Lillian Gish

Notable people · Entertainment

Lillian Gish

Springfield-born star of D. W. Griffith's silent films, whose screen and stage career ran from 1912 to 1987.

Born October 14, 1893, Springfield
Died February 27, 1993, New York City, NY

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born: October 14, 1893, Springfield (Clark County) source
Died: February 27, 1993, New York City, NY source
Buried: Columbarium, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Manhattan, beside her sister Dorothy source
Also known as: Lillian Gish, The First Lady of American Cinema
Known as: Entertainment
Organizations: D. W. Griffith

Life story

Lillian Gish was born in Springfield in 1893. The family later ran a candy stand in East St. Louis, then moved to New York. She and her sister Dorothy started stage work as small children; her stage debut was in Risingsun, Ohio, in 1902.

A neighbor, Mary Pickford, introduced her to film in 1912, and she became D. W. Griffith's leading actress in The Birth of a Nation (1915), Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920).

She turned to stage work in the 1930s and 1940s and made occasional films. Her last role was in The Whales of August (1987) at 94.

She received an honorary Oscar (1971) and Kennedy Center Honors (1982). She never married and died in New York in 1993.

Ohio ties

Springfield (1893)
birthplace Clark County · source
Dayton (about 1898)
the family lived in Dayton, where her sister Dorothy was born on 11 March 1898 Montgomery County · source
Risingsun (1902)
stage debut at the Little Red School House Wood County · source
Massillon (1910)
lived with her aunt Emily; Gish called Massillon her hometown, and a street there is named for her Stark County · source
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green (1976-1993)
Gish Film Theater dedicated to her and Dorothy in 1976; honorary Doctor of Performing Arts; gave her papers and memorabilia Wood County · source

Timeline

1893 Born Lillian Diana Gish in Springfield on 14 October. source
1898 Her sister Dorothy was born in Dayton on 11 March. source
1902 Made her stage debut at the Little Red School House in Risingsun, Ohio. source
1903 Toured in the melodrama Her First False Step through 1904. source
1910 Lived with her aunt Emily in Massillon, Ohio. source
1912 Made her film debut with Dorothy in D. W. Griffith's An Unseen Enemy, after their neighbour Gladys Smith (Mary Pickford) introduced them. source
1915 Played Elsie Stoneman in Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. source
1919 Starred in Broken Blossoms, followed by Way Down East (1920) and Orphans of the Storm (1921). source
1955 Appeared in The Night of the Hunter. source
1971 Received an Academy Honorary Award. source
1976 Bowling Green State University dedicated the Gish Film Theater and Gallery on 11 June; she accepted for herself and Dorothy and received an honorary Doctor of Performing Arts the next day. source
1980 Inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame. source
1982 Received the Kennedy Center Honors; on 9 October BGSU dedicated a photograph collection in her honour. source
1984 Received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. source
1987 Made her last film, The Whales of August. source
1990 BGSU rededicated the renovated Gish Film Theater on her 97th birthday, 14 October. source
1993 Died of heart failure in New York City on 27 February, aged 99; BGSU later received many items from her estate. source
2019 BGSU trustees voted to remove the Gish name from the film theater because of her role in The Birth of a Nation. source

What Lillian is known for

Star of D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920)
AFI ranked her 17th among the greatest female screen legends
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Way Down East (1920)
The Whales of August (1987)

Stories

A stage debut in Risingsun

Gish's father, James Leigh Gish, was an alcoholic who left the family, and her mother, Mary Robinson McConnell, took up acting to support the girls. Lillian began performing at five with a travelling troupe and made her stage debut in 1902 at the Little Red School House in Risingsun, a Wood County village. In 1903-04 she toured in Her First False Step. The family later ran a candy kitchen beside a theatre in East St. Louis, and in 1910 the sisters lived with their aunt Emily in Massillon, the town Gish later called home. After the East St. Louis theatre burned the family moved to New York, where their neighbour Gladys Smith, soon to be known as Mary Pickford, introduced them to D. W. Griffith in 1912.

Source

The Gish Film Theater

Bowling Green State University dedicated its Gish Film Theater and Gallery on 11 June 1976 with a screening of Orphans of the Storm, and Lillian Gish accepted in person for herself and her late sister Dorothy. The next day BGSU gave her an honorary Doctor of Performing Arts. In 1982 the university dedicated a collection of photographs from more than 25 of her films, first shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 1980. The theatre was renovated and rededicated on her 97th birthday in 1990, with 168 new seats. After her death in 1993 BGSU received many items from her estate, and an enlarged gallery to show them opened on 13 October 1996.

Source

Honors and things named for them

Academy Honorary Award 1971
Kennedy Center Honors 1982
American Theater Hall of Fame 1972
AFI #17 female legend

Named for Lillian Gish

Street in Massillon named for Lillian Gish (Massillon, Stark County) source
Gish Film Theater, Bowling Green State University (1976-2019; name removed 2019) (Bowling Green, Wood County) source

Family

sister: Dorothy Gish
mother: Mary Robinson McConnell
father: James Leigh Gish

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments.

Former Gish Film Theater (name removed 2019), Bowen-Thompson Student Union, Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green Wood County · source
Center for Archival Collections, BGSU (MS 741, Lillian Gish Papers)
Bowling Green Wood County · source
Little Red School House, site of her 1902 stage debut (unknown)
Risingsun Wood County · source

Ohio places

Where Lillian Gish was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Born: Springfield, Clark County ZIP 45502 · Springfield · Clark County
Lived: Massillon, Stark County ZIP 44646 · Massillon · Stark County

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Lillian Gish, and what the record shows.

Often said Her real name was Lillian Diana de Guiche (as Find a Grave gives it).

The record The family name was Gish; her father's people were German Lutherans descended from Dunkard ministers. The aristocratic 'de Guiche' was press-agent invention with no support. source

Often said Massillon is Lillian Gish's hometown.

The record She was born in Springfield, and Dorothy in Dayton. The sisters lived with their aunt Emily in Massillon around 1910, and Lillian herself called Massillon her hometown, which is why the town claims her. source

Often said Bowling Green State University's Gish Film Theater honours Lillian Gish.

The record It did from its dedication in 1976, but in 2019 the BGSU trustees voted to remove the Gish name because of her starring role in The Birth of a Nation. source

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

Gish Film Theater Collection: Lillian Gish Papers (MS 741), finding aid, part 1 Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University
Gish Film Theater Collection: Lillian Gish Papers (MS 741), finding aid, part 2 Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

Descripción: Lillian Gish.Fecha de publicación: Sin información de fecha.Información de la localización del do...
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Lillian Gish
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Lillian Gish, 14 Oct 1893 - 27 Feb 1993
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Taken from the December, 1929 edition of Photoplay Magazine
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Title : [Portrait de] Lillian Gish : [affiche] / [non identifié]Publisher : [s.n.]Publisher : Gaumont (Paris)P...
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Mary Robinson McConnell (Mary Gish) carries her daughter Dorothy Gish and holds her older daughter Lillian Gis...
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Grace Henderson, Dorothy Gish & Lillian Gish in An Unseen Enemy (1912) directed by David.W. Griffith.
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Lillian Gish in the film The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912).
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Still from The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912).
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Dorothy Gish and Lillian Gish in a scene from the movie "The Painted Lady" (1912, directed by David Wark Griff...
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An Unseen Enemy (1912) still
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Poster for An Indian's Loyalty, 1913.
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