Lillian Gish
Born
October 14, 1893
Died
February 27, 1993 (99 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Springfield, Ohio, USA
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
The Flapper
(archive footage)
2021
I Am Not a Racist
Elsie
2019
The Women Who Run Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
2016
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
2014
Night Hunter
2011
Sigrid Holmquist
Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)
2010
Early Directors on Directing
Self
2009
Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies
Self (archive footage)
2008
Cannes: All Access
Self (archive footage)
2007
D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913
2002
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
Lucy - The Girl (archive footage)
1998
Moving Pictures: 'The Night of the Hunter'
Self
1995
Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me
Herself, Archive footage
1988
The Whales of August
Sarah Webber
1987
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
1987
Sweet Liberty
Cecelia Burgess
1986
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mrs Loftus
1986
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
Self (archive footage)
1986
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
1985
Lillian Gish
Self
1984
Hobson's Choice
Miss Molly Winkle
1983
Hambone and Hillie
Hillie Radcliffe
1983
Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982
Thin Ice
Grandmother
1981
Hollywood
Self · (13 episodes)
1980
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self · (1 episode)
1978
A Wedding
Nettie Sloan
1978
The Love Boat
Mrs. Williams · (1 episode)
1977
Twin Detectives
Billy Jo Haskins
1976
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
1975
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · (2 episodes)
1973
Langlois
Self
1970
Arsenic and Old Lace
Martha Brewster
1969
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1968
The Comedians
Mrs. Smith
1967
The Comedians in Africa
Self (uncredited)
1967
Warning Shot
Alice Willows
1967
Lionpower from MGM
1967
Follow Me, Boys!
Hetty Seibert
1966
Mrs. Winchester's House
Narrator
1963
Mr. Novak
Maude Phipps · (1 episode)
1963
The Great Chase
1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Bessie Carnby · (1 episode)
1962
The Spiral Staircase
Mrs. Warren
1961
The Defenders
Louisa Clarendon · (1 episode)
1961
The Defenders
Mrs. Cooper · (1 episode)
1961
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Self (archive footage)
1961
The Unforgiven
Mattilda Zachary
1960
Orders to Kill
Mrs. Summers
1958
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Award Accepter · (1 episode)
1956
The Alcoa Hour
Esther Crampton · (1 episode)
1955
Playwrights '56
(1 episode)
1955
Film Fun
(archive footage)
1955
The Night of the Hunter
Rachel Cooper
1955
The Cobweb
Victoria Inch
1955
The Trip to Bountiful
Carrie Watts
1953
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Grandma Moses · (1 episode)
1951
Robert Montgomery Presents
(2 episodes)
1950
Portrait of Jennie
Mother Mary of Mercy
1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Abby · (1 episode)
1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Narrator · (1 episode)
1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Carrie Watts · (1 episode)
1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948
Duel in the Sun
Laura Belle McCanles
1946
Miss Susie Slagle's
Miss Susie Slagle
1946
Top Man
Beth Warren
1943
Commandos Strike at Dawn
Mrs. Bergesen
1942
His Double Life
Alice Chalice
1933
One Romantic Night
Princess Alexandra
1930
The Wind
Letty
1928
The Enemy
Pauli Arndt
1927
Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie
1927
The Scarlet Letter
Hester Prynne
1927
La Bohème
Mimi
1926
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
1925
Romola
Romola
1924
The White Sister
Angela Chiaromonte
1923
From Farm to Fame
Lillian Gish
1922
Orphans of the Storm
Henriette Girard
1921
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
Herself
1921
Way Down East
Anna Moore
1920
The Greatest Question
Nellie Jarvis
1919
True Heart Susie
Susie May Trueheart
1919
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
Lucy Burrows
1919
A Romance of Happy Valley
Jennie Timberlake
1919
The Greatest Thing in Life
Jeannette Peret
1918
Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal
1918
The Great Love
Susie Broadplains
1918
Hearts of the World
The Girl - Marie Stephenson
1918
Souls Triumphant
Lillian Vale
1917
The House Built Upon Sand
Evelyn Dare
1916
The Children Pay
Millicent
1916
Diane of the Follies
Diane
1916
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle
1916
An Innocent Magdalene
Dorothy Raleigh
1916
Sold for Marriage
Marfa
1916
Daphne and the Pirate
Daphne La Tour
1916
Pathways of Life
1916
The Lily and the Rose
Mary Randolph
1915
Captain Macklin
Beatrice
1915
Enoch Arden
Annie Lee
1915
The Lost House
Dosia Dale
1915
The Birth of a Nation
Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
1915
His Lesson
Participant in Mob Scene (uncredited)
1915
The Sisters
May
1914
The Folly of Anne
Anne
1914
The Tear That Burned
Anita - the Truant
1914
Man's Enemy
Grace Lisle
1914
The Angel of Contention
Nettie - the Angel
1914
The Rebellion of Kitty Belle
Kitty Belle
1914
Lord Chumley
Eleanor Butterworth
1914
Home, Sweet Home
Payne's Sweetheart
1914
The Quicksands
1914
The Hunchback
The Orphan - as an Adult
1914
The Battle of the Sexes
Jane Andrews, the daughter
1914
Judith of Bethulia
The Young Mother
1914
The Green-Eyed Devil
Mary Miller
1914
A Duel for Love
1914
The Conscience of Hassan Bey
The Rugmaker's Daughter
1913
The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
Melissa Harlow
1913
The Blue or the Gray
1913
Madonna of the Storm
The Mother
1913
So Runs the Way
Fred's Wife
1913
A Modest Hero
The Wife
1913
A Woman in the Ultimate
Verda
1913
An Indian's Loyalty
The Ranchero's Daughter
1913
During the Round-Up
The Ranchero's Daughter
1913
The Mothering Heart
The Wife
1913
A Timely Interception
The Farmer's Daughter
1913
Just Gold
The First Brother's Sweetheart
1913
The House of Darkness
The Nurse
1913
The Lady and the Mouse
The First Sister
1913
The Left-Handed Man
The Old Soldier's Daughter
1913
A Misunderstood Boy
The Daughter
1913
The Little Tease
Girl in bandana
1913
The Stolen Bride
1913
The Unwelcome Guest
At Auction (uncredited)
1913
Oil and Water
In First Audience (uncredited)
1913
A Cry for Help
The Maid
1912
The Burglar’s Dilemma
Birthday Wellwisher
1912
The New York Hat
Customer in Shop / Outside Church
1912
Brutality
At Theatre
1912
The Informer
Walk on role
1912
My Baby
1912
Gold and Glitter
The Young Woman
1912
The Musketeers of Pig Alley
The Little Lady
1912
The Painted Lady
Belle at Ice Cream Festival
1912
The One She Loved
1912
In the Aisles of the Wild
The Younger Daughter
1912
So Near, Yet So Far
A Friend
1912
Two Daughters of Eve
In Theatre Crowd
1912
An Unseen Enemy
Eldest Sister
1912