Lottice Howell

{{Infobox person

| name = Lottice Howell

| image = Lottice Howell publicity.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Howell in a publicity photo

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1897|11|14|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Bowling Green, Kentucky

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1982|10|24|1897|11|14|mf=y}}

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| other_names =

| occupation = Singer
actress

| alma_mater = Woman's College of Alabama

| spouse =

| children =

| parents = Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Howell

| known_for =

}}

Lottice Howell (November 14, 1897 – October 24, 1982){{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. |date=2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786479924 |page=356 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-DgDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Lottice+Howell%22&pg=PA356 |access-date=12 February 2019 |language=en}} was an American coloratura soprano and actress best known for her singing of popular and semi-classical music.

Early years

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Howell,{{cite news |last1=Yerby |first1=Mabel |title=In Town and Out |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28320587/greensboro_watchman/ |access-date=12 February 2019 |work=Greensboro Watchman |date=May 18, 1922 |location=Alabama, Greensboro |page=3|via = Newspapers.com}} she was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and raised in Moundville, Alabama. Her father was "a prominent lumber and cotton magnate".{{cite news |title=Pretty Kentucky Belle Is Winning Fame on the Stage |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28357699/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=Dayton Daily News |date=January 24, 1926 |location=Ohio, Dayton |page=21|via = Newspapers.com}} Howell graduated from Moundville Normal High School{{cite web |title=Lottice Howell (1897-1982) |url=http://www.awhf.org/howell.html |website=Alabama Women's Hall of Fame |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213033813/http://www.awhf.org/howell.html |archive-date=13 February 2019}} and the Woman's College of Alabama. Her interest in the stage began in college, where she acted in productions,{{cite news |title=College Aids Acting, Says Lottice Howell |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28358103/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=August 28, 1927 |location=Pennsylvania, Philadelphia |page=SO 6|via = Newspapers.com}} and after graduating she taught voice there.{{cite news |title=Lottice Howell, Singer, Goes to New Orleans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28319349/lottice_howell/ |access-date=12 February 2019 |work=The Montgomery Advertiser |date=May 16, 1922 |location=Alabama, Montgomery |page=9|via = Newspapers.com}} She studied music in New York, but financial problems led her to teach in a school in Georgia before she could return to New York to seek a career on stage.

Career

On July 10, 1921, Howell debuted at the Strand Theater in New York, singing as part of the stage show that preceded the day's film.{{cite news |title=Stage Gossip |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28318562/lottice_howell/ |access-date=12 February 2019 |work=New York Tribune |date=July 10, 1921 |location=New York, New York City |page=6 IV|via = Newspapers.com}} in 1922-1923, she had the lead in a national touring company that performed Mozart's The Impresario.{{cite news |title=About Miss Lottice Howell |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28320980/lottice_howell/ |access-date=12 February 2019 |work=The Times |agency=The Birmingham News |date=May 7, 1923 |location=Alabama, Montgomery |page=3}}

On Broadway, Howell appeared as Mugette in Deep River (1926) and as Virginia Shrivell in Bye, Bye, Bonnie (1927).{{cite web |title=Lottice Howell |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/lottice-howell-45772 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=12 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212034052/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/lottice-howell-45772 |archive-date=12 February 2019}} For a season, she was the prima donna in a production of My Maryland. In February 1929, she began performing in vaudeville.{{cite news |title=Southern Singer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28358609/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=The Dayton Herald |date=February 6, 1929 |location=Ohio, Dayton |page=33|via = Newspapers.com}} In October 1929, she signed a contract and began working with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio.{{cite news |title=M.-G.-M. Signs Lottice Howell |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28358986/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=October 12, 1929 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=25|via = Newspapers.com}} Her film debut came in In Gay Madrid (1930).{{cite news |title=Lowe's |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28359330/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=Dayton Daily News |date=May 28, 1930 |location=Ohio, Dayton |page=27|via = Newspapers.com}} She also appeared in Free and Easy (1930).{{cite news |last1=Benn |first1=Alvin |title='Miss Lottice' brought glory to tiny hometown |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28359632/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=The Montgomery Advertiser |date=January 31, 1988 |location=Alabama, Montgomery |page=29}} In the early 1930s, she performed at the London Palladium.{{cite news |title=Lottice Howell |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28361795/lottice_howell/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=Spring Lake Gazette |date=April 14, 1932 |location=New Jersey, Spring Lake |page=6|via = Newspapers.com}}

A dislike for the unproductive time spent in making films led Howell to return to vaudeville. In 1942, she left entertaining, returning to her home and her widowed mother. She soon learned how to raise crops and cattle on the family farm. Other than working with community projects, including the Red Cross, she lived a private life until her death in 1982.

Recognition

In 1994, Howell was inducted posthumously into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Alphabetical List of Inductees |url=http://www.awhf.org/alphalist.html |website=Alabama Women's Hall of Fame |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213033344/http://www.awhf.org/alphalist.html |archive-date=13 February 2019}}