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The year 2021 in Gish: 

The year 2021 is the 100th anniversary of "Orphans of the Storm." Directed by D. W. Griffith, this French Revolution drama starred Lillian and Dorothy Gish. 

It's the 95th anniversary of Lillian's MGM film "The Scarlet Letter." 

It's the 55th anniversary of Lillian's 1966 Walt Disney film "Follow Me Boys" At this writing, surviving cast members include Vera Miles and Kurt Russell.    

Lillian Gish Survived the 1918 Spanish Flu by Jim Patterson

Lillian Gish survived the 1918 Spanish flu. 

Lillian Gish survived the 1918 Spanish flu estimated to have infected 500 million people. 

See pages 218-219 “The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me” Lillian Gish with Ann Pinchot 1969 Prentice Hall. She was stricken before the filming of “Broken Blossoms.”

“I soon realized that the walk home might be more than I could manage. I felt weak and dizzy. There were no benches on the street where I could rest, and several times I had to lie down—under bushes, behind a privet fence, anyplace out of sight os passersby—to regain enough strength to continue. My journey home took four hours. I managed to get into the house just before dark and literally crawled up the back stairs so that no one would see me. I collapsed on the bed, where Mother found me. She hurriedly called a doctor. By the time he arrived, I was delirious, with a temperature of 106 degrees. The doctor told Mother I had Spanish influenza, which was then sweeping the country. In that epidemic, more people lost their lives than were killed in the war [World War I]. Coffins could not be made fast enough; in many sections, the dead were buried in mass graves. At our little studio, five died, including Tessie Harron, Bobby’s sister, who was terrified when she realized she had the disease. I wasn’t frightened; I was too sick to care.

“It was impossible to find a nurse at that time. Mother worried about Dorothy. Dorothy wanted to catch the virus so that she wouldn’t have to leave home. She would come into my room, lean over my sickbed, and breathe deeply. Finally, Mother sent her to the Talmadge's, but she herself stayed home to nurse me. Fortunately, she soon found a fine nurse to relieve her.

“One morning in November, after the fever had abated, I thought I was delirious again, for I thought I heard bells ringing, whistles blowing, cars sounding off their horns. But Mother brought the good news that the war [World War I] was over.

“From that moment on, I started to improve—perhaps because, having seen the war firsthand, I had been even more disturbed by it than most people. Then too, letters poured in from my friends and relatives, as well as messages from the studio that everyone was praying for my recovery. D. W. [Griffith] sent word that neither he nor anyone had been able to work properly since my illness.

“Feeling loved and needed, I made a quick recovery. Still wearing a medical mask, I reported for work and began rehearsing Lucy [her character in “Broken Blossoms.”]”

Albert Bigelow Paine in his 1932 "Life and Lillian Gish," also wrote that Lillian was recovering from influenza prior to filming "Broken Blossoms."

See Facebook Jim Patterson, Gish Scholar for my latest work.  

Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize Programs for 25th Award Ceremony!

Two pages from the 25th Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. 

Great collectible! 25th Gish Prize Program in prime condition! Two pages attached. Great gift for fans of silent film, TV and Broadway star Lillian Gish. Great educational gift for young cinema fans! The 25th Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize was awarded to Gustavo Dudamel. Get yours today! 

Mail check or money order $100 and large self-addressed stamped envelope to Jim Patterson Gish Scholar 730 24th St NW Ste 502 Washington DC 20037.

Thanks for your support of our work. We especially appreciate your gifts of US domestic and international postage stamps for our voluminous correspondence. Gratefully, Jim Patterson

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Lillian Gish and Jim Patterson

                                          Celebrating 100th anniversary of "Broken Blossoms." 

About Jim Patterson, Writer/Speaker Gish Scholar

Facebook Jim Patterson, Gish Scholar 

Speaking/Film Introduction/Panel Availability JEPDiplomat@gmail.com 

Jim Patterson began writing to and lecturing on the life and career of Lillian Gish (1893-1993) when in high school in the 1970s and has never stopped.  

Patterson’s correspondence with Lillian Gish began after seeing her performance in 1969’s ABC TV production of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” with Helen Hayes. Her autobiography, “The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me,” was released the same year and sparked a renewed global interest in Silent Film screenings and film history. Patterson first saw Miss Gish’s 1919 “Broken Blossoms” in Atlanta in 1971 and bought Miss Gish’s photo from the film from New York’s Museum of Modern Art and kept it above his study desk while at Auburn University. 

