Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 â€" February 27, 1993) was an
American pioneering actress of the screen and stage, and a director
and writer. Her film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in
silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called "The First Lady of
American Cinema", and is credited with pioneering fundamental film
performance techniques.Gish was a prominent film star from 1912 into
the 1920s, being particularly associated with the films of director D.
W. Griffith. This included her leading role in the highest-grossing
film of the silent era, Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). At
the dawn of the sound era, she returned to the stage and appeared in
film infrequently, including well-known roles in the controversial
western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the thriller The Night of the
Hunter (1955).She also did considerable television work from the early
1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing opposite Bette
Davis in the 1987 film The Whales of August. During her later years
Gish became a dedicated advocate for the appreciation and preservation
of silent film. Despite being better known for her film work, she was
also accomplished on stage, and was inducted into the American Theater
Hall of Fame in 1972.
American pioneering actress of the screen and stage, and a director
and writer. Her film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in
silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called "The First Lady of
American Cinema", and is credited with pioneering fundamental film
performance techniques.Gish was a prominent film star from 1912 into
the 1920s, being particularly associated with the films of director D.
W. Griffith. This included her leading role in the highest-grossing
film of the silent era, Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). At
the dawn of the sound era, she returned to the stage and appeared in
film infrequently, including well-known roles in the controversial
western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the thriller The Night of the
Hunter (1955).She also did considerable television work from the early
1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing opposite Bette
Davis in the 1987 film The Whales of August. During her later years
Gish became a dedicated advocate for the appreciation and preservation
of silent film. Despite being better known for her film work, she was
also accomplished on stage, and was inducted into the American Theater
Hall of Fame in 1972.
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