Having acted on stage with her sister as a child, Gish was a prominent film star from 1912 into the 1920s, being particularly associated with the films of directorD. W. Griffith. This included her leading role in the highest-grossing film of the silent era, Griffith'sThe Birth of a Nation (1915). Her other major films and performances from the silent era includedIntolerance (1916),Broken Blossoms (1919),Way Down East (1920),Orphans of the Storm (1921),La Bohème (1926), andThe Wind (1928).
She also did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and retired after playing oppositeBette Davis andVincent Price in the 1987 filmThe Whales of August. During her later years, Gish became a dedicated advocate for the appreciation andpreservation of silent film. Despite being better known for her film work, she also performed on stage, and was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame in 1972.[4] In 1971, she was awarded anAcademy Honorary Award for her career achievements. She was awarded aKennedy Center Honor for her contribution to American culture through performing arts in 1982.
Dorothy and Lillian Gish with actress Helen Ray,[5] their leading lady inHer First False Step (1903)
Lillian Diana Gish was born on October 14, 1893, inSpringfield, Ohio, the first child of actressMary Robinson McConnell, and James Leigh Gish.[6][7] Lillian had a younger sister,Dorothy, who also became a popular movie star.
Her mother was a ScottishEpiscopalian and her father was ofGermanLutheran descent. The first several generations of Gishes wereDunkard ministers. Gish's father was an alcoholic and left the family; her mother took up acting to support them. The family moved toEast St. Louis, Illinois, where they lived for several years with Lillian's aunt and uncle, Henry and Rose McConnell. Their mother opened the Majestic Candy Kitchen, and the girls helped sell popcorn and candy to patrons of theold Majestic Theater, located next door.[citation needed] The girls attended St. Henry's School, where they acted in school plays.
In 1910, the girls were living with their aunt Emily inMassillon, Ohio, when they were notified that their father, James, was gravely ill in Oklahoma. The 17-year-old Lillian traveled to Shawnee, Oklahoma, where James's brother Alfred Grant Gish and his wife, Maude, lived. Her father, who by then was institutionalized in the Oklahoma Hospital for the Insane in Norman, was able to travel the 35 miles to Shawnee and the two got reacquainted. She stayed with her aunt and uncle, and attended Shawnee High School there. Her father died in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1912, but she had returned to Ohio a few months before this.
When the theater next to the candy store burned down, the family moved to New York, where the girls helped their mother run a candy and popcorn stand at theFort George amusement grounds.[8] They became good friends with a next-door neighbor, Gladys Smith. Gladys was a child actress who did some work for director D. W. Griffith, and later took the stage nameMary Pickford.[9] When Lillian and Dorothy were old enough, they joined the theatre, often traveling separately in different productions. They also took modeling jobs, with Lillian posing for artistVictor Maurel in exchange for voice lessons.[10]
In 1912, their friend Mary Pickford introduced the sisters to Griffith and helped get them contracts withBiograph Studios. Lillian Gish soon became one of America's best-loved actresses; she was 19 years old at the time, but told casting directors she was 16.[11]
Encouraged by her mother, Lillian Gish began performing when she was five years old. Along with her sister Dorothy, who was three at that time, they became part of a traveling troupe.[12] She made her stage debut in 1902, at the Little Red School House inRisingsun, Ohio. During 1903 to 1904, she toured inHer First False Step, with her mother and Dorothy. In the following year, she danced with aSarah Bernhardt production in New York City. She later told reporters she had never learned how to play; work was her life, at first due to the poverty she endured as a child, and later because work was what she knew best.[13]
After 10 years of acting on the stage, she made her film debut opposite Dorothy in Griffith's short filmAn Unseen Enemy (1912). At the time, established thespians considered "the flickers" a rather base form of entertainment, but she was assured of its merits. Gish continued to perform on the stage, and in 1913, during a run ofA Good Little Devil, she collapsed from anemia. Lillian took suffering for her art to the extreme in her film career. One of the enduring images of Gish's silent film years is the climax of the melodramaticWay Down East, in which Gish's character floats unconscious on an ice floe toward a raging waterfall, her long hair and hand trailing in the water. Her performance in these frigid conditions gave her lasting nerve damage in several fingers.[8] Similarly, when preparing for her death scene inLa Bohème over a decade later, Gish reportedly did not eat and drink for three days beforehand, causing the director to fear he would be filming the death of his star, as well as of the character.
