Editing Lillian Gish

{{short description|American actress (1893–1993)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Lillian Gish
| image              = Lillian Gish-edit1.jpg
| caption            = Gish in 1921
| birth_name         = Lillian Diana Gish
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1893|10|14}}
| birth_place        = [[Springfield, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1993|2|27|1893|10|14}}
| death_place        = New York City, U.S.
| occupation         = Actress
| years_active       = 1902–1988
| mother             = [[Mary Gish|Mary Robinson McConnell]]
| relatives          = [[Dorothy Gish]] (sister)
| signature          = Lillian Gish signature.png
| website            = {{URL|lilliangish.com}}
}}

'''Lillian Diana Gish'''<ref>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 to ''Lillian 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 of ''Orphans 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."</ref> (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in [[silent film]] [[short film|shorts]], to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "First Lady of the Screen" by [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|''Vanity Fair'']] in 1927<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vanity Fair — June 1927 |url=https://vanityfair-staging.azurewebsites.net/issue/19270601/print |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=Vanity Fair {{!}} The Complete Archive |page=38 |language=en-US}}</ref> and is credited with pioneering fundamental film performance techniques.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/laa/laa84.aspx |title=American Film Institute |website=afi.com}}</ref> In 1999, the [[American Film Institute]] ranked Gish as [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars|the 17th-greatest female movie star]] of [[classical Hollywood cinema]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's 100 YEARS…100 STARS |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-stars/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}</ref>

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 director [[D. W. Griffith]]. This included her leading role in the highest-grossing film of the silent era, Griffith's ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' (1915). Her other major films and performances from the silent era included ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'' (1916), ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919), ''[[Way Down East]]'' (1920), ''[[Orphans of the Storm]]'' (1921), ''[[La Bohème (1926 film)|La Bohème]]'' (1926), and ''[[The Wind (1928 film)|The Wind]]'' (1928).

At the dawn of the sound era, she returned to the stage and appeared in film occasionally, with leading roles in the Western ''[[Duel in the Sun (film)|Duel in the Sun]]'' (1946) and the thriller ''[[The Night of the Hunter (film)|The Night of the Hunter]]'' (1955). She was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] for ''Duel in the Sun''. Gish also had major supporting roles in ''[[Portrait of Jennie]]'' (1948), ''[[A Wedding (1978 film)|A Wedding]]'' (1978), and ''[[Sweet Liberty]]'' (1986).

She also did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and retired after playing opposite [[Bette Davis]] and [[Vincent Price]] in the 1987 film ''[[The Whales of August]]''. During her later years, Gish became a dedicated advocate for the appreciation and [[film preservation|preservation]] of silent film. Despite being better known for her film work, she also performed on stage, and was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]] in 1972.<ref>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.</ref> In 1971, she was awarded an [[Academy Honorary Award]] for her career achievements. She was awarded a [[Kennedy Center Honors|Kennedy Center Honor]] for her contribution to American culture through performing arts in 1982.

==Early life==
[[File:Gish family 1900.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Dorothy and Lillian Gish with actress Helen Ray,<ref>''Dorothy and Lillian Gish'' (1973) p. 12</ref> their leading lady in ''Her First False Step'' (1903)]]
Lillian Diana Gish was born on October 14, 1893, in [[Springfield, Ohio]], the first child of actress [[Mary Gish|Mary Robinson McConnell]], and James Leigh Gish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bioandlyrics.com/lilliangish |title=Lillian Gish Biography |publisher=Bioandlyrics.com |date=February 27, 1993 |access-date=October 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203091010/http://www.bioandlyrics.com/lilliangish |archive-date=February 3, 2009 }} </ref><ref>"Pennsylvania Births and Christenings, 1709–1950," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2NJ-LPH : 11 February 2018), Jas. Leonidas Gish, 11 Dec 1873; Christening, citing Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Dauphin, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm 845,111.</ref> Lillian had a younger sister, [[Dorothy Gish|Dorothy]], who also became a popular movie star.

