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Birth
Lillian was the oldest of two daughters. Her sister was Dorothy Gish. Her father was a drunkard and was not present for much of their lives. He was in and out of their lives. 'Traveling Business man'. Her birthday is not confirmed because she was said to have changed the date to be able to work at a younger age. Born in Springfield, Ohio. -
Period: to
Lillian Gish Life
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Dorothys Birth
Lillian and her younger sister were very close, being that it was mainly just them and their mother for the majority of their lives. They had an age gap of about 5 years. -
Stage Debut
Lillians stage debut was made with a preformance of 'The Little Red School House'. From 1903-1904 she toured in 'Her First Step' with her mother and sister Dorothy. -
An Unseen Enemy
An Unseen Enemy was Lillians first film ever. She starred in it alongside her sister Dorothy. D.W. Griffith directed this movie and would go on to direct for Lillian for 13 more years. -
The Birth of a Nation
(this was the date of the US release) The Birth of a Nation was Lillians breakthrough into widespread recognition. This movie is now very controvetial and was even controvetial at the time. It caused race-riotts and contributed to the revival of the KKK. -
Flu Pandemic
During the 1918 flu pandemic Gish caught the flu during the filming of 'Broken Blossoms'. -
Remodeling Her Husband
Remodeling Her Husband was the first and only movie that Lillian directed. Her sister Dorothy starred in it. No coppies are known to have survived. -
Work with MGM
Lillian reluctantly ended her career working with D.W. Griffith to take a higher paying offer from MGM. Driffith actually supported this because he knew she should take the better paying job and he could not pay her nearly enough to even compete with them. Gish actually told them to use some of the money to give her films a higher quality rather than pay her that much money. -
The Beginning of Talkies (The Jazz Singer)
Lillian Gish was one of the few actresses who was able to continue her acting carrer because her voice sounded good on audio and matched her, as many acters and actresses lost their careers at this time because talkies did not work with them. -
Split from MGM
Greta Garbo had taken over the position of MGM's leading lady, causing Lillians contract with them to end. -
Mothers Death
Lillian and her mother were very close, due to her father being absent a lot her mother raised her and her sister on her own. Because of her father being the way he was, her mother taught the girls not to trust men and be self reliant. -
Sisters Death
Lillian and her sister acted together while working with D.W. Griffith, though her sister mainly did comedies while Lillian mainly stuck to melodramas. -
The Whales of August
The Whales of August was Lillians last movie. She starred in this movie with Bette Davis. -
Death
Lillian died in her sleep. She has one of the longest acting careers inclusing her time acting in the theatre. She lived to be 99 years young.
