Inventory of the Lillian Gish Papers, 1909-1992 *T-Mss 1996-011
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Inventory of the Lillian Gish Papers, 1909-1992 *T-Mss 1996-011; *ZC-591 Billy Rose Theatre Division The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts New York, New York The Billy Rose Theatre Division. New York Public Library. 40 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY 10023-7498 (212) 870-1639 [email protected] http://nypl.org/research/lpa/the/the.html Processed by: Mary Ellen Rogan and Susan McArthur Date Completed: November 1999 Encoded by: Mary Ellen Rogan Encoding of the finding aid sponsored by grant funding from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. ©2001 The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Lillian Gish Papers, 1909-1992. Collection ID: *T-Mss 1996-011 : *ZC-591 Extent: 75 linear feet (119 boxes; 33 scrapbooks; 10 reels microfilm) Repository: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Billy Rose Theatre Division. Administrative Information Access: Collection is open to the public. Photocopying prohibited. Boxes 1 thru 10 available on microfilm only (*ZC-591). Publication For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division. Rights: Preferred Lillian Gish Papers, *T-Mss 1996-011, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Citation: Public Library for the Performing Arts Biographical Note Lilllian Gish, legendary star of the silent film era, was born in Springfield, Ohio in 1893. Although best known as one of the earliest stars of the nascent film industry, Lillian Gish began as a child trouper on the stage with her sister Dorothy and their mother. At the age of five, she made her first appearance in a melodrama In Convict Stripes. A chance meeting in 1912 with another child actress Gladys Smith, who became world renowned as Mary Pickford, brought her and Dorothy to the attention of D. W. Griffith, a pioneering director in silent film days. She soon became his leading star, achieving stardom in his productions of Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), and most notably in Orphans of the Storm (1922), playing opposite her sister Dorothy. She was the perfect Griffith heroine, revealing a strong will and intelligence under a fragile, almost ethereal exterior. She parted company with Griffith over a salary dispute, later joining MGM in 1925. One of the few stars to have control over story and director, Gish made only two successful movies at MGM, La Bohéme and The Scarlet Letter. Overshadowed by the rising prominence of Greta Garbo, she left MGM and made a few films as an independent. She then decided to return to the Broadway stage and found the right vehicle in director Jed Harris's production of Uncle Vanya in 1930. Her success in the play led to other starring roles, among them Ophelia opposite John Gielgud in the 1936 production of Hamlet. Thereafter, she never lacked for roles on Broadway and worked steadily as a stage actress until 1973. In 1968, she suffered a personal blow when her sister Dorothy, with whom she was extremely close throughout her life, died. From time to time, she returned to the movies and also appeared on television from the 1950s to the 1970s, making her final appearance on screen in the movie The Whales of August in 1987. In 1970, she was awarded a special Oscar for her lifetime contributions to motion pictures. Lillian Gish died in 1993 in her hundredth year. She recorded the account of her life in Life and Lillian Gish (1932), The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me (1969) and Dorothy and Lillian Gish (1973). Chronology of Selected Events in the life of Lillian Gish 10/14/1893 Lillian Gish born 1912 Met and started working for D. W. Griffith 1914 Judith of Bethulia ; Folly of Anne 1915 Birth of a Nation 1916 Intolerance 1917 Travels to Europe to film British propaganda film Hearts of the World 1918 Hearts of the World 1919 Broken Blossoms 1920 Directs her first film Remodeling Her Husband 1920 Way Down East 1922 Orphans of the Storm 1923 The White Sister 1924 Romola 1924-1925 Lawsuit with Charles Duell and Inspiration Pictures 1926 La Bohème 1930 Albert Bigelow Paine is contracted to write Lillian Gish biography 1932 Camille 1936 Hamlet 1939 Life With Father 1947 Duel in the Sun 1948 Mary (Mae) Gish dies 1955 Night of the Hunter 1957 Opening of Congress Hall in Berlin - special ANTA performance starring Lillian Gish and many others 1960 The Unforgiven 1965 Romeo and Juliet - American Shakespeare Festival 1966 Contracts with Disney for Follow Me! Boys 1967 Worked on The Comedians in Africa 1968 Dorothy Gish dies 1968-1979 Lecture tour Lillian Gish and the Movies 1969 The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me published 1970 Receives Oscar for lifetime work in motion pictures 1973 Dorothy and Lillian Gish published 1987 Whales of August 1993 Lillian Gish dies Scope and Content Note The Lillian Gish papers (75 lf.) span the years 1909-1992 and consist of correspondence including letters from friends, family, fans and business associates, personal papers, business, legal and financial