Albert Bigelow Paine

I A GIRL CHILD, BORN WITH A CAUL

II LIFE AND A LITTLE GIRL

III ON NAT GOODWIN'S SHOULDER

IV "THEATRE PEOPLE"

V A LITTLE TROUPER

VI ADVENTURES OF DOROTHY

VII MARY PICKFORD IN THE SCENE

VIII "DOWN THE LINE"

IX "HER FIRST FALSE STEP"

X DOROTHY'S TREE

XI "SUPPORTING BERNHARDT"

XII MASSILLON DAYS

XIII WHERE THE "ROAD" ENDS. NELL

XIV A CONVENT SCHOOL. TYPHOID

XV SHAWNEE

XVI IT SOUNDS LIKE HEAVEN

I "MR. BIOGRAPH"

II GRIFFITH'S GROUP OF PLAYERS

III BELASCO DELIVERS A VERDICT

IV A STUDIO ON PICO STREET

V THE PATH TO STARDOM

VI "HOME, SWEET HOME"

VII "THE BIRTH OF A NATION"

VIII "INTOLERANCE"

IX THERE WERE NO LOVE AFFAIRS

X THE NIGHTMARE OF WAR

XI UNDER FIRE

XII FRANCE

XIII "HEARTS OF THE WORLD"

XIV "BROKEN BLOSSOMS"

XV "I WORK SUCH LONG HOURS"

XVI DIRECTOR LILLIAN

XVII "WAY DOWN EAST"

XVIII SAD, UNPROFITABLE DAYS

XIX PICTURING THE REIGN OF TERROR

I ITALY

II "THE WHITE SISTER"

III "ROMOLA"

IV ALSO, THE INTELLIGENTSIA

V "LA BOHeME"

VI "THE SCARLET LETTER"

VII "THE FIRST LADY OF THE SCREEN"

VIII "WIND"

IX GOOD-BYE, CALIFORNIA

X REINHARDT

XI THE SHADOW SPEAKS

XII ON THE FLYING CARPET

XIII "ONE ROMANTIC NIGHT"

I "UNCLE VANYA"

II HELENA IN NEW YORK

III "THE PENALTY OF GREATNESS"

IV WORKING WITH LILLIAN

V "UNCLE VANYA" TAKES THE ROAD

VI RELIVING THE YEARS

VII A FEW NOTES

VIII L'ENVOI

“HELENA”

“Tranquilly, Lillian Gish sits, dressed in white organdie, her ash blond hair down her back, relaxed on the window seat, looking out for hours into the depths of the California night.

“‘What are you looking at, Lillian?’ Mrs. Gish has asked for years.

“‘Nothing, Mother, just looking.’”

“She is an extraordinarily difficult person to know, and if I hadn’t gone to live with her ... and been with her through some of the most trying times of her life, I doubt whether our casual contacts at the studio would have brought me any intimate knowledge of her. There seems to be a wall of reserve between her and the outside world, and very few people ever get through that wall.

“The little things of life simply don’t worry her at all. Gales of temperament can rage around her—she remains undisturbed.... I have seen her at a time when anyone else would have been distraught with anxiety, come quietly in from the set, eat her luncheon calmly and collectedly (for first of all, Lillian believes in keeping fit for her work), then pick up some little book of philosophy and read it steadily until they sent for her.

“She refuses to believe that there are people in the world who are jealous of her and want to harm her. I remember someone once remarking that a certain person was jealous of her and hated her, and I can still see the look of utter surprise on Lillian’s face. But it never made any difference in her treatment of that person. In fact, I doubt whether she remembered it when she met her again.

“She is intensely loyal to those who have helped her along the path of success. She likes to be alone. She has an inexhaustible fund of patience, and a quiet sense of humor.”

(Scene: Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya”—end of second act. Lillian Gish as Helena)

First Woman in Front of Me: “They say she’s been playing over twenty-five years.”

Second Woman in Front of Me: “Goodness! How old is she?”

“The piece I read said about thirty or so....”

“Oh, began as a child; is Gish her real name?”

“I believe so; the piece said....”

“Do you like these Russian plays?”

“I like her, in anything. I loved her in ‘Broken Blossoms,’ though it nearly killed me.”

“I wonder why she left the movies.”

“Oh, lots of ’em do; the piece said....”

“Do you suppose that is all her own hair?”

“Oh, I think so; the piece said....”