Her mother was a Scottish [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalian]] and her father was of [[Germans|German]] [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] descent. The first several generations of Gishes were [[Dunkard Brethren|Dunkard]] ministers. Gish's father was an alcoholic and left the family; her mother took up acting to support them. The family moved to [[East 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 the [[Majestic Theatre (East St. Louis, Illinois)|old Majestic Theater]], located next door.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024|reason=Cannot find a source for this that isn't a Wikipedia mirror (even the one book is a Wikipedia mirror), except for Old Time Radio Catalog (https://www.otrcat.com/p/lillian-gish), which looks to be a one-person commercial operation. The Muskogee Phoenix -- a small-town paper, likely not rigorously fact-checked -- does say that the girls' mom did have a candy store next to the old Majestic (https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/remember-the-ladies-first-lady-of-american-cinema/article_5b01126c-b71f-5ecd-9c24-31b62409cceb.html), but doesn't say anything about the girls selling anything to anyone. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing that somebody would just make up tho, but you never know.}} The girls attended St. Henry's School, where they acted in school plays.

In 1910, the girls were living with their aunt Emily in [[Massillon, 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 the [[Fort George, New York|Fort George]] amusement grounds.<ref name=":0" /> 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 name [[Mary Pickford]].<ref name="Affron2002"/> 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 artist [[Victor Maurel]] in exchange for voice lessons.<ref name="Oderman2000">{{cite book |last=Oderman |first=Stuart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TTv-kGPg0qoC |title=Lillian Gish: A Life on Stage and Screen |date=2000 |publisher=McFarland & Co. |isbn=978-0786406449}}</ref>

In 1912, their friend Mary Pickford introduced the sisters to Griffith and helped get them contracts with [[American Mutoscope and Biograph Company|Biograph 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Affron |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X44SqEVU2r4C&pg=PA19 |title=Lillian Gish: her legend, her life |date=2002 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0520234345 |pages=19–20}}</ref>

==Career==

===Early career===
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.<ref> "Lillian Gish, Last of the Silent Stars." ''Greensboro, North Carolina News and Record'', March 1, 1993, p. D3. </ref> She made her stage debut in 1902, at the Little Red School House in [[Risingsun, Ohio]]. During 1903 to 1904, she toured in ''Her First False Step'', with her mother and Dorothy. In the following year, she danced with a [[Sarah 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. <ref> "Screen Pioneer Lillian Gish; Career Spanned History of Film." ''Miami Herald'', March 2, 1993, p. 12A. </ref>

===Film stardom at Biograph Studios (1912–1925)===
{{multiple image|perrow = 1,2|total_width=330
| image1 = Gish and Barthelmess Broken Blossoms.jpg
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| caption1  = Gish with [[Richard Barthelmess]] in ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919)
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| caption2  = Gish as Anna Moore in ''[[Way Down East]]'' (1920)
| image3 = Photoplay December 1921.jpg
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| caption3  = ''[[Photoplay]]'' magazine cover by [[Rolf Armstrong]] (1921)
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After 10 years of acting on the stage, she made her film debut opposite Dorothy in Griffith's short film ''[[An 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 of ''[[A 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 melodramatic ''[[Way 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.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly, when preparing for her death scene in ''[[La Bohème (1926 film)|La 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, including ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915), ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'' (1916), ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919), ''Way Down East'' (1920), and ''[[Orphans 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 as ''Way 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Affron |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X44SqEVU2r4C&pg=PA138 |title=Lillian Gish: her legend, her life |date=2002 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520234345 |page=138}}</ref> The film is now thought to be [[Lost film|lost]].

