Charlotte Merriam

Charlotte Merriam (April 5, 1903 – July 10, 1972) was an American motion picture actress. Career Bessie Charlotte Merriam was the daughter of army colonel Henry Clay Merriam (1879-1955) and born in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Her film career began in 1919 at the age of 16 with a role in The Flip of a Coin. While visiting Universal Pictures that year, she was offered a part in a comedy series starring Eddie Lyons and Leo Moran, possibly to replace their female regular, Betty Compson, who graduated to features. Merriam accepted. Afterward, she played leads in one- and two-reel comedies, and appeared in important parts in longer features. She performed with Colleen Moore in The Nth Commandment (1923) and was the female lead in The Brass Bottle (1923), directed by Maurice Tourneur.