Introducing...Lottie Pickford!

Lottie got the shaft. Put it however you want but this poor girl...seriously. I mean of course Mary is a Goddess, but even Jack got fawned over! Hell at least Jack had Olive! Lottie had 4 losers...none of em any good. Typical middle child syndrome maybe.

Looking at Lottie's body of work I'm certain (minus Biograph shorts and her 'sister privilege' films) most of it must be lost. I'd kill to see "Fanchon, The Cricket" (the only feature in which all 3 Pickfords appeared together). Maybe she wasn't the best actress, but seriously given the amount of flappers with sugar daddies she couldn't have been THAT bad.

There is so little out there about her. I mean nothing like Janis-ing out at 41 only to be remembered in your sister's shadow...for the worst. Just isn't fair.

Most Pickford biographers have little sympathy for Lottie. I really liked Eileen Whitfield's "Pickford: The Woman who made Hollywood" but rereading it to look up Lottie it seemed she almost had a vendetta against the girl. Every word about Lottie was almost dripping in sarcasm, and she didn't hesitate to paint her as a druggy boozehound. Hell Jack got Mary's defense...Lottie didn't!

I think it's stars like Lottie that made the 20s so interesting. Hell Paris and Lindsey couldn't hold a candle. See Jamie Lynn it's all been done before! I cant say I blame Lottie though...if your sister was making a million a year and she didn't even think you worthy of a bit part well...Id take her money and go booze round too!

Interesting things about Queen Lottie:

*She only starred in 8 feature films (Jack made over 40), and only 28 shorts (Mary did 90)

*Her first starring role was in 1914's "The House of Bondage"...as a prostitute!!! (take that America's Sweetheart!)

*Later in life she thought about doing a children's radio program...Mary told her there was only room enough for one Pickford on the radio (and thus crushed her dreams...)

*Married 4 times, and was technically a bigamist (her 3rd and 4th husbands kinda intercrossed as her divorce wasn't finalized when she married #4)

*Her parties were legendary apparently. If she put her brother and sister in law to shame well...that must really mean something!

Other interesting note: of all the Pickfords she was the only one to have a biological child (Mary adopted two, Jack adopted Olive's nephew but whatever became of him I have yet to be told). Eerily enough she named her 'Mary Pickford Rupp' but luckily the kids name was later changed to 'Gwynne'.

That picture of Gwynne recently surfaced on Ebay. She was adopted by her Grandmother in 1920 (most likely because Lottie was a little too booze happy) and when Charlotte died Mary took over. She lived at Pickfair until she was 24 and married Hugh Ernst...only a few months after her mother's death. I'd assume they divorced (said he remarried a few times) but I have yet to find what happened to her later on. She did give interviews so...she musta stuck around awhile.

Final thought: apparently Mary (and her biographers) didn't think Lottie was pretty enough to be in pictures. Mary was pretty, but I don't think Lottie is any lesser. I think she looks gorgeous in the few pictures I've seen. Give em hell girl! I think after 70 years you deserve to!