===Work with MGM (1925–1928)===
Gish reluctantly ended her work with Griffith in 1925 to take an offer from the recently formed [[MGM]], 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 ${{Inflation|US|1|1926|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). 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 (1926 film)|The Scarlet Letter]]'' (both 1926), and ''[[The Wind (1928 film)|The Wind]]'' (1928). ''The Wind'', directed by [[Victor 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 biographer [[Edward Wagenknecht]] wrote:
{{blockquote|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.<ref>Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 206</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Eyman |first=Scott |date=2005 |title=Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jid5xNh89wgC&q=the+wind+film+happy+ending&pg=PA139 |publisher=Robson Books Ltd |page=139 |isbn=1861058926}}</ref>}}

===Sound debut, return to the stage, and television and radio===
[[File:Lillian-Gish-Uncle-Vanya-1930.jpg|thumb|Gish in [[Jed Harris]]'s Broadway production of ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'', 1930]]
Her debut in [[sound film|talkies]] 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 the [[Motion Picture Production Code]] was enforced), these roles were perceived as outdated. The ''[[ingénue]]''{{'}}s diametric opposite, the [[Femme fatale|vamp]], was at the height of its popularity and Gish was increasingly seen as a "silly, sexless antique" (to quote fellow actress [[Louise 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 as [[Ophelia (character)|Ophelia]] in Guthrie McClintic's landmark 1936 production of ''[[Hamlet]]'' (with [[John Gielgud]] and [[Judith Anderson]]) and Marguerite in a limited run of ''[[The Lady of the Camellias#Stage performances|La Dame aux Camélias]]''. Of the former, she said, with pride, "I played a ''lewd'' Ophelia!"

Returning to movies, Gish was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] in 1946 for ''[[Duel in the Sun (film)|Duel 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 in ''[[The Night of the Hunter (film)|The Night of the Hunter]]'' (1955) as a rural guardian angel protecting her charges from a murderous preacher played by [[Robert Mitchum]]. She was considered for various roles in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' ranging from Ellen O'Hara, [[Scarlett O'Hara|Scarlett]]'s mother (which went to [[Barbara O'Neil]]),<ref name="Lambert">{{cite book |title=GWTW: The Making of Gone With the Wind |last=Lambert |first=Gavin |author-link=Gavin Lambert |year=1976 |orig-year=1973 |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |edition=|location=New York |page=53 }}</ref> to prostitute Belle Watling (which went to [[Ona Munson]]).

Gish's television debut occurred on February 6, 1949, when she portrayed Abby, a housemaid, in "The Late Christopher Bean", an episode of ''[[The Philco Television Playhouse]]'' on NBC. A review in the trade publication ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' described her work as "an excellent portrayal".<ref name=v>{{cite magazine |date=February 9, 1949 |page=34 |title=Tele Follow-up Comment |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety173-1949-02/page/n89/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=January 22, 2023}}</ref> She made numerous television appearances from the early 1950s into the late 1980s. Her most acclaimed television work was starring in the original production of ''[[The Trip to Bountiful (play)|The Trip to Bountiful]]'' in 1953. She appeared as [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna]] in the short-lived 1965 Broadway musical ''[[Anya (musical)|Anya]]''. 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 hosted ''The Silent Years'', a [[PBS]] film program of silent films. She was interviewed in the television documentary series ''[[Hollywood (British TV series)|Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film]]'' (1980).<ref>{{cite video |people=Brownlow, Kevin; Gill, David |title=Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film. |url=https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-1-James-Mason/dp/6301931556 |medium=video |publisher=Thames Video Production |date=1980}}</ref>

[[File:Lillian Gish Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|left|Gish at 80 years of age, 1973]]
Gish received a [[Academy Awards#Special Awards|Special Academy Award]] in 1971 "for superlative artistry and for distinguished contribution to the progress of motion pictures". In 1979, she was awarded the [[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards#THE CRYSTAL AWARD|Women in film Crystal Award]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="WIF">{{cite web |title=Past Recipients: Crystal Award |url=http://wif.org/past-recipients |work=Women In Film |access-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630083646/http://wif.org/past-recipients |archive-date=June 30, 2011 }} </ref> In 1984, she received an [[American Film Institute]] [[AFI Life Achievement Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]], becoming only the second female recipient (preceded by [[Bette Davis]] in 1977) and the only recipient who was a major figure in the silent era. She has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1720 Vine Street.