Lillian starred in many of Griffith's most acclaimed films, includingThe Birth of a Nation (1915),Intolerance (1916),Broken Blossoms (1919),Way Down East (1920), andOrphans of the Storm (1921). He utilized her expressive talents to the fullest, developing her into a suffering yet strong heroine. Having appeared in more than 25 short films and features in her first two years as a movie actress, Lillian became a major star, becoming known as the "First Lady of the Screen" and appearing in lavish productions, frequently of literary works such asWay Down East.
She directed her sister Dorothy in one film,Remodeling Her Husband (1920), when D. W. Griffith took his unit on location. He told Gish that he thought the crew would work harder for a girl. Gish never directed again, telling reporters at the time that directing was a man's job.[14] The film is now thought to belost.
Gish reluctantly ended her work with Griffith in 1925 to take an offer from the recently formedMGM, which gave her more creative control. MGM offered her a contract in 1926 for six films, for which she was offered $1 million (equivalent to $17.8 million in 2024). She turned down the money, requesting a more modest wage and a percentage, so the studio could use the funds to increase the quality of her films—hiring the best actors, screenwriters, etc. By the late silent era,Greta Garbo had surpassed her as MGM's leading lady, and Gish's contract with MGM ended in 1928. Three films with MGM gave her near-total creative control:La Bohème,The Scarlet Letter (both 1926), andThe Wind (1928).The Wind, directed byVictor Sjöström, was Gish's favorite film of her MGM career. A commercial failure with the rise of talkies, it is now recognized as a classic of the silent period. Gish biographerEdward Wagenknecht wrote:
Like Miss Gish herself, Sjöström was a great human being as well as a great artist; each instantly perceived kinship in the other and drew upon their own and each other’s deepest resources, and they remained close friends to the end of Sjostrom’s life.[15][16]
Sound debut, return to the stage, and television and radio
Her debut intalkies was only moderately successful, largely due to the public's changing attitudes. Many of the silent era's leading ladies, such as Gish and Pickford, had been wholesome and innocent, but by the early 1930s (after the full adoption of sound and before theMotion Picture Production Code was enforced), these roles were perceived as outdated. Theingénue's diametric opposite, thevamp, was at the height of its popularity and Gish was increasingly seen as a "silly, sexless antique" (to quote fellow actressLouise Brooks's sarcastic summary of those who criticized Gish). Gish herself did not want to act on screen and returned to her first love, the theater. She acted on the stage for the most part in the 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in roles as varied asOphelia in Guthrie McClintic's landmark 1936 production ofHamlet (withJohn Gielgud andJudith Anderson) and Marguerite in a limited run ofLa Dame aux Camélias. Of the former, she said, with pride, "I played alewd Ophelia!"
Returning to movies, Gish was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1946 forDuel in the Sun. The scenes of her character's illness and death late in that film seemed intended to evoke the memory of some of her silent-film performances. She appeared in films from time to time for the rest of her life, notably inThe Night of the Hunter (1955) as a rural guardian angel protecting her charges from a murderous preacher played byRobert Mitchum. She was considered for various roles inGone with the Wind ranging from Ellen O'Hara,Scarlett's mother (which went toBarbara O'Neil),[17] to prostitute Belle Watling (which went toOna Munson).
Gish starred in an episode of the popularCBS Radio seriesSuspense. The episode "Marry for Murder" was broadcast on September 9, 1943.[18] In 1944, Gish starred in an episode ofI Was There, broadcast on CBS. The episode dramatized the making of the filmThe Birth of a Nation.[19] On May 31, 1951, she starred in an adaptation ofBlack Chiffon onPlayhouse on Broadway.[20]
Gish's television debut occurred on February 6, 1949, when she portrayed Abby, ahousemaid, in "The Late Christopher Bean", an episode ofThe Philco Television Playhouse on NBC. A review in the trade publicationVariety described her work as "an excellent portrayal".[21] She made numerous television appearances from the early 1950s into the late 1980s. Her most acclaimed television work was starring in the original production ofThe Trip to Bountiful in 1953. She appeared asDowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in the short-lived 1965 Broadway musicalAnya.
