Lola Cotton

Lola Carmelita Cotton (born November 15, 1892, in Waterloo, Iowa; died July 9, 1975, San Diego) was, as a child, a vaudeville mentalist and hypnotist, whose performance career flourished from about 1899 to 1915. Her shows were particularly popular in Los Angeles, California and New York City.

Girl phenomenon As a six-year-old she performed feats of memory at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. A particular venue often headlined her ability to solve a psychological puzzle.

At Keith's, 14th Street (Manhattan) between Broadway (Manhattan) and 4th Avenue, owned by Benjamin Franklin Keith, she performed a mind reading act in April 1903. 2110 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., New York City, in April 1907. Cotton was among the attractions in this vaudeville show. in Harlem, New York. She appeared with singer Emma Carus at Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre of Varieties, in March 1908. A few weeks before she was again at the Alhambra Theatre with Gertrude Hoffman. The latter gave an imitation of Eva Tanguay singing I Don't Care. The song had sparked a rivalry between the two women.

Family Lola was the daughter of John L. Cotton, a San Diego barber and actor, and Della (Delia) Lorette Cotton.

On May 20, 1914, Lola married Roby Charles Jonesin San Diego, though only for a month. On May 23, 1914 – three days after their wedding – Lola deserted Roby on the grounds that, "her husband's love was too violent in its nature to meet with her approval." A month after their wedding, Lola filed for divorce on the grounds that Roby, a special policeman with the City of San Diego, had threatened to kill her. In 1915, Roby married Mabel B. Slaff, then divorced her in 1918, then, subsequently married Bertha Kamer (1888–1988).

On August 21, 1915, Lola married Earl Frank Brown. Together, they had a son, Frank Leo Brown (1918–1976).