Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-11-11
THE REAL LILLIAN GlSH


IT would be terribly nervous were
I to become a star and be exploited
everywhere. So much is expected OF
a star, for the public is Of such ex-
acting and changing tastes. Forum
ately for me, my experiences have
been Of the most pleasant kind ana
people have been good enough to say
many nice and encouraging things
about my work In Broken Blossoms +"
Thus spoke Miss Lillian Gish-the
real Lillian >Gish. And to show the
simplicity of her taste and the modesty
Of her wishes, she was induced TO
speak Of her work under D. w. GIRL
ffith's direction, work that found Its
first real expression in 1.-THE Birth
of a Nation" and which has been
watched by devoted public thru
numerous other Griffith productions
and is soon to be seen so splendidly
in that remarkable art sensation
"Broken Blossomsn at the Strand
Theater.
"Mr. Griffith trains all Of his play
ers how not to act. That Is the very
first thing he insists upon. We must
movethru our parts just as we would
in real life. There must be no arti-
fetal expressions and no posing. Mr..
Griffith teaches that to express an
emotion you must feel it; then the ex-
preston will be reah Mr. Griffith IS
a dreamer who makes his dreams come
true, and his ideals Of truth ana
beauty are conta gious. 1t is more diff
ficult not to understand him than 1t
is to understand him. His very SIM
plicity of method and his quiet dir
ection make for complete harmony be-
tween his players and himself"
Next to her admiration for Mr.. Grit
fifth and her love Of her work In the
films, Miss Gish is devoted to her
library and her treasured books. With
her mother and sister Dorothy she
lives in a pretty white house in Holly
wood, Los Angeles. and. spends her
hours away from the studio in reading
and motoring. ~ pa ftT
Very few motion picture fans know
that It was Mrs. Mary Gish, mother
of the two popular Gish sisters, VINO
paved the way for her daughters to
become prominent in the world OF the
movies. Mrs. Gish was left a widow
in Baltimore when she was but twen-
ty-three years of age. Some months
after the husband and father had pas
sed away Mrs. Gish was in New York.
She had her two girls with her, tiny
little blondes with curly locks, and it
soon became problem what should be
done for their support. One day a
friend of hers mentioned a popular
stock company. .-.Why don't you try for
something there?'' the friend asked.
Mrs. Gish was astonished. II never
have been on the stage" she respond
ed. "That doesn't matter" was the
assurance: "all you need is the job"
The result Of 1t was that Mrs. Gish
applied for the lob" and, Of all wond-
ers to her, she was accepted. From a
very humble beginning she was adj
vanced to better parts, and her work
provided good living for herself and
her little golden aired daughters.
+ But a very few years after that
the beautiful little. Gish sisters were
taken to the old Biograph studio in
Street, New York, by none
other than our own Mary Pickford, a
The first picture In which
they appeared was called IAN Unseen
Enemy" It was a ''two-reeler" and
the cast included Grace Henderson, Ell
mer Booth (now dead), Harry Carey
and young Robert Harron, now . Grit
fifth star. One critic wrote: ''the two
little girls are not ACTRESSES. but they
are in good place to learn acting"
And that prophecy has been fulfilled.