In addition to her later acting appearances, Gish became one of the leading advocates of the lost art of the silent film, often giving speeches and touring to screenings of classic works. In 1975, she hostedThe Silent Years, aPBS film program of silent films. She was interviewed in the television documentary seriesHollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film (1980).[22]
Her last film role was appearing inThe Whales of August in 1987 at the age of 93, withVincent Price, Bette Davis, andAnn Sothern, in which Gish and Davis starred as elderly sisters inMaine. Gish's performance was received glowingly, winning her theNational Board of Review Award for Best Actress. At the Cannes festival, Gish won a 10-minute standing ovation from the audience. Some in the entertainment industry were angry that Gish did not receive an Oscar nomination for her role inThe Whales of August. Gish was more complacent, only remarking, "Well, now I won't have to go and lose toCher".[24]
Her final professional appearance was a cameo on the 1988 studio recording ofJerome Kern'sShow Boat, starringFrederica von Stade andJerry Hadley, in which she affectingly spoke the few lines ofThe Old Lady on the Levee in the final scene. The last words of her long career were: "Good night".
The Gish Film Theatre and Gallery ofBowling Green State University's Department of Theatre and Film was named for Lillian and Dorothy Gish. Gish was in attendance at the dedication on June 11, 1976; she accepted the honor for herself and her sister, who had died several years earlier. The university awarded Gish the honorary degree of doctor of performing arts the next day. In 1982, the University accepted a collection of Gish films and photographs that had previously been displayed at theMuseum of Modern Art. It solicited donations from Gish friends and associates to renovate the Gish Theatre and create an endowment in the 1990s. Following Gish's 1993 death, the university raised funds to enlarge its gallery to display memorabilia received from Gish's estate.[28]
In February 2019, the university's Black Student Union called for the renaming of the Gish Theatre due to Gish's involvement with the controversialThe Birth of a Nation.[29][30] In April 2019, a task force recommended removing the Gish name; the trustees unanimously voted to remove the name on May 3, 2019.[31]
Mike Kaplan, co-producer ofThe Whales of August (1987), Lillian Gish's final film, circulated a petition urging Bowling Green State University to restore the names of actresses Dorothy and Lillian Gish to the film theater. The protest was signed by over 50 film-industry figures, including actorsHelen Mirren andJames Earl Jones and directorsBertrand Tavernier andMartin Scorsese.[32][33]
Gish never married nor had children. Her association withD. W. Griffith was so close, that some suspected a romantic connection. Although several of their associates were certain they were at least briefly involved, Gish never acknowledged a romantic relationship with the director. For the remainder of her life, she always referred to him as "Mr. Griffith".
Gish was involved with producer Charles Duell, and drama critic and editorGeorge Jean Nathan. In the 1920s, Gish's association with Duell became something of a tabloid scandal, when Duell sued her, and made the details of their relationship public.[9]
Gish was a survivor of the1918 flu pandemic, having contracted the illness during the filming ofBroken Blossoms.[34]
Gish became avegetarian in her childhood through influence of her aunt, and could not bear the thought of killing animals.[8] Her vegetarianism became well known in 1925, as she was seen nibbling on a raw carrot in federal court.[36][37] Newspaper photographs of her eating in court caused a carrot-eating fad across the United States.[37][38] She later gave up vegetarianism and preferring to eat boiled eggs, fruit, meat, and vegetables.[39]
She maintained a close relationship with her sister Dorothy and with Mary Pickford for her entire life. Another of her closest friends was actressHelen Hayes, the "First Lady of the American Theatre". Gish was the godmother of Hayes's sonJames MacArthur, and designated Hayes (who survived her by just 18 days) as a beneficiary of her estate.[citation needed]
Gish was a staunchRepublican, and was friendly withDwight D. Eisenhower and his wife,Mamie. She supportedRichard Nixon in his failed 1960 presidential run, and was also friends withRonald Reagan. During Reagan's presidency, Gish wrote in a letter toNancy Reagan, "Every time you and Ronnie open your mouths you echo my thoughts."[41]
During the period of political turmoil in the U.S. that lasted from the outbreak of World War II in Europe until theattack on Pearl Harbor, she maintained an outspokennoninterventionist stance. She was an active member of theAmerica First Committee, an anti-intervention organization founded by a group of law students led byR. Douglas Stuart Jr., with aviation pioneerCharles Lindbergh as its leading spokesman. She said she wasblacklisted by the film and theater industries until she signed a contract in which she promised to cease her anti-interventionist activities and never disclose the fact that she had agreed to do so.[42]
Gish died of heart failure on February 27, 1993, at the age of 99.[38] She was cremated and her ashes were interred beside those of her sister Dorothy atSaint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City.[43] Her estate was valued at several million dollars, the bulk of which went toward the creation ofthe Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize Trust.
