Lotus Thompson: Silent Film Star

One by one they were mentioned, and a short bio accompanied their names. One name simply infuriated Lotus Thompson – Ena Gregory. Oh, Lotus knew that the girl had been nominated – but that didn’t mean she would actually be chosen.

Huffing when she read that Ena was only 17 – she knew quite well that they were both turning 19 that year. Most actresses lied about their age, she mused. Then she read: “Today they are the happiest girls in Hollywood. For they are started on the road to fame upon the silver screen. They are the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925.”

Lotus purses her pink lips, raising one eyebrow as she read ‘they were only obscure movie extras a year ago,’ honestly, she thought…obscure, maybe, extras though? Reading further, she notes “the honour was definitely coveted by all extras.” Well, in this case, she thought crossly, aspiring actresses would be a more appropriate phrase.

Most of the girls had been trained dancers and actresses for years. In her own case, she had been on the stage since the age of 12, and had already starred in five films. She told Hal Roach that, but he wouldn’t listen. A studio representative told the papers that ‘Lotus Thompson has left our employ to work on a Fox film.’ Another white lie in Hollywood to add to the others. Yes, she worked on a Fox film, and no, she left way before the filming began.

But back to the WAMPAS girls –  happy girls, lucky girls, girls –  on their way to stardom. Their likenesses took the form of illustrations and photographs, 13 fortunate babies plastered in a montage that took up most of the page.

Later that evening, another newspaper ran a picture of Ena, for no other reason than to show her wearing nothing but a black lace shawl draped over her body as she posed sweetly, and to brag, no doubt, that she was a WAMPAS baby star. Go away, Ena!

Another newspaper that day ran a column, ‘Diary of a Wampas Baby Star.’ The first was written by brand new Wampas baby, Violet Avon. Her topic was the Wampas Ball, and she recounts her entire day at a fair before wondering how she will ever manage to do ‘everything’ in time for the Wampas Ball, as there were only six more nights to go, and counting.

The big ball – and everyone would be there. In this hollow space between comedy, ambition and compromise, Lotus did something unexpected—peculiar, even, in response to the prestigious Hollywood awards.