Diplomat Jim Patterson Celebrates Actress Lillian Gish at Gish Prize 2015 at The Public Theater NYU

Celebrating with friends, old and new, at the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize 2015 ceremony at The Public Theater, NYU. In past years, the event has been held at the Museum of Modern Art.

The recipient this year was playwright Suzan-Lori Parks who received a check for $300,000 and  a medal. The program included a dramatization from "Topdog/Underdog" and a musical performance by Parks and friend.

As a young woman Lillian had a bout of anemia and her physician prescribed an occasional red wine. Fearing a recurrence, she often favored red wine at events. She had a glass in a dramatic scene in her last film "The Whales of August."

Lillian's roles included Elsie Stoneman in "The Birth of a Nation," Lucy Burrows in "Broken Blossoms," Anna Moore in "Way Down East," Mrs. Cooper, the protectress of abused Depression-era children in Charles Laughton's 1955 "The Night of the Hunter,"  and the ever patient Sarah in "The Whales of August."

Lillian's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is only feet away from Charles Laughton and "Night of the Hunter" co-star Shelly Winters.

Jim Patterson
www.LDGish.blogspot.com

(Photo Courtesy The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette< New York.)