April 30, 2006
in this week’s podcast we’ll marvel at beautiful lotta crabtree, quintessential star of the late 1800s. she was the protege of lola montez, the highest paid performer on broadway, the darling of the entire nation, and the most popular comedienne of her era.
as you may already suspect, her story begins right here in california, and the city nearest and dearest to her heart was the gold rush town which had bestowed the first of many nicknames to come: the “san francisco favourite”.
for further edification:
» lotta biography - with photos
» lotta’s legacy - essay by j. kingston pierce
» “san francisco rising” coverage - leah garchik
» “san francisco rising” photos - san francisco sentinel
» fountain refurbishment - san francisco chronicle
» lotta’s opera - live on market street
random episode from the archives:
#7: san francisco shanghai
musical support:
bandjoe for this week’s banjo tunes “old joe clark” and “cluck ole hen”, provided through a creative commons license.
May 14, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Hi,
That is a great podcast about Lotta Crabtree! I’ve been a fan of hers for a while, but learned some new things about her from this podcast. She is really underated, and deserves all the recognition she can get! She pretty much started it all! I’d love to learn more about her. I’m sure she’d be proud that there are people keeping her awesome legacy alive! Thanks!
Sincerely,
Mr. Peace Grimaldi
June 18, 2007 at 3:04 pm
This was my first Sparkletack podcasts downloaded. I can’t thank you enough for bringing alive San Francisco’s remarkable history and in such an engaging way.
I live in New York City, but San Francisco has always been my favourite city in the world….and thanks to you it is staying alive within me even while 3000 miles physically apart.
Kudos,
Roger Pratt