Dorothy Gish
photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1932
Born	March 11, 1898(1898-03-11) Dayton, Ohio
Died	June 4, 1968 (aged 70) Rapallo, Italy

Dorothy Elizabeth Gish (March 11, 1898 - June 4, 1968) was an American actress. Carl Van Vechten ( June 17, 1880 &ndash December 21, 1964) was an American Writer and Photographer who was a Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the County seat and largest city of Montgomery County. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rapallo is a commune in the Province of Genoa, in Liguria, Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Born in Dayton, Ohio, she was the younger sister of actress Lillian Gish. Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the County seat and largest city of Montgomery County. Lillian Diana Gish ( October 14 1893 – February 27 1993) was an American stage screen and television actress whose

Early life

Dorothy's mother Mary began acting in order to support the family after her husband left. When they were old enough, Dorothy and Lillian were brought into their mother's act, and they also modeled. In 1912 their childhood friend Mary Pickford introduced them to director D.W. Griffith, and the sisters began acting at the Biograph Studios. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Mary Pickford ( April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was an Academy Award -winning Canadian motion picture David Llewelyn Wark "D W" Griffith (January 22 1875 &ndash July 23 1948 was a premier pioneering Academy Award -winning American Film director. The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928

Dorothy and Lillian Gish both debuted in Griffith's An Unseen Enemy. Dorothy would go on to star in over 100 short films and features, many of them with Lillian.

Linda Arvidson, Griffith’s secret wife while they were working at the American Biograph Company, remembered in her autobiography, When The Movies Were Young, “Lillian and Dorothy just melted right into the studio atmosphere without causing a ripple. Linda Arvidson (1884 - 26 July, 1949) was an American movie actress and the first wife D The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928 For quite a long time they merely did extra work in and out of pictures. Especially Dorothy, as Mr. Griffith paid her no attention whatsoever and she kept on crying and trailed along. She also continued to play in many one and two reel Biograph films, learning the difficult technique of silent film acting, and preparing for opportunity when it came. Dorothy was still a person of insignificance, but she was a good sport about it; a likable kid, a bit too perky to interest the big director, so her talents blushed unnoticed by Mr. Griffith. In The Unseen Enemy the sisters made their first joint appearance. Lillian regarded Dorothy with all the superior airs and graces of her rank. At a rehearsal of The Wife, of Belasco and DeMille fame, in which picture I played the lead, and Dorothy the ingénue, Lillian was one day an interested spectator. David Belasco ( July 25, 1853 - May 14, 1931) was an American Playwright, Impresario, director Cecil Blount DeMille ( August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director She was watching intently, for Dorothy had had so few opportunities, and now was doing so well, Lillian was unable to contain her surprise, and as she left the scene she said: ‘Why, Dorothy is good; she’s almost as good as I am. ’ Many more than myself thought Dorothy was better. ”

Career

In Hearts of the World (1918), a film about World War I and the devastation of France, Dorothy found her first foothold, striking a personal hit in a comedy role that captured the essence of her sense of humor. Hearts of the World is a 1918 Silent film directed by DW Griffith, a wartime propaganda classic that was filmed on location in Britain World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. As the “little disturber”, a street singer, her performance was the comic highlight of the film, and her characterization in this role catapulted her into a career as a star of comedy films.