Her last film role was appearing in ''The Whales of August'' in 1987 at the age of 93, with [[Vincent Price]], Bette Davis, and [[Ann Sothern]], in which Gish and Davis starred as elderly sisters in [[Maine]]. Gish's performance was received glowingly, winning her the [[National 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 in ''The Whales of August''. Gish was more complacent, only remarking, "Well, now I won't have to go and lose to [[Cher]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Caryn |title=Film; Eye on the Prize, Foot in the Mouth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/28/movies/film-eye-on-the-prize-foot-in-the-mouth.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 28, 1993 |access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

Her final professional appearance was a cameo on the 1988 studio recording of [[Jerome Kern]]'s ''[[Show Boat]]'', starring [[Frederica von Stade]] and [[Jerry Hadley]], in which she affectingly spoke the few lines of ''The Old Lady on the Levee'' in the final scene. The last words of her long career were: "Good night".

===Radio===
Gish starred in an episode of the popular [[CBS Radio]] series ''[[Suspense (radio drama)|Suspense]]''. The episode "Marry for Murder" was broadcast on September 9, 1943.<ref>programme note from Blackstone Audio 'Suspense' vol.2 issued 2015</ref> In 1944, Gish starred in an episode of ''I Was There'', broadcast on CBS. The episode dramatized the making of the film ''The Birth of a Nation''.<ref>{{cite news |title=She Was There (caption) |url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/44/Radio-Life-1944-01-16.pdf |access-date=April 18, 2015 |agency=Radio Life |date=January 16, 1944 |page=32}}</ref> On May 31, 1951, she starred in an adaptation of ''[[Black Chiffon]]'' on ''Playhouse on Broadway''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Your Radio Today |newspaper=Tucson Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2388548/tucson_daily_citizen/ |agency=Tucson Daily Citizen |date=May 31, 1951 |page=24 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=May 10, 2015}} {{open access}}</ref>

==Honors==
The [[American Film Institute]] named Gish 17th among the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars|greatest female stars]] of classic American cinema.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-stars/|title=AFI's 100 Years …100 Stars}}</ref> In 1955, she was awarded the [[George Eastman Award]], for distinguished contribution to the art of film, at the [[George Eastman Museum]]'s (then George Eastman House's) inaugural Festival of Film Artists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastman.org/george-eastman-award|title=George Eastman Award &#124; George Eastman Museum|website=eastman.org|access-date=July 11, 2016|archive-date=November 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124235031/https://www.eastman.org/george-eastman-award|url-status=dead}} </ref> She was awarded an [[Academy Honorary Award]] in 1971, and in 1984 she received an [[AFI Life Achievement Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/tvevents/laa/laalist.aspx|title=The AFI Life Achievement Award}}</ref> Gish was also awarded [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1982.

In 1979, she introduced ''The Wind'' at a screening at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. She was a special guest at the Telluride Film Festival in 1983.

=== Bowling Green State University ===
The Gish Film Theatre and Gallery of [[Bowling 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 the [[Museum 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/theatre-and-film/gish-film/history.html |title=Gish Film Theatre – History |website=Bowling Green State University |access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref>

In February 2019, the university's Black Student Union called for the renaming of the Gish Theatre due to Gish's involvement with the controversial ''The Birth of a Nation''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toledoblade.com/local/education/2019/02/28/bgsu-lillian-gish-theater-black-student-union-rename-birth-nation-film/stories/20190228155 |title=BGSU's Black Student Union pushing to rename Gish Theater |last=Whiteside |first=Bri'on |date=2019-02-28 |website=Toledo Blade |access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Holson |first1=Laura M. |title=When the Names on Campus Buildings Evoke a Racist Past |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/us/task-force-university-racism.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=5 April 2020 |date=23 May 2019}}</ref> In April 2019, a task force recommended removing the Gish name; the trustees unanimously voted to remove the name on May 3, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toledoblade.com/local/education/2019/05/03/bgsu-trustees-vote-rename-lillian-gish-film-theater-birth-of-nation-black-student-union/stories/20190503175.html|title=BGSU trustees vote to drop 'Gish' from theater name over racist film |last=Lindstrom |first=Lauren |date=2019-05-03 |website=Toledo Blade |access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref>

