Lillian Gish Interview (November 15, 1973)

Discussed: The Birth of a Nation, Gish is promoting her latest book, a photo book, titled Dorothy and Lillian Gish, and she talks about her films WAY DOWN EAST and BIRTH OF A NATION, D.W. Griffith, Walt Disney, her debut on the stage, how young people of 1973 are now her fans from seeing silents on tv and in silent film theaters.
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 - February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director and screenwriter. 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. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gish as the 17th greatest female movie star of classic Hollywood cinema.
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). Her other major films and performances from the silent era are: Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), Orphans of the Storm (1921), La Bohème (1926), and The Wind (1928).
At the dawn of the sound era, she returned to the stage and appeared in film infrequently, including well-known leading roles in the western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the thriller The Night of the Hunter (1955). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the former. Gish also had major supporting roles in Portrait of Jennie (1948), A Wedding (1978) and Sweet Liberty (1986).
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.[4] In 1971, she was awarded an Academy Honorary Award for her career achievements. She was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor for her contribution to American culture through performing arts in 1982.

[@kathyh4804]

I loved this interview! If only actors had the same elegance, grace and class today and the movies weren’t such garbage we wouldn’t have such a destroyed society

[@costernocht]

Jim Whaley was just 44 when he died of a heart attack in 1992. What a loss. Such a intelligent, respectful interviewer.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Agreed.

[@Pedroism]

And one yr later in 93 Leilani gish die at age 93

[@costernocht]

@@Pedroism That's right!! Good call.

[@RyanHLee-nc7hg]

@@PedroismShe was 99 when she died in 1993.

[@liammadden4383]

So sad about Jim Whaley, he died so young. I've tried to find about him and no info on the Internet about him. His interviews are great. Lilian Gish was amazing!

[@Pink_143_6]

She’s airily all around similar to Bette Davis. What a legend she was. Silent movies fascinated me.

[@MoradMoazami]

Thank you for keeping history alive.

[@jazminratzlaff5357]

Forever the original unique iconic legendary superstar siblings of true theatre and cinema, Lillian and Dorothy Gish. Adore these two so much. Love that this interview is shot in black and white, just the like classic timeless silent film era. Love that she mentions D.W. Griffith and Walt Disney. Two great extraordinary gentlemen that we can all learn from, especially through creativity, longevity and professionalism. Love her hair here and her dress. Such a lovely, charming and courteous lady and luminous but sassy goddess. Thank you so much for this treat, to watch over and over again.

[@YangGor]

. . . and the gloves

[@GeorgeKenmore]

This is truly fascinating. Thank you for posting this. I've never heard of this show or the host -- who is a true gentleman in the way that he conducts this respectful and insightful interview of an American icon.

[@johnfd0210]

Miss Gish was a lady, in the truest sense of the word. Thank you so much for posting this.

[@amberelizabethpearce]

Ahh i just love her

[@marcellogenesi6390]

She was the most beautiful of them all, and still looks beautiful in the interview.

[@sodality3970]

This is such a beautiful interview , and so applicable to today .

[@GR8FLMD3AD]

Lillian Gish had so many bad/good experiences from such a young age that she exudes a professorial vibe. She's great at bringing things back down to basics. Thank you for sharing!

[@dianemadir5710]

Lilliam Gish is adorable, and a consummate actress right through to The Whales of August in 1987.

[@sammyrnaj]

What a lady! So interesting, charming, intelligent, & with a memory as sharp as a whip. Her diction is so clear. Her voice is commanding. Her gloves so elegant. In short, she's a jewel. Women are no longer ladies or feminine. This was a refreshing interview for our time (circa 2024).❤🎉

[@iicjguitar0416]

October 14, 1893 - February 27, 1993 (aged 99 years, 4 months, 13 days)

[@TroyBrooksPainter]

What a delight.

[@leeinvegas]

A class act gone with the wind . Today’s actors could learn from her .

[@majkolsson7192]

When movie stars was real stars.

[@hazelwray4184]

when they 'were' real stars.

[@majkolsson7192]

@@hazelwray4184 "When"

[@sodality3970]

She was 80 years old here . DW Griffith was a great man indeed , so was Walt Disney .

[@NinjaGrrrl7734]

You're revering racists and fascists. That's pretty god damned disgusting.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Excellent interview. I’m in my late sixties and have finally gotten around to borrowing a DVD of “The Birth of a Nation” from my public library. One of the surprising things is the visual clarity of the film.

[@Gwen592-h3x]

A lovely lady that I happen to be related to❤

[@marilynwhite8763]

Books are titled. People are entitled.

[@deannalynn909]

Who is the man interviewing Ms Gish?

[@costernocht]

Jim Whaley, of Atlanta, who died at just 44 of a heart attack.

[@Dynamatrix2000]

If this was 1973 why is it in black and white?

[@direfranchement]

Not everyone had color tv then.

[@hazelwray4184]

Cable TV?

[@thomasmills339]

She was 80 years old here? She looks 60..

[@direfranchement]

She does not look 60! She looks her age of 80 years, but she was still mobile and not debilitated, and she dyed her hair.