fellow actress Mary Pickford and actor Jack Pickford.

At the time of the 1901 Canada Census, Lottie, Gladys, Lottie, and John Smith were listed as living in Toronto, along with Lottie's sister, Lizzie Watson, and their mother, Kathleen Hennessy^[1].

One of her best known roles was in The Diamond from the Sky directed by William Desmond Taylor in 1915. Pickford's career is often overshadowed by that of her siblings and though she was a notable figure in the 1920s, her films and role in the Pickford acting family is now largely forgotten.

Pickford was a socialite and partying was her first love. Her parties were legendary and lasted until morning; drugs and alcohol were plentiful as was nudity. Pickford's maid recalled that when they heard Mary's car pulling in, Pickford and her friends would "Jump into their knickers!"

Despite her reputation as a party girl, Pickford was considered to be down to earth, friendly, sweet, and unpretentious.

The middle child in the Pickford trio was Lottie, named for her mother Charlotte. Like all Pickfords, Lottie was pretty and had some acting talent, but she clearly rode to Hollywood on the coattails of her big sister Mary, the silent screen’s most famous actress. For instance, Mary insisted that her husband Douglas Fairbanks give Lottie a role in his swashbuckling film “Don Q: Son of Zorro” and Douglas acquiesced, even though he despised party-girl Lottie for her wild behavior and drunkeness.

Lottie married four times. Her first marriage to Alfred Rupp produced a daughter. The girl, initially named Mary Pickford Rupp, was born in 1915. But Lottie and Alfred divorced and Lottie’s mother, Charlotte, took custody of the child (and changed her n ame to Gwynne), presumably because Lottie was unable or uninterested in caring for the girl addicted as she was by then to alcohol, wild parties, and drugs.

Lottie married another actor, Alan Forrest, divorced him, and married a businessman, Russel Gillard. In 1933 she married a fourth time, before getting a divorce from #3. When the judge granted the divorce, Lottie announced that she had already married Pittsburgh society man named John Lock. While this made her a bigamist, something considered shocking in those days, Lottie figured correctly that no charges would be brought against the sister of “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Pickford.

Lottie died at 43 of a heart attack, probably brought on by her lifestyle

Charlotte Pickford Smith 46 yrs widow, dau Mary Pickford Moore 26 yrs, file actress, dau Lottie Pickford Rupp 25 yrs film actress, granddaughter Mary Pickford Rupp 3 yrs resided in 1920 in Los Angeles. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Census of Canada, 1901, Ontario, Toronto West (City) (118), Ward 4 (B), page 15, dwelling 116, family 120, Lottie Smith; RG31 - Statistics Canada, roll T-6499 (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901/Pages/item.aspx?itemid=3363205 : Accessed January 5, 2019).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R6D-7BS?cc=1488411&wc=QZJP-D57%3A1036469601%2C1037520201%2C1037653401%2C1589332980 : 9 September 2019), California > Los Angeles > Los Angeles Assembly District 63 > ED 184 > image 23 of 24; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottie_Pickford