Mike Kaplan, co-producer of ''The 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 actors [[Helen Mirren]] and [[James Earl Jones]] and directors [[Bertrand Tavernier]] and [[Martin Scorsese]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/06/20/lillian-gish-theater/ |title=Outrage as University Strips Name of Lillian Gish from Campus Theater |last=Bilyeau |first=Nancy |date=June 20, 2019 |access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/06/kapl-j06.html |title=A conversation with Mike Kaplan, the producer of ''The Whales of August'' (1987), Lillian Gish's final film |last=Walsh |first=David |website=wsws.org |date=July 6, 2019 |access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Gish-dorothy-lillian-LOC.jpg|thumb|Lillian and her sister [[Dorothy Gish|Dorothy]], 1921]]
Gish never married or had children. Her association with [[D. W. Griffith]] was so close that some suspected a romantic connection, an issue never acknowledged by Gish, although several of their associates were certain they were at least briefly involved. For the remainder of her life, she always referred to him as "Mr. Griffith". She was also involved with producer Charles Duell, and drama critic and editor [[George Jean Nathan]]. In the 1920s, Gish's association with Duell became something of a tabloid scandal when he sued her and made the details of their relationship public.<ref name="Affron2002">{{cite book |last=Affron |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X44SqEVU2r4C&pg=PA187 |title=Lillian Gish: her legend, her life |date=2002 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520234345}}</ref>

Gish was a survivor of the [[Spanish flu|1918 flu pandemic]], having contracted the illness during the filming of ''Broken Blossoms''.<ref>''Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me''; {{ISBN|0135366496}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref>

{{external media |width=210px |float=right |audio1=[https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/lillian-gish-discusses-play-passage-india-and-her-career Lillian Gish talks with Studs Terkel on WFMT; 1963/01/16], [[Studs Terkel Radio Archive]]<ref name="studs archive">{{cite web |title=Lillian Gish talks with Studs Terkel on WFMT |publisher=[[Studs Terkel Radio Archive]] |date=January 16, 1963 |url=https://www.popuparchive.com/collections/938/items/12531 |access-date=September 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001185139/https://www.popuparchive.com/collections/938/items/12531 |archive-date=October 1, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} </ref>}}

Gish became a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] in her childhood through influence of her aunt and could not bear the thought of killing animals.<ref name=":0">Paine, Albert Bigelow. (1932). [https://archive.org/details/lifelilliangish00pain/page/20/mode/2up ''Life and Lillian Gish'']. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 21</ref> Her vegetarianism became well known in 1925 as she was seen nibbling on a raw carrot in federal court.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1925-03-25 |title=New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, March 25, 1925, Image 10 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014519/1925-03-25/ed-1/seq-10/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |work=chroniclingamerica.loc.gov |pages=10}}</ref><ref name="Gish 1969">Gish, Lillian. (1969). ''Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me''. Prentice Hall. p. 269.</ref> Newspaper photographs of her caused a carrot-eating fad across the United States.<ref name="Gish 1969" /><ref name="Krebs 1993" /> She later gave up vegetarianism and preferred to eat boiled eggs, fruit, meat, and vegetables.<ref>{{cite book |last= Oderman |first=Stuart  |date=2000 |title=Lillian Gish: A Life on Stage and Screen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UWosAAAAQBAJ |publisher=McFarland |page=341 |isbn=978-1476613697}}</ref>

