Lotus Thompson: Silent Film Star

In 1920, Sydney was hungry for entertainment, tired of the horrors of war, and desperate for an escape. Dance studios sprang up around the city, clubs opened, and the newspapers searched for the new. The papers began to buzz about a promising new figure in the city’s cultural scene – pretty young dancer, Lotus Thompson. 

Her name reverberated throughout Sydney’s entertainment sector, celebrating her dance and theatre performances, charity galas, and violin recitals. At every event, she captivated audiences with her magnetic presence. And behind it all, she was obsessed by Gaby Deslys, the exotic French singer– actress whose allure and mystery the young girl hoped to emulate.

Lotus was highly intelligent, and a keen scholar at St. Clare’s Catholic School, Waverley, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, so the nuns were hesitant, reluctant to allow permission for her to leave school so early; she was barely 13 years old, in Year 8. It was said that nothing could stop the irrepressible ambition of a stagestruck girl, especially if she had an equally determined mother. Eventually, the school relented, and they granted Lotus special permission to leave. She was only twelve when the illustrious Vaudeville company, Fullers’ Circuit, offered her a full– time contract to perform in the Chorus, where she soon found herself in lead roles.

Lotus toured with Fullers’ Circuit, doing pantomimes in Sydney and Melbourne but the stage had bigger plans for her. Lee White, the vivacious American entertainer, and her partner, Clay Smith, saw a talented dancer and performer. White chose Lotus for the lead role in the sensational dance group, Peaches, playing the clubs around George Street and Broadway in Sydney. No longer a chorus girl, Lotus was a personality, a performer in her own right. At the tender age of not quite thirteen years old, the road to stardom had begun.