Griffith did not use Dorothy in any of his earliest epics, but while he spent months working on The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, Dorothy was featured in many feature-length films made under the banner of Triangle and Mutual releases. The Birth of a Nation (also known as The Clansman) a Silent film directed by D Mutual Film Corporation was an early American Motion picture conglomerate best remembered today as the producers of some of Charlie Chaplin 's greatest comedies They were directed by young Griffith protégés such as Donald Crisp, James Kirkwood, and Christy Cabanne. Donald George Crisp ( July 27, 1882 &ndash May 25, 1974) was an Academy Award winning English film Actor James Kirkwood Sr (b February 22 1875, Grand Rapids Michigan - d Christy Cabanne born William Christy Cabanne ( April 16, 1888 - October 15, 1950) was an American Film director Elmer Clifton directed a series of seven Paramount-Artcraft comedies with Dorothy that were so successful and popular that the tremendous revenue they raked in helped to pay the cost of Griffith’s expensive epics. These films were wildly popular with the public and the critics. She specialised in pantomime and light comedy, while her sister appeared in tragic roles. Pantomime (informally panto) (not to be confused with a Mime artist, referring to a theatrical performer of mime is a performance genre traditionally found Dorothy became famous in this long series of Griffith-supervised films for the Triangle-Fine Arts and Paramount companies from 1918 through 1920, comedies that put her in the front ranks of film comediennes. Almost all of these films have been “lost”. A lost film is a Feature film or Short film that no longer exists in either studio archives or private collections

"And So I Am a Comedienne", an article published in Ladies Home Journal in July 1925, gave Dorothy a chance to recall her public persona: “And so I am a comedienne, though I, too, once wanted to do heroic and tragic things. Ladies' Home Journal is a Magazine which first appeared February 16, 1883 and eventually became one of the leading magazines of the 20th Century Today my objection to playing comedy is that it is so often misunderstood by the audiences, both in the theater and in the picture houses. It is so often thought to be a lesser art and something which comes to one naturally, a haphazard talent like the amateur clowning of some cut-up who is so often thought to be ‘the life of the party’. In the eyes of so many persons comedy is not only the absence of studied effect and acting, but it is not considered an art. ”

When the film industry converted to talking pictures, Dorothy made one, Wolves (1930), but then chose to take a respite from film work and return to the American stage where she had spent her childhood. George Cukor directed her in Young Love, and the light comedy found success with New York audiences as well as those on the road. George Dewey Cukor ( July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an Academy Award -winning American Film director. A London production followed with equal success.

In 1939, both Dorothy and Lillian Gish found the role of a lifetime. “Dorothy and I went to see the New York Production of Life With Father, starring Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney,” Lillian wrote in her autobiography. Life with Father is the title of a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day Jr Howard Lindsay ( March 29, 1889 - February 11, 1968) was a Broadway producer, Playwright, Librettist Dorothy Stickney ( June 21, 1896 &ndash June 2, 1998) was a Broadway actress best known for appearing in the long running Life with “After the performance I said: ‘This is the play we’ve been waiting for to take through America. ’” Lillian predicted the popular play would be a perfect showcase for all the people who had seen the hundreds of films featuring Mary Pickford, Dorothy, and herself. She was introduced to Lindsay backstage, and immediately surprised the producers with her enthusiastic desire to head the first company to go on the road, with Dorothy taking the same part for the second road company, and the movie rights for Mary Pickford. Pickford did not make the film version, but the Gish sisters took the two road companies on extensive tours.

Television in the 1950s offered many actors the opportunity to appear in plays broadcast live. Dorothy ventured into the new medium, appearing on NBC’s Lux Video Theatre on the night of November 24, 1955, in a production of Miss Susie Slagle’s. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Lux Video Theatre is a weekly Television Anthology series, produced from 1950 until 1959 The play had been a film in 1945 with her sister, Lillian, made for Paramount Pictures Corporation. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California.

“The truth is, that she did not know what she really wanted to do,” wrote her sister, Lillian, in her autobiography. “She had always had trouble making decisions and assuming responsibilities, In some ways she had never grown up. She was such a witty and enchanting child that we enjoyed indulging her. First Mother and I spoiled her and later Reba, her friend, and her husband Jim. Reba called Dorothy ‘Baby’ and so did Jim. With the best intentions in the world, we all helped to keep her a child. ”

From 1930 until her death, she only appeared in five more movies. Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944) was a hit for Paramount. Our Hearts Were Young and Gay is the title of a book by actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough, published in 1942 The Magnificent Yankee (1946) presented Dorothy at the Royale Theater. The Magnificent Yankee is a 1950 biographical film which tells the life story of United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Lillian noted in her pictorial book, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, John Chapman’s review of the film: “Miss Gish and Mr. Calhern give the finest performances I have ever seen them in. She is a delight and a darling. ”