She maintained a close relationship with her sister Dorothy and with Mary Pickford for her entire life. Another of her closest friends was actress [[Helen Hayes]], the "First Lady of the American Theatre". Gish was the godmother of Hayes's son [[James MacArthur]], and designated Hayes (who survived her by just 18 days) as a beneficiary of her estate.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Gish was a devout [[Episcopalian]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/12/arts/hundreds-gather-to-mourn-a-friend-lillian-gish.html |title=Hundreds Gather to Mourn a Friend, Lillian Gish |first=Glenn |last=Collins |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 12, 1993}}</ref>

===Political views===
Gish was a staunch [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], and was friendly with President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and his wife, [[Mamie Eisenhower|Mamie]]. She supported [[Richard Nixon]] in his failed 1960 presidential run, and was also friends with [[Ronald Reagan]]. During Reagan's presidency, Gish wrote in a letter to [[Nancy Reagan]], "Every time you and Ronnie open your mouths you echo my thoughts."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=X44SqEVU2r4C&dq=Lillian+Gish+Ronald+Reagan&pg=PA322 Charles Affron, ''Lillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life'', p. 322, University of California Press, 2002] {{ISBN?}}</ref>

During the period of political turmoil in the U.S. that lasted from the outbreak of World War II in Europe until the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], she maintained an outspoken [[United States non-interventionism|noninterventionist]] stance. She was an active member of the [[America First Committee]], an anti-intervention organization founded by a group of law students led by [[R. Douglas Stuart Jr.]], with aviation pioneer [[Charles Lindbergh]] as its leading spokesman. She said she was [[blacklist]]ed 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.<ref>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?}}</ref>

==Death==
Gish died of heart failure on February 27, 1993, at the age of 99.<ref name="Krebs 1993">{{Cite news|last=Krebs|first=Albin|date=1993-03-01|title=Lillian Gish, 99, a Movie Star Since Movies Began, is Dead |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/01/movies/lillian-gish-99-a-movie-star-since-movies-began-is-dead.html|access-date=2020-10-24|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She was cremated and her ashes were interred beside those of her sister Dorothy at [[St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York|Saint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church]] in New York City.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilson|first=Scott|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons
|edition=3rd|publisher=McFarland|year=2016|pages=281}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> Her estate was valued at several million dollars, the bulk of which went toward the creation of [[the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize]] Trust.

==Legacy==
[[File:The Lily Maid of the Shadows.jpg|thumb|Gish posed as [[Elaine of Astolat]] in ''[[Way Down East]]'']]
A retrospective of Gish's life and achievements was showcased in an episode of the Emmy award-winning PBS series, ''[[American Masters]]''.

The [[AllMovie]] Guide wrote on her legacy:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/lillian-gish-p27129 |title=Lillian Gish |website=allmovie.com|access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

{{blockquote|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.}}

[[Turner Classic Movies]] wrote,<ref>{{cite web |title=Overview for Lillian Gish |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/71895%7C99056/Lillian-Gish |access-date=July 17, 2024 |website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref>

{{blockquote|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.}}
* [[The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize]]
* A street in [[Massillon, 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Royster |first=Jacqueline Jones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tV3CKGuGoRkC |title=Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803–2003 |date=2003 |publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=9780821415085 |pages=224}}</ref>
* [[François Truffaut]]'s movie ''[[Day for Night (film)|Day for Night]]'' (1973) is dedicated to Dorothy and Lillian Gish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dixon |first=Wheeler Winston |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XP4Ugr7Bv8UC |title=Early Film Criticism of Francois Truffaut |date=1993 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |isbn=9780253113436 |pages=46}}</ref>
* Gish's photograph is mentioned as an inspiration for a troubled soldier in the 1933 novel ''[[Company K]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=March |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gl76tE2r1rQC |title=Company K |date=1989 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |isbn=9780817304805 |pages=54}}</ref>
* The luxury boutique hotel Maison 140, in [[Beverly 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maison140.com/about-maison |title=Luxury Beverly Hills Hotel - About Maison 140 |website=maison140.com}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
American rock band [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] named their 1991 debut album ''[[Gish]]'' after her. Singer [[Billy 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..."<ref>Caro, Mark (December 28, 1990). "Smashing Pumpkins Finds a New Home at Caroline Records". ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref>

