Lillian Gish: life and work

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Lillian Gish is one of the brightest actresses of the 20th century, selflessly serving her muse for 75 years. Beautiful, versatile, hard-working, sincerely loving life and her profession - that's all about her. With her passionate, tireless nature, Lillian Gish has determined a bright, original destiny for herself.

Family

Lillian was born back in 1893. Two girls grew up in the family: the eldest - Lillian and the youngest - Dorothy. Mother, Mary Gish, did not experience family happiness. The father, a grocer, drank, often did not appear at home, and soon left his wife and daughters altogether. Mary had to feed herself and the girls on her own. However, the children helped as much as they could: from childhood they tried themselves in the acting field. For Lillian Gish, Dorothy was the second half, she sincerely loved her, the sisters often worked in pairs.

For the rest of her life, her mother and sister will remain her family - the actress did not marry, she had no children.

Personality

Lillian Gish amazingly combined femininity, fragility, grace with a strong, strong-willed character that allowed her to work tirelessly and achieveset goals.

Her dizzying career was not without effort: even in her early youth, in order to achieve success, she intensively trained the facial muscles of the face, worked on the plasticity of the body. Feelings are not as easy to convey in silent films as they are in sound films. This requires a lively temperament, bright individualism, passion. The combination of incredible efforts and innate charisma brought Lillian real fame at the beginning of the 20th century. Her passionate human nature showed through her amazing devotion to the people she loved, including her sister and career director David Griffith, and even his wife.

Career

Lillian's artistic talent made itself felt early - her first performance came at the age of five. Then there was work in a traveling theater. And, finally, the meeting that determined her acting fate - Lillian, along with Dorothy, were recommended to David Griffith, an original director, a silent film revolutionary. His merit was that he switched the attention of the viewer from the events taking place on the screen to the actor, his image, game, facial expressions. Lillian, with her bright charisma, suited Griffith perfectly. The debut of their collaboration was the film "The Invisible Enemy", which was filmed in 1912.

Lillian became a silent movie star. During her record-breaking acting career, the actress starred in many films. In the early period of her work, most of them are melodramas shot by David Griffith (in 1921 "Orphans of the Storm", in 1919"Intolerance" and "Broken Shoots" and others), in many she starred with her sister Dorothy. The genre of melodrama was the best fit for Lillian's passionate nature.

Active professional collaboration with Griffith continued until 1920, but friendship with this amazing man and his family did not stop until David's death. He died in 1948.

Gish's active nature was not enough just to act in films, to be a prima only in this field, she wanted more. During her long life, Lillian worked as a director, as a screenwriter she proved herself on radio and television.

On the advice of Griffith, in 1920 she made her own film - "Modeling her own husband", which, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. Also, according to Lillian's script, films were shot: "The Most Important Thing in Life", "Silver Shine".

Lillian loved the theater because her acting career started there. After a long break spent on her film career, she returned to the theater again - in 1928, she played many roles, the most striking in the performances of Crime and Punishment, The Lute Song, and The Threepenny Opera. Lillian Gish did not part with the theater anymore - she successfully worked there until the end of her days.

Of course, cinema remained Lillian's main passion - after collaborating with David Griffith, she starred in more than fifty films by other directors. Gish did not fully agree with the concept of sound incinema, considered it superfluous, interfering with the perception of the image on the screen. Lillian Gish's films are as flawless as ever, but the former glory is gone. This did not stop her from getting an Oscar for one of her works - she played in the movie "Duel in the Sun".

Old age and death

David Griffith died in 1948, later died beloved sister Dorothy, in 1968. Lillian outlived everyone she loved so much, but at the same time she did not lose her stamina, love of life, desire to be needed. Lillian wrote a book about her life, Cinema, Griffith and Me, whose title alone makes it clear what priorities she set as she looks back on her path. Lillian Gish has aged beautifully, and few people have. Her last film work was the role in the film "Whales of August", the actress at the time of filming was 93 years old.

This great woman died in 1993, a few months before her centenary. The entire biography of Lillian Gish is closely connected with the development of cinema, with her films she left her bright, unforgettable mark in the hearts of her viewers.