Cecilia 'Cissie' Loftus

Born: October 22nd, 1876, Glasgow, Scotland – Died: July 12, 1943

Cecilia Loftus. Scottish actress, singer, mimic, vaudevilian and music hall performer in the late 19th and early 20th century

Purchased by the Museum of Drugs Paraphernalia and Related Antiquities August 2008

Cissie Loftus made her stage debut at the tender age of fifteen, singing a ballad entitled "Molly Darling" at the Alhambra in Belfast, in October 1892, and made her first appearance on the London stage at the Oxford Music Hall in July the following year. That was the start of what was to be a monumental career and by 1915 she was a reknowned star of both legitimate stage and music hall on both sides of the Atlantic. But then, after a few sporadic appearances in 1915, she disappeared from the stage totally, and no-one knew why.

She was not heard of again until 1922 when, sensationally, the London newspapers carried stories of her arraignment into police custody for possession of narcotics. She had, it transpired, been arrested outside a pharmacy, and was charged with using a forged prescription in an attempt to obtain morphine. Found to be in possion of both morphine and atropine, she was taken into custody and forced to spend a night in a police cell before her former close friend and fellow actress Eva Moore put up the 100 pounds necessary to gain her release on bail.

The Cissie Loftus that then stood before the judge, admitting her guilt and begging for just one more chance, was a pathetic creature, a pallid shadow of her former rosy self. Everyone, but for a few of her closest friends, believed it was the end of her. But the judge took pity, suspending sentence and releasing her into the custody of her friends.

They took her to the peace and quiet of a country cottage where she endured the agonies of withdrawal. Somehow she found the strength to endure, and as the weeks went by the craving lessened, the vitality returned to her body, and for the first time in years she found herself able to sleep peacefully. Later, looking back on those dark days, she said: "God bless the bobby who arrested me that night in London. The touch of his hand on my shoulder stirred for the first time within me confidence that I could strike off the shackles of the morphine habit."

Later, explaining what had led her to such a sorry condition, she told a story of a well meaning nurse who, during one of her bouts of illness, had given her a little too much morphine to help her sleep. She became dependent upon it and developed a craving for it. Then, unable to work, she had retreated into herself, living only to feed her morphine habit, until the day came when that bobby laid his hand upon her shoulder.

Incredibly, having freed herself from the shackles of her addiction, Cissie set about resurrecting her career. She left England for good, crossing to America where her shame was not so intense and making a triumphant return at the Palace Theater in New York in September, 1923. She quickly re-established herself as a popular favourite in variety as well as a respected character actress, and made a number of talking films during the 1930's.

Reference: Don Gillan, www.stagebeauty.net