Lillian Gish
- Acting
- October 14, 1893 · Springfield, Ohio, USA
- February 27, 1993
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.
Known for
Filmography
- The Flapper · (archive footage)
- I Am Not a Racist · Elsie (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The Women Who Run Hollywood · Self
- Discovering: Robert Mitchum · Self
- Night Hunter
- Sigrid Holmquist · Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)
- Early Directors on Directing · Self
- Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies · Self
- D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913
- Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists · Lucy - The Girl (archive footage)
- The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies · Self
- Moving Pictures: 'The Night of the Hunter' · Self
- The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors · Thanks
- The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation' · Self
- Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me · Self
- The Whales of August · Sarah Webber
- Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood · Self
- Sweet Liberty · Cecelia Burgess
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · Mrs Loftus
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · Mrs Loftus
- Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown · Self
- Night of 100 Stars II · Self
- Lillian Gish · Self
- Hobson's Choice · Miss Molly Winkle
- Hambone and Hillie · Hillie Radcliffe
- Night of 100 Stars · Self
- Thin Ice · Grandmother
- Hollywood · Self
- The Kennedy Center Honors · Self
- A Wedding · Nettie Sloan
- Sparrow · Widow
- The South Bank Show
- The Love Boat · Mrs. Williams
- Twin Detectives · Billy Jo Haskins
- D.W. Griffith: An American Genius · Self
- Black Shadows on a Silver Screen · Self
- Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still · Self
- The American Film Institute Salute to ... · Self
- Film '72 · Self
- Langlois · Self
- Arsenic and Old Lace · Martha Brewster
- The Dick Cavett Show · Self
- The Comedians · Mrs. Smith
- The Comedians in Africa · Self
- Warning Shot · Alice Willows
- Lionpower from MGM · Self
- Follow Me, Boys! · Hetty Seibert
- Mrs. Winchester's House · Narrator
- Mr. Novak · Maude Phipps
- The Great Chase
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour · Bessie Carnby
- The Spiral Staircase · Mrs. Warren
- The Defenders · Louisa Clarendon, Mrs. Cooper
- The Legend of Rudolph Valentino · Self
- The Unforgiven · Mattilda Zachary
- Orders to Kill · Mrs. Summers
- Tony Awards · Self
- The Alcoa Hour · Esther Crampton
- Playwrights '56
- Film Fun · (archive footage)
- The Night of the Hunter · Rachel Cooper
- The Cobweb · Victoria Inch
- The Trip to Bountiful · Carrie Watts
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars · Grandma Moses
- Robert Montgomery Presents
- Portrait of Jennie · Mother Mary of Mercy
- The Philco Television Playhouse · Abby, Narrator
- The Ed Sullivan Show · Self
- Duel in the Sun · Laura Belle McCanles
- Miss Susie Slagle's · Miss Susie Slagle
- Top Man · Beth Warren
- Commandos Strike at Dawn · Mrs. Bergesen
- His Double Life · Alice Chalice
- The Movie Album · (archive footage)
- One Romantic Night · Princess Alexandra
- The Wind · Letty
- The Enemy · Pauli Arndt
- Annie Laurie · Annie Laurie
- The Scarlet Letter · Hester Prynne
- La Bohème · Mimi