Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb-Jul 1912)

CHATS WITH THE PLAYERS 123 LOTTIE BRISCOE, OF THE LUBIN COMPANY It was a pleasant task that the Chief assigned me to, and I went to the famous slow city of Philadelphia with high hopes. Arriving there, I was impressed with this fact : the city may be slower than New York, but it is more orderly, and everybody does not appear to be in a hurry. In New York, people run; in Philadelphia, they walk. Arriving at the Hanover Hotel, and handing my card to the clerk, I soon found myself in the presence of a pretty little lady, who appeared to measure about five feet two inches, according to the tape measure, and about 122 pounds, according to the scales — I afterward learnt that this guess was accurate. It seemed like meeting an old friend. As I stood there in Miss Briscoe's parlor, I would not have been at all surprised if G. M. Anderson had walked in, for I have always associated Lottie with the Essanay, altho she has been with Lubin for some time. She has the same gracious, winning smile in the parlor that she has upon the screen, and the same grace and vivacity. Years ago (not many, mind you, for Lottie is still a very young woman), I remember having seen her under the Keith management, and also with Richard Mansfield, with whom she played for two seasons. I asked her about her stage experience and learnt that for two and a half years she was with the Orpheum Stock Company in Philadelphia, and for three years on Broadway, New York, with various companies. It is no wonder, then, that Miss Briscoe now shows careful professional training and an unusual aptitude for the dramatic art of picture posing. Well, we had a long and interesting conversation, and if the editor would give me ten or twelve pages for this interview, I would tell you all about her ; but since I am only allowed a miserable half page, I shall have to omit nine-tenths of all I learnt, and just give you some plain facts about this interesting little woman. She was born in St. Louis, of French-Italian parents, and was educated in a private school. She spends her summers in Europe, but is "crazy about Atlantic City" — perhaps she has inherited this craze from her popular fellow player, Mae Hotely. She misses the glare of the footlights, but likes the Motion Picture business very well. She began showing her histrionic talents at the age of four years. She is an expert swimmer, and is fond of attending the regular theaters, but I was surprised to learn that she does not enjoy seeing her own work upon the screen. "What is your favorite hobby, or pastime?" I asked. * "I give it up," she replied, "but I can tell you how I spend my evenings — answering letters from stage-struck girls." I guess Miss Briscoe works about forty-eight hours a day, because when I asked her how much time she spent posing for pictures, her answer was — "every second!" She is interested in politics, and I am pleased to announce, for the benefit of the illustrious gentleman of Oyster Bay, that "Teddy is her man." Miss Briscoe both sings and plays and she often attends the opera. I was very much disappointed at one of her answers. Now, I had an idea that Miss Briscoe was quite athletic and strenuous, and I was sure that I could count her as a baseball fan. Imagine, then, my chagrin when she unblushingly told oe that she had seen only one baseball game in her life. "Do you write much?" I asked. "My friends dont think" so," was her quick retort. Miss Briscoe has no love for socials, receptions, dancing and society. She does not like to have her neighbors know that she is a Motion Picture star. When asked what she thought of this magazine, her answer was "great !" Bracing myself with all the fortitude I could command, I shot out this final question, as I neared the door: "Would you mind telling our readers if you are married?" She did not throw me out, neither did she frown; she showed two rows of even, white teeth, surrounded by a polite smile, and whispered : "Certainly not — and no hopes !" MAY BUCKLEY, OF THE LUBIN COMPANY My best plume battled defiantly with the wind as I entered the City of Pictures, the Lubin Studio. The heavy doors swung behind me as I confronted a scene of picturesque confusion. Past gypsies, Salvation Army lassies, and waiting lovers, I hurried, seeking one to whom all this excitement is "food and drink." After peering into a labyrinth of passages, I finally was ushered, with exquisite courtesy, into a studio where "The Complicated Campaign" was being rehearsed by that "Prince of Photoplay Producers," Mr. Barry O'Neill. A wild cheer from the assembled pretty suffragettes startled my placid Quaker blood : "Ladies and sisters ! I take great pleasure in announcing to you Miss May Buckley !"