Lillian Gish Foreword in Sounds for Silents (1970)

(Special photo courtesy Library of Congress) 

Sounds for Silents by Charles Hoffman with Foreword by Lillian Gish. The book was published in 1970 and includes a recording of "Musical backgrounds." Hoffman, of the Museum of Modern Art, wrote musical accompaniment for several silent films including The Birth of a  Nation. His "musical background" for that film, more accurately a portion of it, is included on the recording.

I am posting Miss Gish's 1-page foreword in an accompanying blog post. She wrote the foreword as her book, "The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me" was still very popular. At this time she was also touring with her "The Movies with Lillian Gish" lectures. Miss Gish, an excellent writer, made many contributions to books on cinema.

In the main, Hoffman's brief book is his account of developing music for silent films screened largely at the Museum of Modern Art. Miss Gish often attended these screenings and Hoffman states in his book that his "musical background" for one of her silent films, "Broken Blossoms," has Miss Gish's personal approval.

About Lillian's attendance of film showings at MoMA, staff told me she frequently arrived and departed on her own. She took a cab from her Sutton Place residence to MoMA's theater which was at a different location. I recall this whenever I see a "restored" version of one of her films at the new MoMA theater.

As I write this I am planning a trip to Cliff Island, Maine, for a family remembrance of "The Whales of August" Lillian's last film. I'll be posting photos, something I could not do 30 years ago.


Special Note: Mrs. Diana Serra Cary, known as Baby Peggy in the 1920s and the sole remaining silent film star, is signing books, photos and other memorabilia for fans as her time permits. Her 1924 "Captain January" was remade in 1936 with Shirley Temple.

In spring 2016 the US Postal Service issued a Shirley Temple Forever Stamp and Mrs. Cary is signing sheets of Temple stamps for fans and collectors. Mrs. Cary's address is 738 5th Avenue, Gustine CA 95344. Fans have had stamps printed (ShutterFly) with Baby Peggy's image for Mrs. Cary's autograph. Mrs. Cary's office charges signing fees, postage and handling for all orders.

Jim Patterson
Writer/Researcher/Speaker
www.LDGish.blogspot.com

Broken Blossoms September 3 2016 at Washington's National Gallery

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/calendar/film-programs/pantomimes/broken-blossoms.html

Broken Blossoms at Washington's National Gallery September 3 2016! See details at above link.

Jim Patterson, Editor
www.LDGish.blogspot.com

Lillian Gish Inducted in the Alabama Arts Hall of Fame

Drawing of Lillian from the program, April 1977.

The Alabama Arts Hall of Fame initiated in 1972 and by April 1977 the following artists had been inducted:

Marian Anderson, Tallulah Bankhead, The Barrymores, Katherine Cornell, William Levi Dawson, Agnes De Mille, William Faulkner, Anne Goldthwaite, Erskine Hawkins, Jerome Hines, Edward Hopper, Samuel Lowe, Nell Rankin, Carl Sandburg, Ted Shawn, Edward Steichen, Thomas Wolfe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ernest Hemingway, Harry warren, Special Awards Gina Bachauer and Katina Paxinou. Jim Note: Some of the artists were Alabamians, others had a connection with the state while others had no connection.

Alabama Hall of Fame Honorees, April 1977, were author F .Scott Fitzgerald, author and wife Zelda Fitzgerald, actress and author Lillian Diana Gish, film pioneer D.W. Griffith, and musician Hugh Martin. 

For the Sixth introductory ceremony ambassador’s dinner Festival of Arts, the Arts Hall of Fame Committee included William H. Robertson MD, Chair, Frank E. Boyd, Jr., Wayne Palmer, George Seibels, Henry F. Robert Sr., Elbert Watson.

 The event was held at the Birmingham Alabama Civic Center on April 16, 1977. 

 Select program notes: The brief on Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald listed “Flappers and Philosophies” in 1920?

 For Lillian, the program had some awkward language including this: "Work in the early films was arduous, hard and dangerous. There were no stunt men and Lillian Gish risked her life, limb and health for the sake of her art.”  The word "double" or "stunt professional," or "stunt woman" would have been preferable. 

 This statement: “Miss Gish is still very active and productive and maintains a lively interest in all of the arts.” Jim Note: It might have been necessary as Lillian was either 79 or 84 years old at the time. 

 Finally this: “She [Lillian Gish] is guest star on the Cunard liner, QE II this spring.” Jim Note: This might have been a sales pitch for Cunard. 

For Griffith, “The Arts Hall of Fame takes pride in making this posthumous award which will be received by his long time friend, coworker, and admirer, Miss Lillian Gish.” 

 Final note: The small black program is described as Small: 7 1/4 by 9 1/4 with 12 pages. No credit for the sketches of the award recipients. Lillian’s sketch appears on page 6. Almost  directly opposite is the sketch of admirer Griffith. Jim Note: It is as though they are looking at each other. If you close the pages they are face to face. By 1977 Griffith was nearly 30 years deceased. 

-30-

Writer and speaker Jim Patterson, a member of the California State Society, blogs on US actress Lillian Gish, 1912 to 1986.. 

A Sonnet for Lillian Gish But if the while I think of thee, sorrows end.

Sonnet  30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought

By William Shakespeare

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought

I summon up remembrance of things past,

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,

And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:

Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,

For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,

And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,

And moan th' expense of many a vanish'd sight;

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er

The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,

Which I new pay as if not paid before.

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.

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.)

Lillian Gish in Hat

"Time, which changes people, does not alter the image we have retained of them."



--- Marcel Proust

Gish Prize 2015

The 2015 Gish Prize goes to Suzan-Lori Parks. The announcement came this year on Lillian's birthday! Here is the link.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/14/arts/ap-us-gish-prize-suzan-lori-parks.html?_r=0