Director Otto Preminger cast Dorothy in his 1946 film, Centennial Summer, and she was said to have been amused that she and some of the other stars were allowed to sing Jerome Kern’s music. Otto Ludwig Preminger ( December 5[[ 906]]&ndash April 23[[ 986]] was an Austrian born Film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood Centennial Summer is a 1946 film directed by Otto Preminger. The musical, that stars Jeanne Crain and Cornel Wilde Jerome David Kern ( January 27, 1885 &ndash November 11, 1945) was an American Composer of popular music Mae Marsh appeared in the film in one of her many bit parts. Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh, November 9, 1894 in Madrid New Mexico, died February 13, 1968 in Hermosa Beach

The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951) was a documentary style film produced by Louis de Rochemont. Louis de Rochemont ( January 13, 1899 - December 23, 1978) was a film maker known for creating along with Roy E Dorothy played the widow of a mill owner.

She also made several appearances in anthology television series in the early 1950s. ANThology is the first Major label album by Alien Ant Farm released on March 6, 2001 in the USA and March 19 A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U

Dorothy (right) with her sister Lillian

Personal life

She was married to James Rennie (1890-1965), a Canadian-born actor who was her co-star in Remodeling Her Husband (filmed in 1920, it was directed by Dorothy's older sister, Lillian, in her only directorial outing). Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page They were married in 1920 in a double ceremony with actress Constance Talmadge and businessman John Piagoglou, and were divorced in 1935. Constance Talmadge ( April 19, 1897 - November 23, 1973) was a Silent movie star born in Brooklyn, New York Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage.

She died in 1968 from bronchial pneumonia at the age of 70 at a clinic in Rapallo, Italy where she had been a patient for two years, with sister Lillian at her side. Bronchopneumonia (also known as lobular pneumonia) is a type of Pneumonia characterized by multiple foci of isolated acute consolidation affecting one or more Rapallo is a commune in the Province of Genoa, in Liguria, Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Dorothy Gish was interred in Saint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City in the columbarium in the undercroft of the church. The City of New York Her sister Lillian was later interred beside her.

For her contribution as an actress in motion pictures, Dorothy Gish was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6385 Hollywood Blvd. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a Sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood Los Angeles California, USA, that , Hollywood, California.

Selected Filmography

• Old Heidelberg

• Stage Struck

• The Little Yankee

• Children of the Feud

• That Colby Girl,

• Hearts of the World

• Battling Jane

• The Hope Chest

• Orphans of the Storm. Hearts of the World is a 1918 Silent film directed by DW Griffith, a wartime propaganda classic that was filmed on location in Britain Orphans of the Storm is a 1921 film by DW Griffith set in late 18th century France, before and during the French Revolution

References

• The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era by David W. Menefee. Connecticut: Praeger, 2004. ISBN 0-275-98259-9.

• Remembering Dorothy Gish. By Harold Casselton. Minneapolis, Minn. : The Society for Cinephiles, 1986.

• Star Maker: The Story of D. W. Griffith. By Homer Croy. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1959.

• And So I am a Comedienne. By Dorothy Gish in Ladies Home Journal, July, 1925.

• Dorothy and Lillian Gish. By Lillian Gish. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973.

• The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me. By Lillian Gish. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1969.

• The Griffith Actresses. By Anthony Slide. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1973.

• Remembering Dorothy Gish. By Society for Cinephiles. Minneapolis, Minn. : Society for Cinephiles, 1986.

• The Talmadge Sisters. By Margaret L. Talmadge. New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1924.

External links

• Dorothy Gish at the Internet Movie Database
• The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Film Theater
• Dorothy Gish's biographic sketch at Find A Grave
• Extensive Dorothy Gish gallery