Lottie Venne

Lottie Venne was a stage actress known for her comic performances and long career. Born in 1852, her debut performance was at age 15 in October of 1867 in the play, "A Dream in Venice." Venne would go on to perform in more than 100 plays and one feature film. She was said to be so well known for her comic persona that casting directors called for a "Lotte Venne character" and was such a prolific actress that her nickname was "The Imperishable Comedienne." Venne worked almost non-stop until age 75 when she appeared as Lady Mary Oldboy in her final play, "Lionel and Clarissa" at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Her daughter, Audrey Ford, was a British stage actress, as well. Venne suffered a stroke in May of 1928 and died in a nursing home of heart disease on July 16, 1928. Her only film role was part of a World War I charity project headed by George Bernard Shaw in 1918 to offer screen time to the largest number of British stage icons in the film, "Masks and Faces."