work at Hal Roach studios and in the Fox sunshine comedies including The Folly of Vanity. Disfigurement On the afternoon of 1 February 1925, she attempted to disfigure her legs for life. She burned herself from the hips down with a preparation she thought was nitric acid. She had bought the acid at a drug store the previous evening. She told the clerk there she wanted to remove some warts. Her reason for marring herself had to do with her inability to secure roles other than parts in comedy and as a chorus girl. Her ambition was to play drama, which she had done in her native country. In America, each director was the same in his remarks to Lotus, "Your legs are too marvelous to ignore. You must show your legs. Here, jump into this bathing suit." In the aftermath, she was satisfied that directors and the movie public would never want to look at her legs again. Her mother and a girlfriend were eating when they heard Lotus screaming in the bathroom. "I've fixed them now", Lotus reportedly said. "They will never want to look at them again." The actress was rushed to the Ferry-Dickey-Cass private hospital by two Los Angeles Police Department detectives. The attending physician believed the vial used by Lotus did not contain nitric acid. Instead, it had the reaction of catharides, which if used in enough quantity, would cause disfigurement. If it were indeed nitric acid, the doctor said that he considered it a weak solution. The degree of disfigurement would be known in a few days. She told the press at the time: It's sickening. I wish I never had any legs. Drama is the ambition of my life. I played dramatic roles in Australia and I can play them here if they'll give me the chance. But they won't. They throw me into a bathing suit or a pair of tights. They say my figure is that of Venus. My legs are the shapeliest in films. Bah! I'm so sick of it all. I couldn't stand it any more so I decided to mar them so no one would want to look at them any more. The day after, Miss Thompson received a bit of welcome news. Rudolph Valentino sent her a telegram promising her a part in his next film. He remarked about her irrational action, "I know nothing of your