Lillian Gish
Born: 1893-10-14 in Springfield, Ohio, USA
Died: 1993-02-27
Known For: Acting
Biography
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987. She was a prominent film star of the 1910s and 1920s, particularly associated with the films of director D.W. Griffith, including her leading role in Griffith's seminal Birth of a Nation (1915). Her sound-era film appearances were sporadic, but included memorable roles in the controversial western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the offbeat thriller Night of the Hunter (1955). She did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing, for the first time, opposite Bette Davis in the 1987 film The Whales of August. The American Film Institute (AFI) named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time. She was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1971, and in 1984 she received an AFI Life Achievement Award.
Filmography
2021
- The Flapper as (archive footage)
2019
- I Am Not a Racist as Elsie (archive footage) (uncredited)
2016
- The Women Who Run Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2014
- Discovering: Robert Mitchum as Self (archive footage)
2011
2010
- Sigrid Holmquist as Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)
2009
- Early Directors on Directing as Self
2008
- Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies as Self (archive footage)
1998
- Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists as Lucy - The Girl (archive footage)
1995
- The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies as Self (archive footage)
- Moving Pictures: 'The Night of the Hunter' as Self
1993
- The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation' as Self (Archive footage)
- The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors ... (Thanks)
1988
- Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me as Self (archive footage)
1987
- The Whales of August as Sarah Webber
- Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood as Self
1986
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as Mrs Loftus
- Sweet Liberty as Cecelia Burgess
- Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown as Self (archive footage)
1985
- Night of 100 Stars II as Self
1984
- Lillian Gish as Self
1983
- Hambone and Hillie as Hillie Radcliffe
- Hobson's Choice as Miss Molly Winkle
1982
- Night of 100 Stars as Self
1981
- Thin Ice as Grandmother
1980
- Hollywood as Self
1978
- The South Bank Show
- The Kennedy Center Honors as Self
- A Wedding as Nettie Sloan
- Sparrow as Widow
1977
- The Love Boat as Mrs. Williams
1976
- Twin Detectives as Billy Jo Haskins
1975
- Black Shadows on a Silver Screen as Self (archive footage)
- D.W. Griffith: An American Genius as Self
1974
- Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1973
1971
- Film '72 as Self
1970
- Langlois as Self
1969
- Arsenic and Old Lace as Martha Brewster
1968
- The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
1967
- Warning Shot as Alice Willows
- The Comedians in Africa as Self (uncredited)
- Lionpower from MGM as Self - Mrs. Smith (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The Comedians as Mrs. Smith
1966
- Follow Me, Boys! as Hetty Seibert
1963
- Mr. Novak as Maude Phipps
- Mrs. Winchester's House as Narrator
1962
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as Bessie Carnby
- The Great Chase
1961
- The Defenders as Louisa Clarendon
- The Legend of Rudolph Valentino as Self (archive footage)
- The Spiral Staircase as Mrs. Warren
1960
- The Unforgiven as Mattilda Zachary
1958
- Orders to Kill as Mrs. Summers
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Award Accepter
1955
- The Night of the Hunter as Rachel Cooper
- Playwrights '56
- The Alcoa Hour as Esther Crampton
- The Cobweb as Victoria Inch
- Film Fun as (archive footage)
1953
- The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts
1951
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Grandma Moses
1948
- The Philco Television Playhouse as Abby
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- Portrait of Jennie as Mother Mary of Mercy
1946
- Duel in the Sun as Laura Belle McCanles
- Miss Susie Slagle's as Miss Susie Slagle
1943
- Top Man as Beth Warren
1942
- Commandos Strike at Dawn as Mrs. Bergesen
1933
- His Double Life as Alice Chalice
1932
- The Movie Album as (archive footage)
1930
- One Romantic Night as Princess Alexandra
1928
- The Wind as Letty
1927
- The Scarlet Letter as Hester Prynne
- Annie Laurie as Annie Laurie
- The Enemy as Pauli Arndt
1926
- La Bohème as Mimi
1925
- Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
1924
- Romola as Romola
1923
- The White Sister as Angela Chiaromonte
1922
- From Farm to Fame as Lillian Gish
1921
- Orphans of the Storm as Henriette Girard
- Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20) as Herself
1920
- Way Down East as Anna Moore
- Remodeling Her Husband ... (Director)
1919
- Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl as Lucy Burrows
- A Romance of Happy Valley as Jennie Timberlake
- True Heart Susie as Susie May Trueheart
- The Greatest Question as Nellie Jarvis
1918
- Hearts of the World as The Girl - Marie Stephenson
- The Greatest Thing in Life as Jeannette Peret
- The Great Love as Susie Broadplains
- Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal
1917
- Souls Triumphant as Lillian Vale
1916
- Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages as The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle
- Diane of the Follies as Diane
- The House Built Upon Sand as Evelyn Dare
- The Children Pay as Millicent
- Daphne and the Pirate as Daphne La Tour
- An Innocent Magdalene as Dorothy Raleigh
- Sold for Marriage as Marfa
- Pathways of Life
1915
- The Birth of a Nation as Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
- Captain Macklin as Beatrice
- The Lily and the Rose as Mary Randolph
- Enoch Arden as Annie Lee
- His Lesson as Participant in Mob Scene (uncredited)
- The Lost House as Dosia Dale
1914
- Home, Sweet Home as Payne's Sweetheart
- Judith of Bethulia as The Young Mother
- The Folly of Anne as Anne
- The Angel of Contention as Nettie - the Angel
- The Sisters as May
- The Battle of the Sexes as Jane Andrews, the daughter
- The Tear That Burned as Anita - the Truant
- A Duel for Love
- The Rebellion of Kitty Belle as Kitty Belle
- The Green-Eyed Devil as Mary Miller
- Man's Enemy as Grace Lisle
- Lord Chumley as Eleanor Butterworth
- The Hunchback as The Orphan - as an Adult
- The Quicksands
1913
- The Battle at Elderbush Gulch as Melissa Harlow
- An Indian's Loyalty as The Ranchero's Daughter
- The Left-Handed Man as The Old Soldier's Daughter
- Just Gold as The First Brother's Sweetheart
- So Runs the Way as Fred's Wife
- The House of Darkness as The Nurse
- The Lady and the Mouse as The First Sister
- Oil and Water as In First Audience (uncredited)
- The Blue or the Gray
- Madonna of the Storm as The Mother
- The Conscience of Hassan Bey as The Rugmaker's Daughter
- A Misunderstood Boy as The Daughter
- During the Round-Up as The Ranchero's Daughter
- A Modest Hero as The Wife
- The Unwelcome Guest as At Auction (uncredited)
- A Woman in the Ultimate as Verda
- The Mothering Heart as The Wife
- The Stolen Bride
- The Little Tease as Girl in bandana
- A Timely Interception as The Farmer's Daughter
1912
- In the Aisles of the Wild as The Younger Daughter
- The One She Loved
- The Musketeers of Pig Alley as The Little Lady
- So Near, Yet So Far as A Friend
- The New York Hat as Customer in Shop / Outside Church
- Brutality as At Theatre
- A Cry for Help as The Maid
- The Burglar’s Dilemma as Birthday Wellwisher
- The Informer as Walk on role
- Gold and Glitter as The Young Woman
- Two Daughters of Eve as In Theatre Crowd
- An Unseen Enemy as Eldest Sister
- The Painted Lady as Belle at Ice Cream Festival
- My Baby