Lola Cotton

Lola Carmelita Cotton (born 15 November 1892 in Waterloo, Iowa; died 9 July 1975 San Diego)^[1][2] was, as a child, a vaudeville mentalist and hypnotist, whose performance career flourished from about 1899 to 1915. Her shows were particularly popular in Los Angeles, California and New York City.

Girl phenomenon

As a six-year-old^[3] she performed feats of memory at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.^[4] A particular venue often headlined her ability to solve a psychological puzzle.^[5]

At Keith's,^[6] 14th Street (Manhattan) between Broadway (Manhattan) and 4th Avenue,^[7] owned by Benjamin Franklin Keith, she performed a mind reading act in April 1903.^[6] Her routine included mental telegraphy with a touch of mystery added. Initially she was introduced by a man who proceeded through the audience. He pointed to objects which members of the audience suggested while Cotton was blindfolded. A sample of the dialogue which transpired between Cotton and her interlocutor is What is this? A gold nugget. Right. And this? A railroad pass. The number. The number is 10,961. It is dated April 28. She named all types of things from buttons to the color of a woman's eyes. Then the man requested the audience to call out numbers. He transcribed them on a board. They read 38171562, 49078399, 672872217. Without hesitating Cotton said the totals of each column with her eyes remaining blindfolded.^[5] At the Orpheum in October 1899 she made the combination moves of the Knight (chess) on a chessboard while blindfolded. She could begin from any number on the board. Her moves were carried out so rapidly that one's eyes could barely follow her.^[3]

The Eight Vassar Girls and singer Charles Vance entertained at the Alhambra Theater,^[8] 2110 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., New York City,^[9] in April 1907. Cotton was among the attractions in this vaudeville show.^[8] Billed as a hypnotist, she was in a September 1907 production staged at Keith & Proctor's 125th Street Theatre,^[10] in Harlem, New York.^[11] She appeared with singer Emma Carus at Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre of Varieties,^[12] 1481 Broadway,^[13] in March 1908.^[12] A few weeks before she was again the at the Alhambra Theatre with Gertrude Hoffman. The latter gave an imitation of Eva Tanguay singing I Don't Care. The song had sparked a rivalry between the two women.^[14]

Family

Parents

Lola was the daughter of John L. Cotton (1849–1923),^[15] a San Diego barber and actor, and Della (Delia) Lorette Cotton (1855–1923)^[16]

Marriages

• On May 20, 1914, Lola married Roby Charles Jones (1892–1975) in San Diego, though only for a month. On May 23, 1914 – three days after their wedding – Lola deserted Roby on the grounds that, "her husband's love was too violent in its nature to meet with her approval."^[17] A month after their wedding, Lola filed for divorce on the grounds that Roby, a special policeman with the City of San Diego, had threatened to kill her.^[18] In 1915, Roby married Mabel B. Slaff, then divorced her in 1918, then, subsequently married Bertha Kamer (1888–1988).
• On August 21, 1915, Lola married Earl Frank Brown (1884–1968).^[19] Together, they had a son, Frank Leo Brown (1918–1976).

References