Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

through her collaborations with director and writer

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford; 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer, and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australia ...

. She was born in Balmain, a suburb in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1890.National Film & Sound Archive, Photo Play Artiste of Lottie Lyell by Marilyn Dooley
By 1912, Lyell had become romantically involved with Longford. The couple lived together in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and formed one of the most productive and influential partnerships in the history of Australian cinema. Although Longford was separated, his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

wife would not divorce him and he was never able to marry Lyell. Lyell fell ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and died at her home in Roseville,

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

on 21 December 1925. Longford died in 1959, and is buried alongside Lyell at

Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium, formerly Northern Suburbs General Cemetery, is a cemetery and crematorium in Macquarie Park, New South Wales in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The park caters for all religious, ethnic an ...

Career

Charlotte Cox started her acting career at the age of 17. She took the stage name of Lottie Lyell, and in 1910 at age 20 had her theatre breakthrough, when she performed as Maggie Brown in ''An Englishman's Home''. The travelling theatre company took Lyell on tour for the show and she performed across Australia, including

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, and New Zealand. After visiting 85 towns, the tour ended when a flood held up the production in

Murtoa Murtoa is a town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the , Murtoa had a population of 865 an ...

, Victoria. Lyell's later theatre successes continued when she joined the Clark and Meynell Company.

Raymond Longford

Grave_of_Lottie_Lyell_Cox_Macquarie_Park

The following year, Lyell exchanged live theatre for a new, modern medium – film. She debuted in Alfred Rolfe's ''Captain Midnight, The Bush King'' and by late 1911 her lead role in Raymond Longford's ''

The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole ''The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole'' (also released as ''The Queen of the Smugglers'') is a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and starring Lottie Lyell. It is based on the true story of Margaret Catchpole, an adve ...

'' (1911) transformed her into Australia's first international film star. The British magazine '' Punch'' wrote of the film, "This big film is the best that has been made in Australia". Lyell and Longford formed one of the most influential and pioneering partnerships in Australian film history. In 1913 Lyell starred in Neath Austral Skies'' as Eileen Delmont. Notably in this role she performed her own stunts, which included riding a horse with a knife between her teeth and diving into the sea. Another Longford/Lyell film made in 1913, ''Australia Calls'', contained some 'special effects' such as cardboard planes flying down wires, annihilating some Sydney landmarks. Although Longford offered to film battlefronts during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from 1914 until 1918, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

declined his offer. Longford and Lyell would never make a war related feature during the First World War. The Sentimental Bloke 1918

In 1919, Lyell portrayed Doreen in ''

The Sentimental Bloke ''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie ...

'', which is now regarded as the landmark piece of the Longford/Lyell collaborations. Lyell is believed to have also contributed to the screenplay, art direction, editing and production. In 1921, Lyell wrote, edited and co-directed ''

The Blue Mountains Mystery ''The Blue Mountains Mystery'' is a lost 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and co-directed by Lottie Lyell. It is considered a lost film. Plot ''The Blue Mountains Mystery'' involves the alleged murder of a wealthy bus ...

'' to much critical acclaim. Longford and Lyell formed Longford-Lyell Australian Motion Picture Productions in 1922. Lyell also returned to acting in 1922 with ''Rudd's New Selection''. She was active until her death in 1925, and two of her screenplays, ''Peter Vernon's Silence'' and ''The Pioneers'', were made into films the following year.

Final years

In the early 1920s, Lyell's health declined. Lyell's sister, Lynda Cox, died in September 1925 at her residence, "Nurang," in Lord Street, Roseville. Lottie Lyell died from

on 21 December the same year at the same house. She was buried at

. Both sisters were survived by their mother, but not their father Joseph. Raymond Longford died on 2 April 1959 and was buried beside her. Lyell was posthumously inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001.

Filmography

Actress

* '' Captain Midnight, the Bush King'' (1911) * '' Captain Starlight, or Gentleman of the Road'' (1911) * '' The Fatal Wedding'' as Mabel Wilson (1911) * '' The Life of Rufus Dawes'' (1911) * ''

'' as Margaret Catchpole (1911) * '' The Tide of Death'' as Sylvia Grey (1912) * '' The Midnight Wedding'' as Princess Astrea (1912) * '' Australia Calls'' as Beatrice Evans (1913) * '' Pommy Arrives in Australia'' or ''Pommy, the Funny Little New Chum'' (Australia) (1913) * '' 'Neath Austral Skies'' as Eileen Delmont (1913) * '' Trooper Campbell'' (1914) – short * '' The Swagman's Story'' (1914) – short * '' Taking his Chance'' (1914) – short * '' The Silence of Dean Maitland'' as Marion, Henry's sister (1914) * '' We'll Take her Children in amongst our own'' (1915) * '' A Maori Maid's Love'' (1916) * '' The Mutiny of the Bounty'' as Nessy Heywood (1916) * ''

The Church and the Woman ''The Church and the Woman'' is a 1917 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford set against the background of sectarianism in Australia. It is considered a lost film. Synopsis Eileen Shannon falls in love with Dr Burton. However he i ...

'' as Eileen Shannon (1917) * '' The Woman Suffers'' as Marjory Manton (1918) * ''

'' as Doreen (1919) * ''

Ginger Mick ''Ginger Mick'' is a 1920 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on ''The Moods of Ginger Mick'' by C. J. Dennis, which had sold over 70,000 copies. It is a sequel to ''The Sentimental Bloke'' (1919) and is considered a lost ...

'' reprising her role as Doreen (1920) * '' Rudd's New Selection'' as Nell Garvin (1921) * '' The Dinkum Bloke'' reprising her role as Nell Garvin (1923) * '' An Australian by Marriage'' (1923)

Writer

* '' Australia Calls'' (1913) * '' The Mutiny of the Bounty'' (1916) * ''

'' (1919) * ''

On Our Selection ''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd. The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...

'' (1920) * ''

'' (1920) * '' Rudd's New Selection'' (1921) * ''

'' (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

* '' The Mutiny of the Bounty'' (1916) * ''

'' (1919)

Producer

* '' The Dinkum Bloke'' (1923)

Assistant director

* '' The Dinkum Bloke'' (1923)

Director

* ''

'' (1921)

Theatre credits

*''The Land of Gold'' by George Darrell (1907) *vaudeville (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''

References

Resources

External links

Lottie Lyell
at

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

Lottie Lyell
at

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyell, Lottie 1890 births 1925 deaths Australian film actresses Australian film directors Australian screenwriters Australian silent film actresses 20th-century Australian actresses Australian women film directors Actresses from Sydney Australian women screenwriters 20th-century Australian screenwriters 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Australia Infectious disease deaths in New South Wales Women film pioneers