documents, scripts, writings, photographs including early D.W. Griffith silent film photographs both candid shots taken during shooting and film stills, portraits by famous photographers, personal and family photographs, publicity and production photographs and snapshots, scrapbooks on the careers of both Dorothy and Lillian Gish, programs for early silent films and theatrical productions, clippings and ephemera that document the life and career of Lillian and Dorothy Gish from the early 1900's until Lillian's death in 1993. The collection contains information about the personal and professional lives of both the Gish sisters and many biographical bits of information about their family and friends as well. The papers are valuable documentation not only for the early days of film and the theater of the 20th century, but also for the broad scope of friends and acquaintances who corresponded regularly with Lillian Gish and influenced all aspects of 20th century life, history and culture. Gish's correspondents included statesmen, writers, ambassadors, housewives, professors, critics, playwrights, actors, producers, directors, photographers, soldiers, children and students. The materials in the collection document broad aspects of 20th century social history including politics, current events, journalism, performing arts, daily life and culture. Missing from the collection is any significant correspondence from George Jean Nathan. The correspondence series, containing approximately 10,000 letters, not only gives an intimate view of the theater and film industries of the 20th century but also reveals the variety of relationships in her life including friend, sister, film idol and professional colleague. In her personal correspondence there are not only letters from her childhood friend, Nell Dorr, but also her replies to Nell, which were likely returned to her after Nell Dorr's death. Similarly, there is a series of letters from Laura McCullaugh, a long-time friend of Lillian and Dorothy who was Dorothy's companion in Rapallo, Italy until her death in 1968. Other correspondents include: George Abbott, James Abbe, Rodney Ackland, Mary Astor, Brooke Astor, Brooks Atkinson, Hugh "Binkie" Beaumont, Romney Brent, Kevin Brownlow, Huntington Cairns, Ronald Colman, Katharine Cornell, Noel Coward, Nell Dorr, Douglas Fairbanks, John Gielgud, Dorothy Gish, Peter Glenville, Ruth Gordon, Helen Hayes, Lucy and Nathan Kroll, Emmet Lavery, James MacArthur, Maurice Maeterlinck, Sir Ian Malcolm, H.L. Menken, Una Merkel, Colleen Moore, George Jean Nathan, Sean and Eileen O'Casey, Eugene and Carlotta O'Neill, Albert Bigelow Paine, Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers, Cyril Ritchard, Herb Sterne, Gloria Vanderbilt, Edward Wagenknecht, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams and Alexander Woollcott, among others. The personal papers include appointment books and notebooks; biographical materials, including testimonials to Lillian Gish and family genealogical data; personal data including dress size and phone and address lists; medical papers; Dorothy's Gish estate papers. Other items included are inspirational writings and invitations including 2 inaugural invitations from Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. Legal and financial papers contain information on her real estate matters in New York, Masillion, Ohio and California. Included in the legal files are the papers dealing with the breach of contract lawsuit filed against her by Charles Duell and Inspiration Pictures in 1924. The photograph series, over 4000 items, is a large part of the collection and contains photographs pertaining to the life and careers of both Lillian and Dorothy Gish. There are many portrait photographs done by well known artists such as James Abbe, Charles Albin, Kenneth Alexander, Apeda Studios, Cecil Beaton, Nell Dorr, John Engstead, Friedman-Abeles, Hartsook, Roddy McDowall, Ben Pinchot, Maurice Seymour, Talbot, Vandamm, Edward Steichen, Carl Van Vechten, White Studios and Witzel, among others. Production photographs include a large collection of photographs of her days with D.W. Griffith and the silent film era as well as photographs of theatrical and other film roles. Some titles include: Her First False Step, An Unseen Enemy (1912), The Saving Grace (1914), The Birth of a Nation (1915), Enoch Arden (1915), The Lily and the Rose (1915), Daphne and the Pirate (1916), Intolerance (1916), Sold for Marriage (1916), Hearts of the World (1918), Broken Blossoms (1919), I'll Get Him Yet (1919), Peppy Polly (1919), Flying Pat (1920), Way Down East (1920), Orphans of the Storm (1922), The White Sister (1923), Romola (1924), La Bohème (1926), The Scarlet Letter (1926), Nell Gwyn (1926), Annie Laurie (1927), Tip Toes (1927), The Enemy (1928), The Wind (1928), One Romantic Night (1930), Camille (1932), Hamlet (1936), Life with Father (1939- 1940), Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), The Magnificent Yankee (1946), Duel in the Sun (1947), Trip to Bountiful (1953), The Cobweb (1955), Night of the Hunter (1955), The Unforgiven (1960) and Uncle Vanya (1973), among others.