Patterson often sent Gish US and international postage to encourage her correspondence. When he had a US Flag raised over the US Capitol in memory of Dorothy Gish (1898-1968), Lillian phoned her appreciation. The flag is housed at the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Theater, Bowling Green State University, where Patterson was a Board Member for ten years.  During the Reagan administration, Lillian was a frequent White House guest and lecturer at Smithsonian Institution, Folger Shakespeare Library, Library of Congress. Lillian received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1982. 

In 1986, Patterson received a card from Gish informing she was on Cliff Island, Maine, filming “The Whales of August.” He visited the location to see “Gish in action,” as he described it. Gish was known as “The Iron Butterfly” for daring scenes in such films as “Way Down East” and “The Wind.”

Patterson sent Gish birth announcements for his children and Miss Gish wished them the “gift of curiosity” throughout their lives. During their correspondence, Patterson learned of Gish’s Hollywood friendship with Helen Keller (1880-1968), whose life was basis for the Broadway Play and Academy Award-winning 1962 film “The Miracle Worker.” Keller starred in 1919’s “Deliverance.” Patterson’s mother was named Helen in honor of sister Alabamian Helen Keller.

Patterson’s articles on Miss Gish have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, Classic Images, Auburn Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, and many others. He blogs at LDGish.blogspot.com Facebook: Jim Patterson Gish Scholar He annually attends ceremonies for The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, America’s largest annual arts prize administered by JP Morgan Chase, in New York. See http://gishprize.org/

Patterson is working to have Miss Gish remembered on a U.S. Forever Stamp.  Gish successfully campaigned for a 1975 stamp in honor film pioneer D.W. Griffith (1875-1948). Patterson is reader, researcher and lecturer on the life of Lillian Gish. He corresponds with Gish’s costars for articles and blogposts. At 2006’s 11th San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Harry Carey, Jr., Lillian’s costar in “The Whales of August,” called Patterson “The Gish Guy,”  for his knowledge of Lillian’s career.

Patterson is life member of the American Foreign Service Association, life member Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, member San Francisco Silent Film Festival, life member Auburn University Alumni Association. He presents, interviews, panels and lectures on the life and career of Lillian Gish. He resides in Washington DC. JEPDiplomat@gmail.com

Lillian Gish Happy birthday! Jim Patterson

Lillian Gish celebrated her birthday while filming "The Whales of August" on Cliff Island, ME, in 1986. The birthday cake read: "Happy Birthday Lillian 1893?" 

Happy birthday, Miss Gish! I am forever grateful for our correspondence, conversations, and the many, many memories shared in New York, Washington, at church, at the Library of Congress, and "on the road."

Best memories: The flag for Dorothy, the cactus jelly from Arizona, whale figurines, photos, books, poetry (sister Ohioan Helen Steiner Rice), Helen Keller, cards and books for my kids, film festivals, Bette Davis, Ann Sothern, Harry Carey Jr., Vincent Price, and so much more. It was a great, great run we had! 

Remembering Lillian Gish on the 125th anniversary of her birthday (assuming 1893?} with e e cummings.

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] BY E. E. CUMMINGS

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)                                                       i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Lillian Gish and Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes, foreground, with Lillian Gish 

circa 1980s. 

Helen Hayes: “There was a time when I thought the theater and all its absorbing work had deprived me of other things in life. I have learned I was wrong. For what God has given me through my profession has made me sometimes able to help others—and myself. Certainly, it has made my life rich and meaningful.”  Parade, March 1956.

Lillian Gish: Thirty Fifth Anniversary of her honor at the Kennedy Center .

Thirty-five years ago, Miss Lillian Gish received her honor at the Kennedy Center Honors. It was a great evening! Cheers Lillian! 

5 IN ARTS GET HONORS IN CAPITAL

By BARBARA GAMAREKIAN, Special to the New York Times

Published: December 6, 1982

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 5— It was celebrity time in the capital this weekend as well-known figures from opera, the theater, film, music and the dance joined with official, cultural and social Washington in honoring five artists for their achievements. The occasion was the fifth annual Kennedy Center Honors, which this year, were given to George Abbott, Lillian Gish, Benny Goodman, Gene Kelly and Eugene Ormandy.