"Lillian Gish" is Scottish rhyming slang for fish and urinating.<ref name="Partridge">{{Cite book |last=Partridge |first=Eric |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/912277252 |title=The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-317-37252-3 |edition=Second |location=London |pages=1393 |oclc=912277252}}</ref> An example of the latter occurs in the Scottish sitcom, ''[[Still Game]]'', when [[List of Still Game characters|Winston Ingram]] says, "I'm away for a Lillian Gish"{{--}}meaning "I'm away for a pish" ("pish" being Scottish vernacular for piss).

American rock band [[Fruit Bats (band)|Fruit Bats]] referenced Gish in the song ''Eagles Below Us'' from their 2021 release ''[[The Pet Parade]]'' with the lyrics “I’ve never seen you so lovely, Lillian Gish, soft lit.”<ref>{{Citation |title=Fruit Bats – Eagles Below Us |url=https://genius.com/Fruit-bats-eagles-below-us-lyrics |access-date=2023-11-21}}</ref>

In 2024, [[East West Players]] in Los Angeles produced ''Unbroken Blossoms'', a play depicting the making of ''[[Broken Blossoms]]''. Gish was portrayed by Alexandra Hellquist. <ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Ashley |title=A Play Portrays the Making of D.W. Griffith |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-07-03/d-w-griffith-racism-broken-blossoms-play-east-west-players |access-date=16 November 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 3, 2024}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{Main|Lillian Gish filmography}}

==Discography==
* Jerome Kern: [[Show Boat (1988 cast album)|''Show Boat'']], conducted by John McGlinn, EMI, 1988

==Books==
; Autobiographical
* ''The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me'' (with Ann Pinchot) (Prentice-Hall, 1969) {{ISBN|9780135366493|}}
* ''Dorothy and Lillian Gish'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973)
* ''An Actor's Life for Me'' (with Selma G. Lanes) (Viking Penguin, 1987)

; Biographical and topical
* Abel, Richard, et al. ''Flickers of Desire: Movie Stars of the 1910s'' (Rutgers University Press, 2011)
* Affron, Charles. ''Star Acting: Gish, Garbo, Davis'' (E.P. Dutton, 1977)
* Affron, Charles. ''Lillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life'' ([[University of California Press]], 2002)
* 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.
* [[Peter Bogdanovich|Bogdanovich, Peter]]. ''A Moment with Miss Gish'' (Santa Teresa Press, 1995)
* Oderman, Stuart. ''Lillian Gish: A Life on Stage and Screen'' (McFarland, 2000)
*[[Edward Wagenknecht|Wagenknecht, Edward]].1962. ''The Movies in the Age of Innocence.'' [[University of Oklahoma Press]], [[Norman, Oklahoma]]. OCLC: 30516

==Documentaries==
* [[Jeanne Moreau]]'s 1983 television documentary ''Lillian Gish''
* [[Terry Sanders]]'s 1988 documentary ''Lillian Gish: An Actor's Life for Me''

==See also==
{{portal|Biography|Film}}
* [[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
* [[Women's cinema]]

{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|d=Q104183|c=Category:Lillian Gish|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=Author:Lillian Diana Gish|wikt=no|species=no}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|0001273}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* [https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-lillian-gish/ Lillian Gish] at Women Film Pioneers Project
* [http://archives.nypl.org/the/21463 Lillian Gish papers, 1909–1992], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]]
* {{YouTube|id=16f6YcBhBFU|title=Lillian Gish, Helen Hayes, & Mary Martin Interview with Bill Boggs }}
* {{YouTube|id=98cqIiQLKqo|title=Lillian Gish's silent films on wide screen (Trailer) }}

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Lillian Gish
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{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{AFI Life Achievement Award}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 1980s}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Actress}}
{{Ohio Women's Hall of Fame}}
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