Lillian Gish is considered the movie industry's first true actress. A pioneer of fundamental film performing techniques, she was the first star to recognize the many crucial differences between acting for the stage and acting for the screen, and while her contemporaries painted their performances in broad, dramatic strokes, Gish delivered finely etched, nuanced turns carrying a stunning emotional impact. While by no means the biggest or most popular actress of the silent era, she was the most gifted, her seeming waiflike frailty masking unparalleled reserves of physical and spiritual strength. More than any other early star, she fought to earn film recognition as a true art form, and her achievements remain the standard against which those of all other actors are measured.
Having pioneered screen acting from vaudeville entertainment into a form of artistic expression, actress Lillian Gish forged a new creative path at a time when more serious thespians regarded motion pictures as a rather base form of employment. Gish brought to her roles a sense of craft substantially different from that practiced by her theatrical colleagues. In time, her sensitive performances elevated not only her stature as an actress, but also the reputation of movies themselves.
A street inMassillon, Ohio, is named after Gish, who had lived there during an early period of her life and fondly referred to it as her hometown throughout her career.[46]
Gish's photograph is mentioned as an inspiration for a troubled soldier in the 1933 novelCompany K.[48]
The luxury boutique hotel Maison 140, inBeverly Hills, began its historic life as the home of Hollywood actresses Lillian and Dorothy Gish. The sisters originally converted the mansion into a home for young actresses coming out to find their way in Hollywood. Having hailed from Ohio, they understood the comforts that would be missed from home while exploring one's dreams.[49]
American rock bandThe Smashing Pumpkins named their 1991 debut albumGish after her. SingerBilly Corgan explained in an interview, "My grandmother used to tell me that one of the biggest things that ever happened was when Lillian Gish rode through town on a train, my grandmother lived in the middle of nowhere, so that was a big deal..."[50]
"Lillian Gish" is Scottish rhyming slang for fish and urinating.[51] An example of the latter occurs in the Scottish sitcom,Still Game, whenWinston Ingram says, "I'm away for a Lillian Gish"—meaning "I'm away for a pish" ("pish" being Scottish vernacular for piss).
American rock bandFruit Bats referenced Gish in the songEagles Below Us from their 2021 releaseThe Pet Parade with the lyrics “I’ve never seen you so lovely, Lillian Gish, soft lit.”[52]
In 2024,East West Players in Los Angeles producedUnbroken Blossoms, a play depicting the making ofBroken Blossoms. Gish was portrayed by Alexandra Hellquist.[53]
Berke, Annie,"'Never Let the Camera Catch Me Acting': Lillian Gish as Actress, Star, and Theorist",Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television 36 (June 2016), 175–89.
^Although some unsupported claims indicate that the Gish sisters were born with the surname "de Guiche", in fact their surname at birth was "Gish". According toLillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life (2001), a biography by Charles Affron: "The Gish name was initially the source of some mystification. In 1922, at the time of the opening ofOrphans of the Storm, Lillian reported that the Gish family was of French origin, descending from the Duke de Guiche ... [S]uch press-agentry falsification was common."
^Berke, Annie. "'Never Let the Camera Catch Me Acting': Lillian Gish as Actress, Star, and Theorist,"Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television 36 (June 2016), 175–189.
^Sarles, Ruth and Bill Kauffman.A Story of America First: The Men and Women Who Opposed U.S. Intervention in World War II. Praeger, Westport, Conn., 2003, p. xxxvii.[ISBN missing]
^Wilson, Scott (2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3rd ed.). McFarland. p. 281.[ISBN missing]
^Caro, Mark (December 28, 1990). "Smashing Pumpkins Finds a New Home at Caroline Records".Chicago Tribune.
^Partridge, Eric (2013).The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (Second ed.). London. p. 1393.ISBN978-1-317-37252-3.OCLC912277252.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