The laurels - gold-plated brass medallions - were presented at a small dinner Saturday evening in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the Department of State, with Cary Grant, one of last year's honorees, making the citations, and Roger L. Stevens, board chairman of Kennedy Center, bestowing the medals.

''It seems to us natives out in the Golden West that this evening is very special; I am honored and pleased,'' said Gene Kelly, who was accompanied by his three children, Tim, Kerry and Bridget.

A Goodman Trio

Benny Goodman summed up his feelings with three words: ''Boy, oh boy!''

''This is the greatest honor I've ever received,'' said a beaming Mr. Ormandy. ''Lifetime achievement must include all the mistakes that I've made.''

''You do the honors honor,'' Isaac Stern told Lillian Gish, who looked fragile and lovely in a creamy Grecian gown. ''It feels very nice,'' she announced.

Tonight's festivities began with a White House reception for 400 guests. President and Mrs. Reagan, in an informal receiving line, greeted a glittering crowd. In attendance were such celebrities as Helen Hayes, Van Cliburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Jose Ferrer and Claudette Colbert, as well as Edwin Meese 3d, White House chief of staff, Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Senator Charles H. Percy, Republican of Illinois, An Old Hollywood Friend

Nancy Reagan was particulary delighted that Miss Gish was among those honored. ''She's an amazing and darling woman whom I've known since childhood,'' Mrs. Reagan said the other day. She added that she had stayed with Miss Gish when she first went to Hollyood to pursue a film career.

As the honorees and guests assembled in the East Room, President Reagan told them: ''In the years these artists have devoted to their crafts, their countless performances have lifted our lives from the commonplace to share the sublime. They mingle our everyday world with their world of pageantry and dreams. They enrich us all.''

The gala that followed at 8 P.M. in the Kennedy Center Opera House was a celebration of the artists' lives as well as of their art. The honorees sat in a tier to the right of the Presidential box, for a bird's-eye view of the proceedings, including film, music, dance and verbal bouquets.

Walter Cronkite was master of ceremonies, and the program was in five segments, each focusing on one of the honorees. Hal Prince introduced the segment on Mr. Abbott, Eva Marie Saint that on Miss Gish, Andre Previn on Mr. Goodman, Eugene Istomin on Mr. Ormandy and Yves Montand on Mr. Kelly. And on the Stage

On stage, Betty Buckley sang ''Memory'' from ''Cats''; a quintet made up of Van Johnson, Hal Linden, Eddie Albert, Tom Bosley and Jean Stapleton pranced through the musical skit ''You've Gotta Have Heart'' in a tribute to Mr. Abbott; Isaac Stern played his fiddle; the Metropolitan opera star Leona Mitchell sand ''Mi Chiamano Mimi'' from ''La Boheme''; Peggy Lee, in black and gold spangles, rendered a throaty ''Why Don't You Do Right,'' and Cyd Charisse, Donald O'Connor, Betty Comden and Adolph Green gave to tip of their respective hats to Gene Kelly with a ''Singin' in the Rain'' number.

Lionel Hampton, whose rendition on the vibes of ''Air Mail Special'' set feet tapping, had had an eye operation this week and was released from the hospital only on Thursday. ''I went home, packed my bags and headed for Washington.'' he said Sunday morning. ''There was no way I was going to miss this show.''

Gregory Hines, who danced and sang in ''I Got Rhythm,'' had left a brand new son, three-day-old Zachary, back in New York. ''I was hesitant about leaving him because it's a very important bonding time,'' he said early Sunday.

For Peggy Lee, the evening was special ''because it's for Benny,'' she explained. Life Among the Theater Hits

And Eddie Albert was there for his mentor, George Abbott. ''He taught me what not to do,'' Mr. Albert said the other day. ''I was singing in radio, and he gave me my first job on Broadway in 'Brother Rat.' That was followed by three hits in a row, and I thought that was the way life was going to be.''

The event will be seen on CBS-TV, Christmas night at 9. Following the Opera House performance, 1,700 people dined on veal and beef tenderloin in the Grand Foyer. For those who had not yet had their fill of singing and dancing, there was the music of Buddy Rich's band with vocals by Jon Hendricks.

Illustrations: Photo of Nancy Reagan and Lillian Gish

Copyright New York Times