Lillian Gish

Lillian Diana Gish was born on October 14, 1893, in Springfield, Ohio. Her father, James Lee Gish, was an alcoholic who spent much of his time away from home, leaving the family to manage on their own. To support themselves, Lillian, her sister Dorothy Gish, and their mother, Mary Gish (also known as Mary Robinson McConnell), began performing in local theatrical productions. Lillian made her stage debut at the age of six, and over the next 13 years, she and Dorothy performed successfully in front of stage audiences. Had she not entered the film industry, Lillian might have become one of the great stage actresses of all time. However, in 1912, she met famed director D.W. Griffith, who cast her in her first film, *An Unseen Enemy* (1912), followed by *The One She Loved* (1912) and *My Baby* (1912). She made 12 films for Griffith in that year alone. With 25 more in the next two years, Lillian's visibility grew rapidly, and she soon became one of the top stars in the industry, alongside Mary Pickford, "America's Sweetheart." In 1915, she starred as Elsie Stoneman in Griffith's ambitious film *The Birth of a Nation* (1915). By this point, she was no longer making as many films, as her popularity allowed her to be selective about her roles. The following year, she appeared in another Griffith classic, *Intolerance* (1916). By the early 1920s, her career began to decline, as new actors emerged to replace established stars. In fact, she did not appear in any films in 1922, 1925, or 1929. However, 1926 was her busiest year of the decade, with roles in *La Bohème* (1926) and *The Scarlet Letter* (1926). As the decade ended, the rise of "talkies" signaled the decline of silent films. During her time away from the screen, Lillian remained active in stage productions, earning praise from both audiences and critics. In 1933, she filmed *His Double Life* (1933), but did not appear in another film for nine years. When she returned in 1943, she appeared in two big-budget pictures, *Commandos Strike at Dawn* (1942) and *Top Man* (1943). Although these roles did not restore her to the prominence of her early career, she still demonstrated her acting strength. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Laura Belle McCanles in *Duel in the Sun* (1946), but lost to Anne Baxter in *The Razor's Edge* (1946). One of the most critically acclaimed roles of her career came in the thriller *The Night of the Hunter* (1955), directed by actor Charles Laughton. In 1969, she published her autobiography, *The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me*. In 1987, she appeared in what would be her final film, *The Whales of August* (1987), a box-office success that introduced her to a new generation of fans. Her 75-year career in film remains one of the longest in the industry. Lillian Gish died on February 27, 1993, at the age of 99, in her Manhattan apartment in New York City. She never married.