Charlotte "Lotta" Faust (February 8, 1880 ''–'' January 25, 1910) was an American actress, dancer, and singer.

Early life

Charlotte Faust was born on February 8, 1880, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

the daughter of Mary Hauff Faust and Frank Faust.

Actress

Faust's first appearance in theater came in ''The Sunshine of Paradise Alley'' (1896), produced by

Denman Thompson Henry Denman Thompson (October 15, 1833 – April 14, 1911) was an American playwright and theatre actor. Biography Rufus Thompson, a carpenter, and his wife Anne Hathaway Baxter moved in 1831 from Swanzey, New Hampshire, West Swanzey, New ...

. In 1900 she appeared in ''

The Belle of Bohemia ''The Belle of Bohemia'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with music by Ludwig Engländer and Harry Truman MacConnell and lyrics and musical book by Harry B. Smith. The musical opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway in 1900 before having ...

'' while in September 1901 she acted the role of ''Geraldine Fair'' in ''The Liberty Belles'' at the

Madison Square Theatre The Madison Square Theatre was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, on the south side of 24th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway (which intersects Fifth Avenue near that point). It was built in 1863, operated as a theater from 1865 to 1908, an ...

. She became popular in ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' (1904–1905), in which she sang the ''Sammy'' song. She then joined the company of Joe Weber and appeared in ''Wonderland'' (1905). Later she was among the cast of '' The White Hen'' (1907), starring

Louis Mann Louis Mann (20 April 1865 – 15 February 1931) was an American theatre actor and sometime director, who in his later life made a few appearances in motion pictures. He was married to actress and playwright Clara Lipman. History Mann was born ...

at the Casino Theatre. In 1907 she was in the

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber. He also produced shows on his own and starred in com ...

in ''The Girl Behind The Counter'' (1907–1908), ''The Mimic World'' in 1908 and '' The Midnight Sons'' in 1909.

Vaudeville

Faust's vaudeville career began at the Casino Theatre with the introduction of a unique

cake walk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Unit ...

. She teamed with Frank Bernard for this act in April 1900. In August 1908, she appeared at the same venue performing a Salome interpretive dance, which received widespread positive and negative attention. She claimed to experience both ''the horror and fascination'' during her performances. Faust was among the most notable performers, along with Ada Overton Walker,

Eva Tanguay Eva Tanguay (August 1, 1878 – January 11, 1947) was a Canadian singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous". She was known as "The Queen of Vaudeville" during the height of her popularity from the early 1 ...

, Vera Olcott, La Sylphe,

Gertrude H. Hoffman Katherine Gertrude Hoffmann (née Hay, May 7, 1883 – October 21, 1966) was an American early 20th-century vaudeville dancer and choreographer. Early life Katherine “Kitty” Gertrude Hay was born in San Francisco, California, San Francisco o ...

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Dennis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art and paving the way for other women in dance. She was inspired by the Delsarte advocate Gene ...

Mademoiselle Dazie Daisy Ann Peterkin (September 16, 1884 – August 12, 1952), known by the stage name Mlle. Dazie, was an American vaudeville and Ziegfeld Follies dancer at the turn of the 20th century. She was a toe-dancer. Biography Born on September 16, 1884, ...

Julian Eltinge Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American Stage (theatre), stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Elting ...

, and

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, Illustrated Songs, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. Sh ...

, of a Salome dance during the "

Salomania Salomania was an artistic, cultural, and performance phenomenon of the early 20th century, characterized by a popular fascination with the historical figure of Salome and her imagined "Dance of the Seven Veils". While the term "Salomania" came ...

" craze in America.

Personal life

Faust was married twice. Her first husband was Paul Schindler, a musical director, whom she divorced in 1902. In the 1900 census, the couple are listed as living with the Green family as boarders. Her second husband was singer and comedian Richard Ling, whom she wed shortly after divorcing her first husband.

Death

Faust died in January 1910 at a sanitarium on 33 East 33rd Street in New York City. The cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

which resulted from an operation she had several weeks earlier. Just before she became ill, she played a primary role in '' The Midnight Sons''. She sued Ling for divorce a short while before her death. Faust was engaged to Malcolm A. Strauss, an illustrator, at the time of her death. "Malcolm A. Strauss Weds", ''New York Times'', June 14, 1911, pg. 9.

References

External links

Lotta Faust

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Digital Gallery photos (Wayback)
Digital Collections
NY Public Library) *
Lotta Faust
in ''The Actors Birthday Book'' (1908 & 1909 editions) by Johnson Briscoe
Lotta Faust: Broadway Photographs
University of South Carolina)(Wayback) {{DEFAULTSORT:Faust, Lotta American stage actresses American musical theatre actresses American female dancers American vaudeville performers Musicians from Brooklyn 1880 births 1910 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in New York City 19th-century American women singers 19th-century American singers Dancers from New York (state) 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American dancers