Lillian Gish

Lillian Diana de Guiche (October 14, 1893 - February 27, 1993), was an American actress known as Lillian Gish. Born in Springfield, Ohio, she was the elder sister of actress Dorothy Gish.

Related Topics:
October 14 - 1893 - February 27 - 1993 - American - Actress - Springfield, Ohio - Dorothy Gish

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The Gish sisters' mother, Mary Robinson McConnell (an Episcopalian), began acting in order to support the family after her husband, James Leigh Gish (who was of German Lutheran descent), abandoned them. When Lillian and Dorothy were old enough, they joined her act. They also took modeling jobs. In 1912, their friend Mary Pickford introduced the sisters to D.W. Griffith, and she got them contracts with Biograph Studios. Their first role was in Griffith's short film An Unseen Enemy. Lillian went on to star in many of Griffith's most acclaimed films, among these The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms, Way Down East, and Orphans of the Storm. Although Lillian never married, the Gish-Griffith association was so close that it was suspected that Lillian was Griffith's lover, though the evidence is circumstantial at best. Alleged relationships were affairs with Charles Duell, a producer, to whom Lillian was reportedly engaged, and the drama critic and editor George Jean Nathan, although Gish was posthumously outed as a lesbian in several books, including one by Boze Hadleigh called Hollywood Lesbians (1996), and another by Axel Madsen titled The Hollywood Sewing Circle (2002).

Related Topics:
Episcopalian - German - Lutheran - Dorothy - 1912 - Mary Pickford - D.W. Griffith - Biograph Studios - The Birth of a Nation - Intolerance - Broken Blossoms - George Jean Nathan - Boze Hadleigh - 1996 - Axel Madsen - 2002

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Having appeared in over 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 Silent Screen". Preferring silent movies, she spurned talkies until MGM finally let her go from her contract in 1928. She acted on the stage for the most part in the 1930s and early 1940s, preferring to care for the aging Griffith and his wife in their later years.

Related Topics:
Silent movie - Talkie - MGM - 1928 - 1930s - 1940s

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Returning to movies, Gish was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1946 for Duel in the Sun. She appeared in films from time to time for the rest of her life, in 1971 winning a special Academy Award "For superlative artistry and for distinguished contribution to the progress of motion pictures." In 1984 she received an American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1720 Vine Street.

Related Topics:
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - 1946 - Duel in the Sun - 1971 - Academy Award - 1984 - American Film Institute - Hollywood Walk of Fame

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Her last film role was in The Whales of August in 1987 at the age of 93, with Vincent Price, Bette Davis, who was dying of cancer and behaving badly, if understandably, and Ann Sothern, who earned her only Academy Award nomination for her final film performance. Amazingly, and to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' permanent dishonor, Gish was not even nominated for an Academy Award for what was obviously her swan song, to which she replied with equanimity: "At least I won't have to lose to Cher." (Cher did win that year, for Moonstruck)

Related Topics:
The Whales of August - 1987 - Vincent Price - Bette Davis - Ann Sothern - Academy Award - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - Cher - Moonstruck

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The main street in Massillon, Ohio is named after Gish, who had lived there during an early period of her life.

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Her estate, which she left to her fellow actress and friend Helen Hayes, who died a month later, was valued at several million dollars, and went to provide prizes for artistic excellence.

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