Lillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life

In my circles, many people plainy state that Cameron Diaz and Cameron Manheim are the two actresses that if fused together and a wholly new being was created, would not resemble Lillian Gish whatsoever. Of that I do concur. What I won't buy into is the way my neighbor Jenny Tillis, says that Lillian was not even the strongest performer in the Gish family. Apparently, though I've never read any corroborating evidence, Lillian's Uncle Dolph could suck the cork out of a wine bottle while tight rope walking between two buildings. It's rumored he walked on the tightrope from Big Ben in London all the way to the Eifel Tower in Paris ... uncorking wine bottles the whole way. There's also talk of an "out of wedlock" brother named Klaus who joined the navy and later rode a unicycle while juggling kittens -- he later became spokesman and treasurer for the UAWJK (Unicycling Artists Who Juggle Kittens) raising funds to buy fresh kittens and creating a pension fund for retired and out of work guild members.

This is a very informative and exceedingly well-researched biography on one of the first ladies of the American cinema. Lillian Gish lived for just 8 months shy of one hundred years, from 1893 till 1993, and began acting in 1902, turning in her last role in 1987. She literally grew up with the movies, and got a chance to act on the stage, the big screen, and the small screen, touring with some great plays, starring in classic films and tv movies, and being directed by some seminal film directors. For the most part, she was a top-notch class act who lived her life free of major scandal, although, as Mr. Affron establishes, she was not without flaws either. Like many other people in show business, Lillian lied about a good many things about her life, such as her age, the true cause of her mother's health problems, the true extent of her relationships with Charles H. Duell, Jr. and George Jean Nathan, and the fact that there was never any unhappy ending in the script of 'The Wind,' nor is there evidence that the so-called unhappy ending was the original ending they shot. However, it's made clear that she didn't lie about any of these things with malicious intent, and she never lied about or covered up anything really serious or scandalous. These were just the types of lies that most celebrities tell, to preserve a certain public image, or to reinvent themselves so their images are more in line with the images the public have cast them in. As for the other less than perfect aspects of Lillian's life, I didn't get at all what other people have mentioned, a snide, negative, haughty, or even outright mean tone Mr. Affron took towards his subject. It's not necessarily a personal attack to criticise someone for some admittedly embarrassing and questionable aspects of her life, such as her activism for the controversial right-wing group America First in the years leading up to WWII. As Mr. Affron points out, some of Lillian's views, such as those concerning the arts, stood in striking contrast to the views of most other Republicans. He also has a valid point in taking her to task for her at best questionable lifelong defence of 'Birth of a Nation,' pointing out how her paternalistic racial views, while clearly the product of her time, didn't really change over her life, and how it seems incomprehensible how she couldn't grasp why so many people felt the film was horrifically racist. He also points out how her defence of her mentor D.W. Griffith was so strong and knee-jerk that she even suggested that one of his lost films, which had somewhat more enlightened depictions of African-Americans, was lost on purpose because people didn't want the public to see he had been capable of making non-racist films as well. It's all good and well to stand by your mentor, the person who really discovered you and nurtured your talent, but it's not without merit to point out how sometimes her defence of Griffith was just embarrassing. I also didn't pick up on w

This book is fantastic! I have always thought that Miss Gish was a great performer and one of the most beautiful actresses ever, but it turns out she was a pretty smart cookie (except in the romance department) and lead a very interesting life. Book reviewer Richard Schickel has given this book a bad review. He is all hot and bothered in that Gish was not very truthful about her life (like umpteen other famous movie stars) and he apparently doesn't like her "proper", chaste, Victorian-era image. The author, Charles Affron, had access to many of her personal papers, including may personal letters that she wrote. While Affron may knock her off her pedestal a little bit, it is only because she was a real person who sometimes made mistakes.Gish fibbed about all kinds of things like her birthdate, her engagement, and the cause of her mother's stroke. The famed "happy" ending of THE WIND was actually in Francis Marion's script, not a late addition forced by the studio like Gish claimed so much later. She chose to "forget" or not mention all kind of things like her personal relationship with D.W. Griffith (which was probably not sexual anyway) and the fact that she didn't always get along with her sister Dorothy.Gish's image (which was still close to her actual personality, even if some of the details were not true) really hurt her in the 1920's when the fan magazines turned against her and MGM didn't know what kind of vehicle would be right for her.She seems to have been the only woman (or person) who could stand up to Griffith when it came to artistic decisions. She certainly was an artistic force to be reckoned with, and the loss of her lone direction credit REMODELING HER HUSBAND (1920) seems worse now that I have read the book.The only disappointment for me was that Affron did not spend as much time analyzing her films as he should have. While other reviewers have complained that Affron unfairly criticizes Gish for being a Victorian and a Republican, I do not feel that his comments about BIRTH OF A NATION and her politics are unwarranted.If you are interested in Lillian Gish, D.W. Griffith, and silent films in general, this book is highly recommended.

Quite simply: a terrific book, and one of the most insightful "Hollywood" biographies ever. Affron brings Gish to life in these pages, recapturing the lost glamor of the silent screen era and a vanished American sensibility. Affron is a critic both learned and discerning ... it's a pleasure to watch him think on the page. Any one with any interest in Gish, D.W. Griffith or silent cinema should own this book -- my highest recommendation.

Excellent, well-written and well-researched, by someone who is enough of a film scholar to be able to weigh Gish's individual performances (see also his excellent "Star Acting").No scandals here-she didn't really have any. A half-hearted affair or two and one lawsuit. The real emphasis is on her career and friendships, and her self-creation of the Lillian Gish Mythology. A lot I didn't know, and one of those books you just don't want to end. Not enough photos, perhaps-but I never think there's enough photos.